10 Green bottles......................

[woodhill]

one of the things i enjoy about whisky is the variations in colour from one to another.

The question is why put whisky in a colored bottle so that you cant see the color in the shop or before you open a bottle.


One of the beauties of Ardbeg is its pale straw like color whereas on the contrast i love the dark rich color of the Abunadh Batch 20.

discuss

[Willie JJ]

Yep, I like to see the colour of the liquid in the bottle. Always thought that the colour of whisky, whether it be really pale, or some rich red, brown, or deep gold, is more attractive than coloured glass.

[lincoln imp]

Most of the time you can tell more about a whisky by its colour than by the blurb on a label. Clear everytime.

[woodhill]

can someone tell Ardbeg....................

[Willie JJ]

can someone tell Ardbeg....................

I'm thinking that those folks might be a little reluctant to change, since they seem to have built their whole corporate image around that green theme .

[Di Blasi]

I do prefer the clear bottles cause I like to see what's inside. But I do still respect the choice the distillery/bottler makes of bottle color cause it contributes to their own presentation, as does the label etc. Also, darker bottles, such as Ardbeg and Lagavulin for example, do protect the whisky from light sources.

[mattbuty]

I voted for what is inside that counts most, but it is nice to see the liquid.

The colour is really important but personally I like to see it in my nosing glass, before drinking it, and the rest of the time I keep the bottle in its tube.

For me I just love getting that tube, and opening it to see the bottle, and then opening the bottle to drink the whisky

[hiccy]

Who cares? So long as you can get the cork out.

[Aidan]

Who cares? So long as you can get the cork out.

That would be my thinking too.

[les taylor]

I do like the clear bottle. But can you imagine a clear Ardbeg or Lagavulin bottle. No I can't either it just wouldn't work. Jameson's looks right in green too. So wants the answer, I guess we get comfortable with what we have.

[Deactivated Member]

I do like the clear bottle. But can you imagine a clear Ardbeg or Lagavulin bottle. No I can't either it just wouldn't work. Jameson's looks right in green too. So wants the answer, I guess we get comfortable with what we have.

I have enjoyed some excellent IB Ardbegs in clear bottles, but I guess what you are referring to Les is the marketing hype that these companies have produced around their products and images.
MT

[les taylor]

I do like the clear bottle. But can you imagine a clear Ardbeg or Lagavulin bottle. No I can't either it just wouldn't work. Jameson's looks right in green too. So wants the answer, I guess we get comfortable with what we have.

I have enjoyed some excellent IB Ardbegs in clear bottles, but I guess what you are referring to Les is the marketing hype that these companies have produced around their products and images.
MT

Hi MT I know what you mean about hype and advertising. But I was thinking more about tradition and what we have grown up with. For instance Glenfiddich. If they changed the bottle shape or colour it wouldn't be the same. I can live with the label changing but somethings need to stay the same. So I think the whiskies that are already in coloured bottles somehow are right and sit nicely with what they are. Could you imagine Dalwhinnie in a green bottle. UGH.

[Leither]

I like the traditional brown bottles used by the likes of Glenfarclas for their 15yo upwards.

I think their are other reasons, above the marketing and brand/bottle awareness etc, why some have kept to coloured bottles, be that brown or green for Ardbeg and Laphroaig and that centres around the cost of glass (ie coloured cheaper than clear) and I also believe some early taxes were such that it was cheaper to bottle in coloured glass.

Also you have the likes of Glenfarclas and others who chose to bottle in coloured glass to get round the issue of colour variation in batches, as each batch colour will be slightly inconsistent compared to the next.

So to me the fact that some, like Ardbeg and 'farclas, bottle in coloured glass leads me to believe that they are probably not fiddling around with things like caramel to make it look artificially more pleasing to the eye ie darker.

Hunt around the FAQs for previous discussions on this subject.

[Deactivated Member]

I do like the clear bottle. But can you imagine a clear Ardbeg or Lagavulin bottle. No I can't either it just wouldn't work. Jameson's looks right in green too. So wants the answer, I guess we get comfortable with what we have.

