Chill Filtered Whisky

I’ve recently asked via the website : www.prestigewhisky.com by a customer to talk about the difference between chilled and non chill-filtered whiskies.

So here goes …..To start with most single malt whiskies are usually chilled before being sent out from the distillery. This drop in temperature can cause them to become cloudy.

The haziness that is then present actually comprises protein and various other elements which have dropped out of suspension.These are then removed by a method of filtration.

The filtration then stops a haze forming again if the purchaser of the whisky stores the liquid in the fridge or adds ice in the drink. Bear in mind though that In the United Kingdom most whisky lovers do not add ice or store the whisky in the fridge. This is much more prevalent within Europe or in other global overseas markets (the USA and India for example – where ‘scotch on the rocks’ is quite common).

Of course the main producers of whisky are aware that much of their product is exported to those overseas markets thus the practice of chill/filtration.