Can you taste whether a whisky has been coloured?

The older the whisky, the better it is; truly good whisky comes from Scotland; single malts taste better than blends—quite a few statements are made in the whisky world. But what’s true? And what’s nonsense? I asked whisky expert Sietse Offringa. This week: can you taste whether a whisky has been coloured?

Sietse: “Apart from straight bourbons, almost all whiskies are coloured. This is mainly done to even out colour differences between the same bottlings from different years. A pale yellow whisky will not quickly be coloured dark brown. The colouring is done with the colourant E150a, also known as ‘spirit caramel’.”

“Some people say they can taste it as a somewhat sweeter flavour in the whisky, but that is highly unlikely. It is not actually caramel, but caramel colour, which tastes very bitter and cannot be tasted in the whisky in the quantities in which it is present. If your whisky is somewhat sweeter, that is probably due to the cask it was matured in or the grain it was made from.”

Also read:

• Is single malt better than blended whisky?
• Does truly good whisky only come from Scotland?
• Is older whisky always better?
• Buying whisky by flavour? Here’s how