C – like Cask Strength
What does the term cask strength mean?
Cask strength is an English term and literally means cask strength.
What is meant by cask strength?
If a whisky is bottled in cask strength, this means that the matured spirit has not been diluted with deionised water after the cask has been emptied and before bottling. Cask strength is therefore the alcohol strength (the alcohol content) at which the whisky comes out of the cask into the bottle.
Does cask strength only refer to one cask?
No. A whisky that is bottled at cask strength can come from either one, two or more casks. The number does not matter. The only difference is that no water may be added before the whisky is bottled.
Does the designation Cask Strength have to be stated on the label?
No. This information does not have to appear on the label of a whisky bottle. However, it makes perfect sense for the producer to let the consumer know that the content has the alcohol concentration that it has obtained naturally after years of ageing.
What is the alcohol content of a cask strength whisky?
This is very different. Cask strength whiskies usually have a relatively high alcohol content, which can be anywhere between 55 and 65 per cent by volume. However, there are also whiskies, especially if they have matured over a very long period of several decades in one or more casks, which already have a low alcohol content of between 40 and 45 per cent by volume when undiluted.
Where does the variation in the alcohol content of cask strength whiskies come from?
This depends on the angels’ share. This is the part of the liquid content that escapes from the maturation cask through evaporation over time. Depending on the prevailing temperature, humidity and other conditions in the warehouse, relatively more alcohol than water can escape from such a cask during the maturation of the whisky through evaporation. In this way, the alcohol content in the whisky decreases during cask maturation. However, there are also whiskies that gain in alcohol strength, as relatively more water than alcohol evaporates during cask maturation. This is particularly the case in warm and dry regions.
What is the advantage for the consumer of buying whisky at cask strength?
One advantage for the consumer is that with a cask strength whisky you can play with the addition of a few drops of water in the glass and thus capture its sensory changes as the alcohol content decreases. This is because the addition of water causes flavours to be released, masked or pushed into the background in different ways, so that the whisky is constantly changing. That can be very exciting. In addition, the connoisseur simply gets more “whisky for his money” with a whisky bottled at cask strength – compared to a bottling diluted to 40 per cent by volume – and that is certainly a bonus that should not be neglected.
What is the advantage for the distillery of bottling a whisky at cask strength?
It makes perfect sense for a distillery to have at least one cask strength bottling in its portfolio alongside whisky at drinking strength (usually 40%, 43% or 46%). Because a whisky at cask strength offers pure flavour: unadulterated, undiluted and not chill-filtered. With single cask bottlings, this can be extremely exciting, as each cask reflects its individual character in the whisky and can differ significantly from the contents of a neighbouring sister cask.
Which whiskies are bottled in cask strength at St Kilian?
Our handfilled single malt whiskies, which are only available on site in the distillery shop in Rüdenau, are cask strength whiskies. Many other single cask or special bottlings are also bottled undiluted. Our Signature Editions, on the other hand, are mostly single malt whiskies that are bottled at drinking strength (at least 46%) or at a higher drinking strength. Sometimes, lowering the cask strength with water by just a few percentage points can be enough to achieve the desired flavour profile for the whisky, which we and hopefully our fans like.
