Bruichladdich 18 Year Old 1989 (Murray McDavid)
Our best price:
£358.95
Bruichladdich 18 Year Old 1989 (Murray McDavid) is a 19 year old single malt whisky from the Bruichladdich 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!
Omar Bourbon Single Malt
Our best price:
£
Omar Bourbon Single Malt is a single malt whisky. Rated an average of 5.0 out of 5 by 4 reviewers...
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Wemyss Malts Peat Chimney Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Our best price:
£35.95
Wemyss Malts Peat Chimney Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is a blended malt whisky. Rated an average of 5.0 out of...
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Kavalan Solist Amontillado Cask #011A (2010) Taiwanese Whisky
Our best price:
£340
Kavalan Solist Amontillado Cask #011A (2010) Taiwanese Whisky is a 20 year old single malt whisky from the Kavalan whisky...
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Chivas Regal Ultis Blended Malt Speyside Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Our best price:
£168
Chivas Regal Ultis Blended Malt Speyside Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is a blended malt whisky (located in the Speyside region)....
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Omar Sherry Single Malt
Our best price:
£70.75
Omar Sherry Single Malt is a single malt whisky. Rated an average of 5.0 out of 5 by 2 reviewers...
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Benrinnes 11 Year Old 2006 (Malt of The Earth)
Our best price:
£57.66
Benrinnes 11 Year Old 2006 (Malt of The Earth) is a 20 year old single malt whisky from the Benrinnes...
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Mackmyra Moment Karibien Swedish
Our best price:
£89.75
Mackmyra Moment Karibien Swedish is a single malt whisky from the Mackmyra whisky distillery. Rated an average of 5.0 out...
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Benrinnes 15 Year Old 2003 (cask 12760) – Old Particular (Douglas Lain
Our best price:
£
Benrinnes 15 Year Old 2003 (cask 12760) – Old Particular (Douglas Lain is a 20 year old single malt whisky...
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Clan Fraser Reserve Blended Whisky
Our best price:
£18.95
Clan Fraser Reserve Blended Whisky is a blended whisky. Rated an average of 5.0 out of 5 by 1 reviewers...
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Laphroaig 10 Year Old /1980s
Our best price:
£1000
Laphroaig 10 Year Old /1980s is a 10 year old single malt whisky from the Laphroaig whisky distillery (located in...
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Royal Salute 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny
Our best price:
£
Royal Salute 38 Year Old Stone of Destiny is a 38 year old blended whisky. Rated an average of 5.0...
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| Whisky Bottle | Rating | Reviews | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glenesk 1982 /1995 Connoisseurs Choice | 0 | 0 | £350 |
| Bushmills White Label (1L) – 1970s Blended Whiskey | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Cladach Blended Malt Special Releases 2018 Blended Whisky | 4.5 | 1 | £155 |
| Benriach Cask Strength Batch 2 | 0 | 0 | £55.95 |
| Linkwood 1990 27 Year Old Signatory 30th Anniversary | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Port Askaig 28 Year Old | 0 | 0 | £295 |
| Wine and Whisky Mixed Double | 0 | 0 | £ |
| The Speyside 8 Year Old | 0 | 0 | £49.95 |
| Premium Whisky Advent Calendar (2019 Edition) Blended Whisky | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Ardmore 1996 21 Year Old Adelphi | 0 | 0 | £160 |
| Bushmills Whiskey 4.5L Blended Whiskey | 0 | 0 | £129.95 |
| Glentauchers 10 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company) | 0 | 0 | £43.95 |
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.