Irish Single Malt 1989 29 Year Old Daily Dram Irish Whisky
Our best price:
£399
Irish Single Malt 1989 29 Year Old Daily Dram Irish Whisky is a 29 year old single malt whisky. The...
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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!
Ledaig 12 Year Old 2007 (cask 13326) – Old Particular (Douglas Laing)
Our best price:
£
Ledaig 12 Year Old 2007 (cask 13326) – Old Particular (Douglas Laing) is a 20 year old single malt whisky....
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Macallan 10 Year Old 100 Proof /1990s
Our best price:
£2750
Macallan 10 Year Old 100 Proof /1990s is a 19 year old single malt whisky from the Macallan whisky distillery...
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Michter’s US*1 Barrel Strength Rye (55.4%)
Our best price:
£94.95
Michter’s US*1 Barrel Strength Rye (55.4%) is a 55 year old rye whisky from the Michter’s whisky distillery. The best...
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Oban 13 Year Old Manager’s Dram Sherry Cask
Our best price:
£1000
Oban 13 Year Old Manager’s Dram Sherry Cask is a 13 year old single malt whisky from the Oban whisky...
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Talisker 1985 27 Year Old
Our best price:
£
Talisker 1985 27 Year Old is a 27 year old single malt whisky from the Talisker whisky distillery. The best...
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Allt-a-Bhainne 1995 (bottled 2018) (cask 187836) – Samaroli
Our best price:
£197.95
Allt-a-Bhainne 1995 (bottled 2018) (cask 187836) – Samaroli is a 20 year old single malt whisky from the Allt-a-Bhainne whisky...
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Bushmills Original Irish Blended Whiskey
Our best price:
£2.75
Bushmills Original Irish Blended Whiskey is a single malt whisky from the Bushmills whisky distillery. The best price currently available...
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Craigellachie 2006 11 Year Old Old Malt Cask
Our best price:
£
Craigellachie 2006 11 Year Old Old Malt Cask is a 20 year old single malt whisky from the Craigellachie whisky...
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Fettercairn 10 Year Old 2008 – Hepburn’s Choice (Langside)
Our best price:
£
Fettercairn 10 Year Old 2008 – Hepburn’s Choice (Langside) is a 20 year old single malt whisky from the Fettercairn...
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Glenglassaugh 49 Year Old 1967 (cask 1114-1) – Rare Cask Release Batch
Our best price:
£3995
Glenglassaugh 49 Year Old 1967 (cask 1114-1) – Rare Cask Release Batch is a 49 year old single malt whisky...
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Glenugie 1976 27 Year Old Signatory
Our best price:
£
Glenugie 1976 27 Year Old Signatory is a 27 year old single malt whisky from the Glenugie whisky distillery (located...
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| Whisky Bottle | Rating | Reviews | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brora 1981 23 Year Old Sherry Cask Dun Bheagan | 0 | 0 | £1000 |
| Glenglassaugh 1978 33 Year Old Chosen Few | 0 | 0 | £600 |
| Glenmorangie 1975 /2001 | 0 | 0 | £800 |
| Cameronbridge 1984 35 Year Old Xtra Old Particular Single Whisky | 0 | 0 | £172.95 |
| Starward Solera Malt Whisky New World Australian Malt Whisky | 4.1 | 17 | £44.95 |
| Springbank 12 Year Old – 1980s | 0 | 0 | £ |
| Penderyn Rich Oak Welsh | 4.3 | 4 | £42.95 |
| Suntory Hakushu 10 Year Old Japanese | 0 | 0 | £299 |
| Cedar Ridge Bourbon Whiskey | 0 | 0 | £47.18 |
| Federal Club 90 Proof Choice /1960s American Blended Whiskey | 0 | 0 | £399 |
| Irish Single Malt 1989 29 Year Old Daily Dram Irish Whisky | 0 | 0 | £399 |
| Stalk & Barrel Canadian | 0 | 0 | £46.95 |
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.