Fac Potiones Excellens

Tipples → Alcoholic Beverage Products → Distillates → Spirits → Proofing and Aging

Proofing spirits by adding water is done to achieve a desired degree of proof, or alcohol content.
Aging Spirits was once an unintended consequence of storing them in wooden barrels. It is now commonly done intentionally for mellowing and flavor alteration.

Spirits are sold in several forms and at different ages:

• Raw spirits are those as from the still, un-diluted and un-aged.
• New spirits are down-proofed with water, but left un-aged. They are sometimes called 'silver,' 'white,' blanc, or blanco.
• Fine spirits are 'finished' (fine in French) and are usually direct spirits that have been stored in wood to any point defined below.
• Young spirits (including V.S. and reposado) are aged in wood briefly enough to mellow them and add some barrel flavor, while leaving dominant the flavor of the ingredients.
• Old spirits are aged in wood to the point of even balance between the flavors of the barrel and the ingredients.
• Very Superiour Old Pale spirits (V.S.O.P) are old spirits that retain the pale color of young spirits (a point lost among those Frenchmen dousing their products with caramel color).
• Extra-old spirits (X.O.) are aged in wood long enough that the barrel flavor becomes dominant.
• Beyond-age spirits (Hors d'age) are aged in wood long enough that the main flavor is that of the barrel.
• Unknown-age spirits (Age inconnu) are aged in wood until there is no flavor left of the ingredients. This prevents the comparison of flavors normally needed to discern age.
• Stars are used in the traditional French system to indicate the number of years of age. This ignores the description of flavor balance for each type that the British traditionally indicated. If a spirit using the French star system is blended between barrels of different ages, the age will be marked on the label with one star per year for the average age. The French have come to widely use the British system for describing age. Some French labels indicate age in both systems. A French brandywine, like Raynal, indicates both the British age of V.S.O.P. (in this case meaning each barrel in the blend is at least four years old) along with the French age of five stars, meaning the averaged age of all the barrels is five years.

Wood-aged spirits are usually down-proofed with water, but not always. Spirits distilled from different ingredients will age at different rates. This is due to differing richness of flavor in different ingredients. A Scotch malt whisky will age more slowly than a Bourbon whiskey and much more slowly than a Tequila mezcal. A Scotch whisky becomes old at between ten and twelve years. A Bourbon whiskey becomes young at two years, and old at four years. A Tequila mezcal becomes young at two months, and old at one year (añejo means 'yearling'). This is because barley has richer flavor than maize, and both of them have richer flavor than agave.

Historically, barrels were simply the storage container. Spirits were left in them only until they were to be consumed, or bottled for sale. In those times, spirits were considered lesser, or even ruined, if they were left in the barrel for too long. A remnant of that sort of wisdom is why a "late-bottled vintage" Port wine is considered inferior to the same vintage of Port wine that was gotten out of the barrel in time not to have its quality lost to the wood. Contrary to the wise example of Port wine, long storage of spirits in wood usually results in a higher price when they are sold. This is beacause of the desire for remuneration after such a delay in return on investment. Nowadays, some people have taken that higher price to be an indication of quality. They have been fooled to want the woody flavor of the container more than they want the flavor of the ingredient. This is benighted and degenerate. It should be shameful, but that reaction would require more understanding than the average status-seeking drinker will ever possess.