Chill-Filtering Whisk(e)y 

Why is this still a thing?

Recently, there was a big summit in Kentucky.  Meeting were all the heavy hitter whisk(e)y producers worldwide.  The emergency session came about to resolve the unexpected taxes and tariffs recently implemented or that were imminent.  Now, sure that’s important stuff what with cost of booze to the consumer.  After all, I’m a serious consumer.  But why didn't they take advantage of the situation and discuss equally important issues - like putting an end to Chill Filtering!

Chill Filtering is a process that takes place just prior to bottling, removing elements from the spirit that can make the whisk(e)y cloudy when cooled via water, ice, refrigeration, etc.  Whisk(e)y makers don’t want customers being turned off by their product due to cloudiness, so they’ve been utilizing this method for many, many years.  And I get it - as a kid, I’d choose clear apple juice over cloudy.

But here’s the thing: whisk(e)y drinkers aren’t 8 years old. Flavor is not affected in the least. Moreover, the cloudiness goes away when the whisk(e)y warms back up.  And most whiskies that would even need chill filtration are mixed with soda, so what’s the point??

Actually, I have a better solution.   Let’s just set the minimum alcohol by volume (ABV) for whiskies at 46%. Chill Filtration is effective on whiskies with ABV between 40-45%.  However, those at 46% ABV and higher do not benefit from the purely cosmetic process as the increased alcohol content is enough to prevent cloudiness when cooled. 

So, how did we get to the 40% minimum ABV, anyway? Basically, an inexact science came up with the percentage for taxation purposes.  Some sort of starting point was required, at some point, the United States settled on 40% for all distilled spirits.  (See Code of Federal Regulations Title 27 Part 5). 

WRONG WAY
Dalmore dropped the ABV
of their 12 Year from
43% to 40% in 2007  

Other countries, however, set their own standards, but for the most part, the bare minimum for a spirit to be called whisk(e)y is currently forty percent worldwide. One reason for this as cited by Charles MacLean in his the book on Scotch, Miscellany of Whisky, “is that there is a sharp falling off of aroma and flavour if it is bottled below forty percent.”  That strikes me as random nonsense, but whatever.  By that logic, if you add any water to your Dalmore 12, Redbreast 12, or Basil Hayden's (all 40% ABV), you will be in some sort of no-longer-whisk(e)y danger zone.  Let Nature decide! And Nature's Forecast is...

* 46%+ Clear Skies with no chance of Cloudy *

C'mon, whiskeymakers - you go to a lot of trouble creating beautiful concoctions and then storing your spirit in oak casks for years! Why water it down… or rather “cut” it, to use industry vernacular, to the bare minimum required by law??  We know what Stan from Chotchkie’s would say. 

Some distilleries get it.  In 2007, Glenmorangie upped the ABV on all of their core whiskies from 43% to 46%.  Springbank has been doing the same thing for years.  Suntory and Nikka both experimented with Non-Chill Filtered (NCF) versions of some of their core expressions, Hibiki 17 and Taketsuru 17 & 21, respectively. And while many cask strength bourbons are NCF, definitely not all.  Basically, the label HAS to indicate “Non-Chill Filtered” to guarantee that it actually is NCF. 

Unlabeled NCF
According to K&L, their
Single Barrel #139 is NCF
but is unlabeled as such

Labeled NCF

I was shocked to learn that the regular Weller Antique 107 (53.5 ABV) IS Chill Filtered.  It absolutely doesn’t need to be as it is well over the threshold.  There are a handful of “Store Pick” Single Barrel bottlings of the Weller 107 out there that are NCF, but that has to be specifically requested by the store purchasing the barrel and its contents.  You’d think they’d get a discount for saving the distillery the time and labor, but probably not.  Plus, the store has to remember to tell those responsible at Buffalo Trace to label it “NCF” (or UCF…) 

Labeled UCF

That’s right, even bottlers cannot get on the same page on how to describe the absence of this process.  Some whiskies that are not chill filtered are described as Un-Chill Filtered (UCF) just as often as NCF.  Independent bottler Signatory Vintage has a whole line called the Un-Chill Filtered Collection. Even the terminology is a mess!

Another factor to take into account that not all Chill Filtration processes are the same – they can vary from distillery to distillery.  Ugh.  Just get rid of it all together, already! Contact your whisk(e)y representative today and demand an end to Chill Filtration!!

Until then, check the ABV, check the label - support whiskeymakers who do the right thing! And once this chill filtering issue gets resolved, what say we tackle the caramel color additive?  Looking at you, Scotland!

Further Reading:
https://www.bourbonbanter.com/banter/ncf-nobody-checks-first/#.W025fNhKiu7

https://www.bruichladdich.com/faq/bruichladdichs-guide-chill-filtration/