Should The Snobs Lay Off Chill Filtered Whisky? Article

Chill-filtration has long been a divisive subject, the overriding consensus is often against it, and it is seen as an unnatural and untraditional part of whisky production. Does it reflect the public's preference of looks over real substance, or is it a necessary evil?

The process removes cloudiness that appears in whiskies that are less than around 46% abv. It usually occurs when they are chilled, or have water of ice added to them. Chill-filtration removes this unsightly haziness. First the spirit is chilled to around 0?C and congeners and fatty acids clump together, the whisky is passed through a fine mesh filter which removes them.

Chill-filtration is used solely to improve the look of a whisky, and to maintain consistency. It is, after all, reassuring for a customer to know exactly what they are ordering, and for that product to remain consistent, both in flavour and in appearance, no matter what temperature and no matter if ice of water is added.

So let's look at some examples of popular chill-filtered whiskies, and see how the process has affected them. Let's take Dalmore. It's a highland distillery, noted for it's full-bodied whiskies. The 12 year-old is a classic dram, awarded 90 points by noted critic Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible. It was awarded a Bronze at the International Wine and Spirits Competition too. It was crafted from whisky matured in both Oloroso sherry and bourbon casks. On the nose Dalmore 12 offers musty orange, cocoa, winter spice and coffee. The palate is thick and full with marmalade, chocolate orange and yuletide spices. It's a fine whisky with a lot of body. Regardless, even Jim says Dalmore 12 ?has changed character of late but remains underpowered?.

Another example of a famous, classic single malt is Glenfiddich 12 Year Old. It also undergoes chill-filtration, and the Glenfiddich distillery produces some of the world's best-selling single malts. The 12 year old is an award winner, with a gold medal from the 2007 International Wine and Spirit Competition. Glenfiddich 12 offers a honeyed nose with nutty notes and cut hay and sweet cereals. The palate is fruity and fresh with creamy vanilla and notes of juicy malt. Jim Murray even awarded it 92.5 points in his Whisky Bible. This is a rather good whisky.

And how about the real best-sellers? The blended whisky brands market their popular products as consistent and reliable. That's partly why they have such a loyal consumer base. Certainly, popular blends like Famous Grouse and Teacher's have not the same capacity for complexity and range of flavour as single malts, but they remain the driving force of the whisky industry. Without them, so many distilleries would be put out of business ? for the distillers depend on the blenders as a ready market for their malt whisky. So, perhaps there is a noticeable difference in chill-filtered whisky, and the process isn't really a nice idea, but there are plenty of examples of great single malts that have been chill-filtered, and perhaps if these are measures that must sometimes be taken to ensure consistency, and ensure a solid market to support the industry, then we can hardly complain.

All of the whiskies mentioned in this article are available from the excellent Master of Malt.

By: Darren Seabrook

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Darren Seabrook has been tasting single malt whisky for over 20 years. One of his favourites at the moment is Tomatin Whisky, a single cask single malt whisky.