Correct. Whiskey doesn't age once it's out of the barrel, which is part of why it became a staple beverage across the world. Wine does age in the bottle and people are trying to add that prestige to whiskey.

What makes whiskey valuable is how long it was aged before it was bottled. Some distilleries have 100 year-old cycles. But a 50 year Macallen bottled in 1983 is going to taste the same as 50 year Macallan bottled in 2025. The consistent taste is one of the benefits of distilling old whiskey.

[–] CommunistBear@hexbear.net 5 points 7 months ago

I mean there could theoretically be manufacturing differences. If newer techniques replaced older techniques and in the process something was changed, flavor could be changed. A great example of this is pot still whiskey versus column still whiskey. They taste different because the physical properties of the stills are different which will have different degrees of rectification. Hell, the distillers of the 50s could have different palates than modern distillers and take different cuts. Or the yeast was changed which is a huge part of the flavor.

I don't mind genuine whiskey conneseirs. It's the speculators who don't give a shit what it tastes like and just want to make a buck that annoys me.