Whisky bottle glass colour

[pmullin]

I like to be able to see the colour of a whisky through a clear bottle, which by and large is what most producers do. However, there are a few top-notch brands that use green bottles.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

[Deactivated Member]

I agree with you. However, most OB's are touched up with caramel, so the color isn't entirely natural, anyway.

[TheLaddie]

Put it in purple glass for all I care. I'd like to think the packaging doesn't influence my wallet or my palate that much.

[Feldrin]

Heh, that makes one for every option.

I don't mind them bottling in their traditional colours. I do like to see what colour my whisky is, but I don't mind waiting till it's in my glass. I quite like the (traditional) coloured bottles, like the Ardbeg and Redbreast. It gives the impression of what the creators thought that fitted their whisky.

[Mr Fjeld]

I don't really care but I would like to see the Kildalton trio + Caol Ila bottles unchanged. The Laphroaig bottle and label is particularly good looking!

[killerwhale]

doesn't bother me what colour.....
some look better in clear but some are great in green- Ardbeg!

though aslong as what's inside is good.... any colour will do....

[Aidan]

I only like whiskies that come in green bottles. They are more complex. A wooden box further increases their complexity.

[les taylor]

Okay so going on the colour of the bottle theory that green is best. A simple choice.

A. Glenfiddich 12 year old ( green bottle )


B. Springbank 10 ( clear bottle )



Yep I thought so me too.

[Deactivated Member]

I only like whiskies that come in green bottles. They are more complex. A wooden box further increases their complexity.

Aidan - I'm afraid I disagree. I think a tin enhances the flavour in a much more positive way - wooden boxes tend to add a certain bitterness to the nose. I agree with you about the green glass, and I recommend you try The Singleton of Dufftown from its turquoise bottle for a really unique experience.

[Deactivated Member]

I only like whiskies that come in green bottles. They are more complex. A wooden box further increases their complexity.

Aidan - I'm afraid I disagree. I think a tin enhances the flavour in a much more positive way - wooden boxes tend to add a certain bitterness to the nose. I agree with you about the green glass, and I recommend you try The Singleton of Dufftown from its turquoise bottle for a really unique experience.

But Nick, if you look at Bruichladdich as an example of the "tin effect", then that little plastic base also makes a difference!
Just compare the bottlings with (most) and without (Valinches) it and I think you'll see a big difference.

Also, I'm not sure of the exact effect, which means I may have to experiment more, but I believe it also makes a difference if the tin is front or top opening.


MT

[Aidan]

I only like whiskies that come in green bottles. They are more complex. A wooden box further increases their complexity.

Aidan - I'm afraid I disagree. I think a tin enhances the flavour in a much more positive way - wooden boxes tend to add a certain bitterness to the nose. I agree with you about the green glass, and I recommend you try The Singleton of Dufftown from its turquoise bottle for a really unique experience.

I'm only getting into tin packaging now, having neglected that genre before. Is there a particular bottle from a tin can you would recommend as a good introduction?

[lambda]

I would pay good money for both a tin and green glass, but I can't think of any.

[Deactivated Member]

Obviously that would be the holy grail! I have come across green glass in boxes and green glass in cardboard tubes, but never green glass in tins. I can only imagine the effect that that would have on the complexity.

[Scotchio]

The answer is clearly obvious,ban caramel and insist on clear bottles,then colour can be a useful indicator of what your getting and be a genuine part of the whole tasting/appreciation process.Regarding packaging, all that glisters is not gold, although some labels contribute to the variety and pleasure of ownership if the whisky is good, I guess it's a necessary evil especially if a whisky is in the supermarkets where a bottler needs to make their whisky stand out from the crowd and a change of livery is necessary to fight habituation.

[Deactivated Member]

It occurs to me that the best thing about green glass is that it removes the temptation for the bottler to add caramel to make the whisky look suitably dark. Think how pale Ardbeg is, and how it would look in clear glass.

Of course, that doesn't explain Lagavulin's radioactive orange.

As for green glass and tins, why could you not then put the whole in a wooden box?

[Deactivated Member]

...Or now that I think of it, put it in a tin for a few years, and then finish it in a wooden box.

[The Fachan]

I don't belive the colour of a large volume OB to be any great guide as far as the wood policy is concerned. A vatting is usually made up from a mix of 1st, 2nd and 3rd fills with various sizex of barrel included. I agree with IB cask bottling it works very successfully.
If caramel is such a big problem maybe its time for the SWA to insist on it as part of the labelling, I am quite sure we already have several threads on the arguement.

[Reggaeblues]

Scotchio reckons :..."insist on clear bottles,then colour can be a useful indicator of what your getting."

Nah! Lagavulin's brown bottle is part of the mystique that drew me to it in the first place - the first bottle of whisky i ever owned, given to me before I even knew what it was. I just loved the way it looked...the presentation was, and still is, one of the best IMO. then, when I uncorked it and took my first whiff, i was captivated.

Hmmm. didn't Talisker used to come in tinted bottles??

