I was the lucky (?) recipient of a bottle of Scotch whisky when the last of my parents passed away in 2001. It's an interesting story not because of the way I came about this bottle but with the indignity with which I treated it. You may or may not know the brand but it's Inver House "Green Plaid" Very Rare Scotch Whisky. Yeah... that Scotch whisky, the one that costs $10 in the liquor store. Well you already must suspect where this is going so read on...

Follow up:

Inver House prides itself on the "thirty-six months" of aging so much that rather than come out and say it's a 3 year old Scotch, they instead intricately spell out the number of months instead. The bottle I inherited was not only green glass (note: Scotch looks nasty in green glass) but already open with a good quarter consumed. I just want to reiterate that - this was an open bottle. You can see why I ignored it for 8 years. I enjoy Scotch and while I still hesitate when the bottle price approaches $60, I've had plenty at those prices and generally they are worth it.

Well, for whatever reason, one day last week I decided to crack the 8 year old "seal" on my open bottle of hooch. You can't even begin to imagine my surprise when on first taste I was literally standing in shock looking again at the hideous green bottle of now 12+ year old whisky. It was incredibly good! The nose was aromatic and the mouthfeel smooth and silken. The finish stood out though, toasted oak, velvety caramel and vanilla hints which remained long after swallowing. In other words, this was not just good Scotch, it was great!

I immediately went online and started searching for "bottle aging old whisky" and such, coming up time and time again with gurus telling me "No, whisky does not age after it is bottled" or "Cheap whisky can't be made better by aging (in the bottle)". Ok already, but I had something most people probably don't, a half finished bottle with partially sealed airspace. That oxygen and the small exchange afforded by the no longer sealed cap did age my whisky because oxidation and whatever other chemical reactions occur with age were happening in my bottle. I figured the experts had to be wrong but I needed to know for sure.

I slunk into my regular liquor store and furtively grabbed a bottle of brand spanking new Inver House from... you guessed it, the bottom shelf of the whisky aisle. Fortunately I came across a bottle of Chilean pisco they had apparently just got in and got that as well (how can you resist comparing Peruvian pisco to Chilean?). Instead of the sidelong glances I expected and the offer of a brown bag and a straw, the clerk asked me about the pisco and I got a chance to explain how Chilean is barrel aged while Peruvian is not and that he should give it a try. Safely out the door, I brought the now clear bottle of whisky home and set them both on the bar.

This was a showdown, the new vs. the old and used. Were the experts right? Does whisky age in the bottle when the bottle is open? I poured a glass of each and compared:

The older Inver House was more pale (despite being in a green bottle and at the back of the bar). When swirled is didn't create as many 'gothic windows' on the glass, so it seems that the alcohol content has been decreased as well. After side by side comparison, the new whisky isn't bad (honestly!) but it's a little raw; better than I expected. But the old bottle just shines with aromas and flavors that are simply absent from the new whisky. I can almost detect the faint raw sugars in the 'new' that must have been converted and oxidized in the 'old' into aromatic caramels which even further bring out the toasted wood tones on the nose and finish. I'm enjoying this old bottle of $10 whisky thoroughly.

Now I'm not going to suggest that you all go out and buy case of $10 whisky, drink a couple shots and store it for 10 years. I can say that with my very small experiment, open bottle aging did work wonders and I am excited to try it again in a controlled setting. What I am going to suggest is that the next time you buy whisky, but an extra bottle. Open it, drink some, and close it up and put it in a dark dry place. Maybe that $30 or $50 bottle will become a $100 bottle? It only takes a small investment and a lot of patience to find out.

I'll be trying this with a couple bottles, but one in particular I can't wait to taste - Auchentoshan 'Select' (the least aged of their line). Let's see what 10 years does shall we?