I have enjoyed some excellent IB Ardbegs in clear bottles, but I guess what you are referring to Les is the marketing hype that these companies have produced around their products and images.
MT

Hi MT I know what you mean about hype and advertising. But I was thinking more about tradition and what we have grown up with. For instance Glenfiddich. If they changed the bottle shape or colour it wouldn't be the same. I can live with the label changing but somethings need to stay the same. So I think the whiskies that are already in coloured bottles somehow are right and sit nicely with what they are. Could you imagine Dalwhinnie in a green bottle. UGH.

Les, it looks I will need to create a blind tasting around this concept just to see if you really can tell the difference and say "ugh"

[Ganga]

Ok, so I just had to be a contrarian today. Other. I really do like the ceramic bottles I have gotten over the years. Purely an aesthetic thing though.

[sparky]

The color of the glass -- definately clear. However I do use a ceramic cup once in a while. The color of the bottle -- that doesn't matter at all. It's just packaging. If you like the taste you'll probably like the bottle. I actually enjoy bottle changes. When Bowmore changed labels and shape I though it was better (although I find Bowmore marketing to be a bit overdone). Same for Highland Park's new bottle. If Arbeg came out with a clear round bottle with a new funky graphic and a big Ardbeg A on the front I'd probably want to get one asap (actually, I always want one asap). The point is that the color is inconsequential to the extent that it is familiar and associative. Furthermore, changes breathe new life into a product. But then I am not hung up on things staying the same. It seems, however, that the marketing departments in Scottich distillaries are very careful to maintain their brand consistency.

[Muskrat Portage]

I chose clear for the simple reason that I like to see what the product looks like before I pour. Now, with the use of caramel colourants that don't, ostensibly, change the flavour of the whisky, I'm aware I don't really get to view the "true" product. I only see what some external agent has chosen as the hue to be marketed along with the bottle shape and packaging.

Being aware of Marketing bias and ploys, I am therefore free to view and enjoy the product for purely esthetic reasons. I do not fool myself that it's exactly what came out of the cask. Although, in some fortuitous cases, it is and I delight in those drams. That being said, I am free to nose, sample and enjoy a nicely manufactured product. I like what I taste, I buy it again. I don't like what I taste? I don't. (And shove the bottle in a back corner somewhere to spring on the unsuspecting.)

I only have one whisky in that back corner so far.

Muskrat Portage

[Spirit of Islay]

I wonder how many here Would have a right old moan if Ardbeg had decided to change the Bottles from their wonderful Green ones to a clear Bottle ? Quite a few i think.......

[Willie JJ]

I wonder how many here Would have a right old moan if Ardbeg had decided to change the Bottles from their wonderful Green ones to a clear Bottle ? Quite a few i think.......

I'm sure that's true and, just to contradict myself and show how susceptible I am to marketing, I do think the current Laphroiag 15 OB is an elegant and understated piece of packaging that I would hate to lose from my shelf. (Not to mention a damn fine dram to boot.)

[Sherried Malt]

I love seeing the actual color of my whisky but it's not a big deal in the overall scheme of things.

On the other hand, there may be a good reason to use colored glass. Red wine typically comes in green bottles which helps mitigate the negative (oxidative) effects of strong direct light. I've heard the same reasoning for using brown or green glass for beer bottles. Not sure if whisky is as susceptible to light damage, but since everybody tells you to store your bottles in a dark place...

[Sherried Malt]

Ok, so I just had to be a contrarian today. Other. I really do like the ceramic bottles I have gotten over the years. Purely an aesthetic thing though.

Do you collect the empties afterwards? Think they would look pretty nice together. On the other hand, I think it'd be difficult to tell how much whisky you have left in such a bottle. That would bug me. Ease of use and all that...

[woodhill]

But why such an emphasis on colour to the point of adding artificial colouring if the consumer (meaning purchaser here not drinker) can't see it till he gets the whisky home, out o' the bottle and into his glass.

[Reggaeblues]

Re: 10 Green bottles......................

"I wonder how many here Would have a right old moan if Ardbeg had decided to change the Bottles from their wonderful Green ones to a clear Bottle ? Quite a few i think......."

I for one!! Hands orf me Arrrdbeg and me Lag.

"I love you just the way you are!"

[Sherried Malt]

this is no time to quote billy joel. besides, he only drinks dewars white label!

Maybe that's what his trophy wives prefer...