Lastly, Re: clear(ish) whiskies(Ardbeg) in green bottles( why not??)
...what about green(ish) whiskies(Springbank) in clear bottles??

[irishwhiskeychaser]

........ insist on clear bottles,then colour can be a useful indicator of what your getting and be a genuine part of the whole tasting/appreciation process......

Maybe but it is said that whisk(e)y in a green bottle is more often than not uncoloured. The idea of the green bottle is so that mr muppet joe public does not notice the batch colour variances where as it would b noticed in a clear bottle. Remember we the nutty anoraks will anways be in the buying minority

I only like whiskies that come in green bottles. They are more complex. A wooden box further increases their complexity.

Aidan - I'm afraid I disagree. I think a tin enhances the flavour in a much more positive way - wooden boxes tend to add a certain bitterness to the nose. I agree with you about the green glass, and I recommend you try The Singleton of Dufftown from its turquoise bottle for a really unique experience.

I'm only getting into tin packaging now, having neglected that genre before. Is there a particular bottle from a tin can you would recommend as a good introduction?

[The Fachan]

IWC,


Any Blender worth their salt shouldn't have colour variation between batches. If the do the job is not being done properly.

[Wave]

I would pay good money for both a tin and green glass, but I can't think of any.

My original introduction to the Laphroaig 15yo
Current bid at the whiskyauction site, €155 (I was paying $35 for it in it's day!)




Cheers!

[Ganga]

Why wasn't ceramic listed as an option?

I love it finished in satin.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

IWC,


Any Blender worth their salt shouldn't have colour variation between batches. If the do the job is not being done properly.

Maybe.... I don't know much about batch colour variation to be quite honest as I don't really worry about the colour of a whiskey.

I was just relaying one reason why green bottles are used.

Similarly one of the mains reason given for the use of caramel is to get a constant colour also so colour variation may be a more regular occurance than you think. At the end of theday the blender is more concerned about taste. Of course the the other reason for colouring is a precieved quality/age insinuation if the colour is darker.

You and I appreciate colour variation as we know a small bit about wwhisky but say you have a shelf of Glenmorangie and a shelf of Glenfiddich. They are all bottled in clear bottles. However there are 2 batches of the Glenmorangie and both are slightly different in colour. It is easy to see why Joe Public would pick the Glenfiddich instead of the Glenmorangie.

[Cam]

I voted to stick with tradition.

Individual expression in whisky, individual expression in packaging.

Presentation will draw the uninitiated, taste will bring back the believer.

Cam

[TheLaddie]

I only like whiskies that come in green bottles. They are more complex. A wooden box further increases their complexity.

[peergynt323]

Don't forget to throw a scroll in the wooden box for over the top complexity.

[MacLars]

I would like pitch-black bottles that didn't let any light go through. Colour of whisky is to be enjoyed at time of draming

[karlejnar]

Welcome to the forum MacLars

Seems you've been hanging around here for quite some time.

Nice to see your first post - hope many will follow

[les taylor]

Welcome to the forum MacLars

Seems you've been hanging around here for quite some time.

Nice to see your first post - hope many will follow

Quite right Karlejnar yes welcome Maclars, 3 and a half years to make a post. We don't bite here make yourself welcome.

[Deactivated Member]

Oh, now you've scared him off again.

Interesting thought about black bottles (hey, that would be a cool name for...oh, it is?). Beer is very light sensitive because of the hops--it is the interaction of ultraviolet light with some hop compounds that produces skunky aromas. The only light reaction I've heard of in whisky is that caramel color will fade with long exposure, which is kind of ironic, since they put the color in so the whisky will look good in clear bottles. Otherwise, there seem to be no qualms about clear glass among bottlers. Prudence would seem to dictate limiting exposure to direct sunlight, anyway, just to be on the safe side. (Prudence is Mr Picky's girlfriend. They're a real hoot together.) Anyone up for an experiment? Identical clear minis, one left in the sun for a while, maybe several days, then tasted hth. (Bergenites need not apply.) Better yet, two sets--one heavily peated, one not. Oh hell, why not a sherry monster, as well?

[Deactivated Member]

Black bottles - as with ceramic bottles - would make it impossible to see the fill level of the whisky.

[les taylor]

Prudence is Prime Minister elect Gordon Brown's middle name.

[parvus]

Anyone up for an experiment? Identical clear minis, one left in the sun for a while, maybe several days, then tasted hth. (Bergenites need not apply.) Better yet, two sets--one heavily peated, one not. Oh hell, why not a sherry monster, as well?

This wouldn't really tell you much about how light affects the taste of whisky, as you'd also have to contend with the sample that was left in the sun being exposed to considerably more heat than one that isn't.

[Deactivated Member]

Good point. Leave it by a fluorescent lamp instead.

[bond]

While I voted for clear bottles, this is probably the first poll that I have encountered on this forum where the traditionalists have been outnumbered by the iconoclasts. Most polls here tend to see the majority side with tradition. Wonder why this one was different?

Cheers