All the whiskies listed on this page are 4 years old (they have spent 4 years in the cask). Whiskies of this age
are considered to be very young and will have fresh sharp profiles and generally a short finish. More and more young whiskies are becoming popular with big name distilleries releasing ever younger expressions. This also allows enthusiasts to follow the development of a whisky from its younger years through to its teens with each new release from the distillery. Distilleries are experimenting with small or quarter casks to mature whiskies faster, giving the young ones the deeper and fuller flavours of older whiskies.
The age of a whisk(e)y is determined by the length of time it has spent in the cask before being bottled. Once the whisk(e)y has been bottled the aging process stops. A whisk(e)y bottled at 4 years old will always be a 4 year old whisk(e)y even in a hundred years. By then the vintage of the whisk(e)y would still make it a rare and valuable item.
When dealing especially with blends, but also with single malts, some of the whisk(e)y may be older than the stated age. However none of the whisk(e)y will be younger.
