What Is The Maturity Of Whisky And The Officer’s Choice Blue Whisky Price?
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Whisky is produced by fermenting and distilling the grain mash. Once it is distilled it is stored in wooden barrels to mature. Whisky is particularly stored in charred white oak barrels. Sometimes the uncharred white oak barrels which are used for ageing Sherry are also used.
In alcoholic beverages, the term ‘Age’ is the time for which the alcohol is stored in wooden barrels. Storing alcohol in wooden barrels for some time is called ageing. The ‘Maturity’ of alcohol is the degree to which the chemical changes occur during storage.
The maturation of whiskies can be divided into two types depending on whether it is stored in new or used barrels. One of the Indian whisky brands is Officer’s Choice which offers premium whisky called the Officer’s Choice Blue whisky. It is a fine blend of Scotch malts and select Indian grain spirits. It offers a subtle fruity, leafy, peaty and woody flavour. The Officer’s Choice Blue whisky price is just right for a premium-class alcoholic beverage.
Maturation process of whisky
Once the alcohol is collected after distillation it is aged in wooden barrels. White oak barrels are used because they can hold liquid and allow breathing to take place through the pores of the wood. The size of the pore allows water molecules that are smaller in size to move through the wood easily. Water molecules can move more easily than larger alcohol molecules.
The difference in the humidity and the temperature of the air, liquid and barrel allows breathing to take place. As the liquid moves through the wood some ingredients are extracted and carried to the liquid. The liquid extracts compounds like vanillin, vanillic acid, syringaldehyde and wood tannins from the wood. Wood absorbs some undesirable compounds from the liquid. This gives colour and flavour to the whisky.
Maturation occurs due to the interaction between the outside air and the liquid in the barrel. During the ageing process maturation occurs due to the interaction between the contents of the liquid, the oxidation reactions and the extraction of substances from the wood. Charred wood makes these substances soluble in water. All this should be well balanced to get a mature product.
Lower levels of the congeners and wood extracts are required to get a good balance of the product. Most whiskies are aged for 2 years or more. New wood barrels can give more colour and flavour to the alcohol than the used barrels. Maturation is how much the wooden barrel has interacted with the liquid and changed its chemical structure and taste.
Whiskies that have been bottled for many years have a rare value. But older whiskies are not considered better than the recent whisky that is matured in wooden barrels for the same time.