Banff 1980 23 Year Old Duncan Taylor
Our best price:
£550
Banff 1980 23 Year Old Duncan Taylor is a 23 year old single malt whisky from the Banff whisky distillery...
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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!
Bowmore Blair Castle Horse Trials 2001
Our best price:
£1500
Bowmore Blair Castle Horse Trials 2001 is a 20 year old single malt whisky from the Bowmore whisky distillery (located...
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Caol Ila 1981 36 Year Old Connoisseurs Choice TWE Exclusive
Our best price:
£600
Caol Ila 1981 36 Year Old Connoisseurs Choice TWE Exclusive is a 36 year old single malt whisky from the...
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Dallas Dhu Millennium 1974 25 Year Old
Our best price:
£
Dallas Dhu Millennium 1974 25 Year Old is a 25 year old single malt whisky from the Dallas Dhu whisky...
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Gerston – Vintage (The Lost Distillery Company) Blended Malt Whisky
Our best price:
£162.38
Gerston – Vintage (The Lost Distillery Company) Blended Malt Whisky is a blended malt whisky. The best price currently available...
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Glenlivet 16 Year Old Ladderfoot Sherry Cask
Our best price:
£199
Glenlivet 16 Year Old Ladderfoot Sherry Cask is a 16 year old single malt whisky from the Glenlivet whisky distillery...
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Isle of Jura 12 Year Old Elixir
Our best price:
£39.95
Isle of Jura 12 Year Old Elixir is a 12 year old single malt whisky from the Isle of Jura...
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Johnnie Walker Deco
Our best price:
£
Johnnie Walker Deco is a blend whisky. The best price currently available is from for only £ we don’t have...
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Knockando 1971 /1982
Our best price:
£550
Knockando 1971 /1982 is a 19 year old single malt whisky from the Knockando whisky distillery (located in the Speyside...
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Linkwood 18 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)
Our best price:
£79.95
Linkwood 18 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company) is a 18 year old single malt whisky from the Linkwood whisky...
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Zuidam Millstone 6 Year Old 2010 (cask 2638) – Single Cask (Master of Malt)
Our best price:
£
Zuidam Millstone 6 Year Old 2010 (cask 2638) – Single Cask (Master of Malt) is a 26 year old single...
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Old Bushmills 9 Year Old /1960s Blended Irish Whiskey
Our best price:
£750
Old Bushmills 9 Year Old /1960s Blended Irish Whiskey is a 9 year old single malt whisky from the Bushmills...
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| Whisky Bottle | Rating | Reviews | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seagram’s 7 Crown American Blended Whiskey | 0 | 0 | £32.45 |
| New Zealand 1988 Single Cask 29 Year Old TWE Exclusive New Whisky | 0 | 0 | £475 |
| Glenrothes 1996 Jack Wiebers | 0 | 0 | £180 |
| Laphroaig 10 Year Old /1990s (Pre Royal Warrant) | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Rosebank 1992 21 Year Old Special Releases 2014 | 0 | 0 | £1200 |
| Bell’s Prince Charles Visit to Cherrybank Gardens Blended Whisky | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Banff 1974 /1992 Connoisseurs Choice | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Lord Elcho Blended Whisky Wemyss Malts | 0 | 0 | £26.83 |
| Jura 12 Year Old Glass Set | 0 | 0 | £44.95 |
| Glenury Royal 1973 24 Year Old Silent Stills | 0 | 0 | £750 |
| Caol Ila 2010 8 Year Old First Editions | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whisky Corn Whiskey | 4.7 | 3 | £53.45 |
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.