From cask to bottle
ABV means alcohol by volume: the proportion of pure alcohol in the total liquid volume. Scotch has a legal minimum bottling strength of 40% ABV; many producers choose 43%, 46% or higher.
Spirit is often reduced with water before cask filling. Its strength changes during maturation through evaporation and climate. Water may be added again before bottling to reach a chosen, consistent strength.
- ABV is alcohol as a percentage of volume
- Scotch is bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV
- Cask strength rewards slow, deliberate tasting
What does cask strength mean?
Cask strength usually means whisky bottled at or close to the strength of the cask or combined casks, without reduction to a conventional standard strength. It is neither a universal quality seal nor a fixed percentage.
Higher ABV may offer concentration, texture and more scope for adding water, but can also produce more alcohol prickle. Read batch, cask, bottling date and exact ABV together; cask strength may vary by batch.
Compare and dilute fairly
Taste a small amount neat first, then add neutral water drop by drop. Let the glass rest and note when fruit, malt, smoke or spice opens and when texture begins to fade.
For a fair comparison, bring two whiskies to roughly equal strength where practical, using the same glass and temperature. Serve smaller measures at high strength; ABV is not a flavour score.
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Sources, image makers, licences and methodology are brought together here. Wherever possible, Whisk(e)y Compare links bottle data and distillery status to producers, trade bodies and other primary sources. Scores describe flavour intensity, not quality.