Glenlivet 12 Year Old /1960s
Our best price:
£750
Glenlivet 12 Year Old /1960s is a 12 year old single malt whisky from the Glenlivet whisky distillery (located in...
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Whiskies may contain Spirit Caramel (E150A)
The bottles listed below are as yet unclassified, they may contain E150A, they may not. We’re working hard to find out. If you can point us to any information about their caramel content that would be much appreciated!
Highland Park Hillhead
Our best price:
£
Highland Park Hillhead is a single malt whisky from the Highland Park whisky distillery (located in the Highland region). The...
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Linkwood 11 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)
Our best price:
£
Linkwood 11 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company) is a 11 year old single malt whisky from the Linkwood whisky...
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Millburn 1969 35 Year Old Rare Malts
Our best price:
£
Millburn 1969 35 Year Old Rare Malts is a 35 year old single malt whisky from the Millburn whisky distillery...
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Old Angus /1940s
Our best price:
£
Old Angus /1940s is a blended whisky. The best price currently available is from for only £ we don’t have...
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The No-Age Blended Scotch Cuvee 2016 Masam
Our best price:
£
The No-Age Blended Scotch Cuvee 2016 Masam is a 20 year old blended whisky. The best price currently available is...
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Bowmore 2002 14 Year Old Chieftain’s
Our best price:
£76.95
Bowmore 2002 14 Year Old Chieftain’s is a 20 year old single malt whisky from the Bowmore whisky distillery (located...
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Caol Ila 14 Year Old 2004 (casks 306295 & 306292) – Chieftain’s (Ian M
Our best price:
£
Caol Ila 14 Year Old 2004 (casks 306295 & 306292) – Chieftain’s (Ian M is a 30 year old single...
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Gelston’s 12 Year Old Port Cask Finish Single Malt Whiskey
Our best price:
£76.95
Gelston’s 12 Year Old Port Cask Finish Single Malt Whiskey is a 12 year old single malt whisky. The best...
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Glenburgie 1998 18 Year Old Single Malts of Scotland
Our best price:
£
Glenburgie 1998 18 Year Old Single Malts of Scotland is a 19 year old single malt whisky from the Glenburgie...
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Glenlivet 12 Year Old /1970s
Our best price:
£225
Glenlivet 12 Year Old /1970s is a 12 year old single malt whisky from the Glenlivet whisky distillery (located in...
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Glenmorangie Original 1974
Our best price:
£600
Glenmorangie Original 1974 is a 19 year old single malt whisky from the Glenmorangie whisky distillery (located in the Highland...
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| Whisky Bottle | Rating | Reviews | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convalmore 1984 32 Year Old Special Releases 2017 | 0 | 0 | £1200 |
| Strathmill 21 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company) | 0 | 0 | £89.95 |
| Glenlossie 1971 /1980s Connoisseurs Choice | 0 | 0 | £399 |
| Cameronbridge 25 Year Old 300 years at the Brig Single Whisky | 0 | 0 | £275 |
| Big Peat Edinburgh – Edition #2 Blended Malt Whisky | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Kavalan Solist Pedro Ximenez Cask #032A (2010) Taiwanese Whisky | 0 | 0 | £460 |
| Royal Brackla 2010 8 Year Old A.D Rattray | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Paul John 6 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company) | 0 | 0 | £97.95 |
| The Kurayoshi Sherry Cask | 5 | 2 | £74.99 |
| SMWS 75.4 1979 14 Year Old | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Rampur PX Sherry Cask Indian | 0 | 0 | £68.95 |
| Glenallachie 1978 /2018 Sherry Cask | 0 | 0 | £699 |
What is E150A spirit caramel and why do I care?
E150A is a food colouring agent created by burning sugar, it’s permitted as a food colour world wide and can be used to colour whisky. It’s the same stuff that’s added to Coa Cola and Pepsi to give them their dark brown colour and it’s regularly added to a number of grain whiskies, blends and even single malts.
Why are whisky brands adding colour to their whisky?
Spirit caramel is added to whisky for two reasons; firstly to normalise the colour between different batches of whisky and in some cases to enhance the natural colour of the whisky. How much of each occurs is a rather complex question as no brand would readily admit to manipulation of their whisky to mislead consumers.
E150A use for normalisation:
Because blends, and even single malt whiskies, use a mix of different casks in order to try and replicate their signature whisky styles. As every cask is different blending purely to replicate flavour can lead to colour differences between batches. A Laphroaig 10 from 5 years ago might taste virtually identical to one produced today but may be much lighter, or much darker depending on the casks used. To avoid confusion among consumers distilleries many distilleries ‘normalise’ the difference through the addition of E150A.
E150A for enhancement:
At the other end of the spectrum is the role of enhancement and this is particularly prevelant among the lower priced supermarket blends. When whisky is first distilled it’s crystal clear and looks like water, or vodka. The golden or even brown colour is a result of interaction with the barrel it is stored in. For cheaper whiskies older barrels are used and these impart less colour, they often favour larger barrels as well which means less interaction with the liquid (as a smaller barrel offers more liquid to surface area). To avoid these bottles ending up on the shelf looking like off-colour vodka spirit caramelis added to ensure the anticipated golden brown is present. In other instances such as Dalmore
Does E150A change the flavour of whisky?
Yes, E150A does change the taste of a whisky. That is our decided opinion, while countless brand ambasadors will dispute this point, or denounce us and refuse to debate the point we’ve done the leg work and are firmly of the position that E150A does change the flavour of the whisky.
We’ve conducted blind and double blind taste tests using E150A from multiple suppliers, and even using minscule amounts the taste profile does shift slightly. Interestingly this change is not always detrimental and E150A seems on occasion to round out a whisky. In most cases the whiskies are identified as being different, in some the whisky with caramel is preferred, in others the whisky without. There’s no added sweetness (E150A is very bitter) but no obvious bitterness added to the whisky unless absurd amounts are used, so we’re not condemning anyone for the use of spirit caramel. That said in the interest of consumer fairness we feel that consumers should be able to find out what’s in their bottle.
How do we get our list of whiskies containing spirit caramel?
By law any whiskies containing E150A sold in Germany have to list it as an additive, on their websites this usually appears as ‘mit Farbstoff’. We’ve scraped a number of German whisky websites and matched their ‘EAN’ and bottles details against the bottles we pricecheck using multiple validations to confirm*.
*Ultimately this system is far from perfect, distilleries change their output and bottles that did contain spirit caramel may change their process. It’s also not completely inconceivable that a whisky could contain caramel for one market and not in another, however unlikely this might be. So until the distilleries are prepared to have a grown up conversation, we’ll do everything in our power to keep our DB up to date. Let us know via the contact form if you find any issues.