Here's my entirely unscientific analogy: chill filtering whisky is like deglazing the fond from a pan and throwing away all those bits and drippings rather than keeping them in. I wonder: has any distillery ever released two versions of the same batch--one half of it having been chill filtered and the other half foregoing that process? I'll guess not, and I'll bet most of us will come up with the same several reasons why they wouldn't do that. Thanks for presenting another well-articulated, informative video!
I’m sure someone has at some point, but I think in many instances it’s so ingrained in the process it would be far too much effort! Would definitely love to see it, though. Cheers! 🥃
I think that’s shared by a fair few of the newer wave drinkers too…. I’ll be honest though, if I get a bottle and I don’t see “UCF”, I always have a little flicker of disappointment, even though I understand it’s likely not THAT big a deal
Great video buddy. Good to see both sides of the argument covered with some of the pros and reasons why chill filtering happens. Personally I rather see it without as it feels a more authentic reflection of the whisky but it wouldn't stop me from enjoying one that has been chill filtered. Possibly some whiskies are better for it, I probably can't even taste a difference 😂. Cheers
Very informative and interesting video. Do you have an explanation, why Diageo and others never mention on the label, that the Whisky is chillfiltered?
Thank you very much! I think it’s likely for 2 reasons… 1) it’s been a “standard” of sorts for a fair while now, so it’s likely that it would simply be assumed that it is unless the bottle states otherwise… And 2) because those who actually know about it or care wether it is or not might not see it as an especially positive attribute so why tell people if you don’t have to? But that’s purely speculation, and my opinion. There is no legal requirement to specify either way, so any bottler specifying that a whisky is or is not chillfiltered is them choosing to give us more information than they are obliged to give.
I do love a big hazy IPA, that's for sure. Tbh i rarely chill, nor water down my whisky, so it's not usually something I come across THAT often! Slainte! 🥃
@@callummackinnon1050 It absolutely is. I've not had a cigar in a LONG time. I recently heard of a place in town that does good cigars and whisky. I wanna say the Dakota Hotel?
Thanks for another super interesting diary entry. Personally I like a less controlled whiskey with less processing. I see why chill filtration can be appealing to give you a refined more subtle, predicable taste but at the cost of the raw honesty of the drink and just feels less interesting. I think I might need to continue to test and drink a lot more to ratify this theory.
Highly recommend you do!! (Responsibly, of course). Yeah I feel like there’s just an honesty there, but then again I know a lot of people that have been drinking the same stuff for years, and really don’t feel the need to change. Slainte! 🥃
Most of my current favourites are up in the high 50s, NCF, no fake tan. Used to run whisky tastings for a couple of years about a decade ago now. Nowadays I’m just having the occasional relaxing dram at home. Things like the Kilkerran Heavily Peated and Benromach Cask Strength have been speaking to me more than a lot of stuff that’s out there. Although I do still enjoy plenty of 40-46% drams too. I think Diageo’s classics are all chill filtered and e150a added, but I still enjoy the Clynelish 14 and Dalwhinnie 15. It’s horses for courses really. Personally though, a bit of scotch mist doesn’t put me off at all.
Me too, mate! Love the big ABV’s. Aye I believe a lot of the Diageo entry stuff is more “classic” stats, but they are what they are. Literally picked up my first Clynelish 14 yesterday. Good stuff! Slainte! 🥃
@@itsgoodjuice nice nice. Between you and me, there's currently a cask strength 10 year Clynelish @ 58.8% out there, that's been readily available for a decent amount of time, that's worth checking out. Its not cheap though, which, along with the name not being exactly hidden, but also not explicitly on there, has meant you can still get it. Have a search for "cask 2505" in your search engine of choice and you should be able to find it.
Right there with you on the "big three" (higher ABV, NCF, natural color). Was recently lucky enough to be gifted a bottle of my choice. I said, "Well, I've had my eye on the Kilkerran Heavily Peated." Instant love!
Good stuff mate. I personally don't care about chill filterint. It is never something that I go out of my way to think about, so I can't really say that I notice any difference. I just enjoy good whisky for what it is.
Couldn’t agree more!! Good whisky is good whisky, but I do love that the standard is starting to shift to 43%+, unchillfiltered and natural Color. Slainte! 🥃
Oh this was interesting! Before the rise of popularity in hazy IPAs, chill haze was a big topic in home-brewing. I do wonder if hazy whisky has a place. Perhaps those fatty acids, fusel alcohols, etc. have something to offer in flavour and mouth feel. Warrants some investigation!
I believe it does, although I think the concentrations of those fatty acids and esters are far higher in undistllled products, but how I’d go about testing it would be a challenge. I’m a massive IPA fan. Gimme something 9% ABV and full of hops. Do love my imperial stouts too. Slainte! 🥃
Very nice review 👍, I always try to buy whiskies with non chill filtered, natural color, 46 or if I get something different than that is that I tried it before and loved it
Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate it. I drink my whisky to enjoy the flavors and the experience. I don't drink to get drunk. I want to enjoy my experience...so whether it is chill filtered or not really isn't a concern. I'm very much the same way with coloring issue. If you could tell me that the negligible amount of E150 is going to change me tasting bacon and smoke, honey suckle and oak into tasting bubblegum and skittles...then I might have a different opinion.
Really interesting vlog, Good explanation of the whole process, just dawned on me why they have to force the whisky through at pressure, if it's below feezing and its turning to a solid, I guess they have no choice. As for the great debate, I see a crystal clear whisky now at 40% or even higher and I'm a bit suspicious that I'm not getting the full experience, but then I'm also suspicious if they don't claim its unchillfiltered, and now some people are putting filtered or soft filtered on their labels. You might want to mention the actual filtration plant which is used for this process it really is industrial and again makes you wonder what is being removed. I just want the companies to be honest and tell us whether it's non chilfiltered, filtered at ambient, or chill filtered, because its' one of the above. The non chillfiltered variety being simply put through a basic sieve to remove the larger particles at ambient temperature. Finally my son didn't appreciate the background music, or noise as he called it. Cheers
Hey Ben! I have so many conflicting views on the subject… but more than anything I’m about transparency. I think we, as consumers, should be able to make those kinds of choices. Even letter codes or some sort of naming convention to be stashed away on the back of the bottle would be great,!!75 also don’t want there to be SO much control over the entire thing… I love to see distillers have a bit of fun!! If he doesn’t like that… he should hear what I listen to in my spare time! 😂 Thanks for watching, and for the comment! Talking about it this stuff is why I do this. Slainte! 🥃🥃🥃
I think in my case the problem might be that I had already been tasting whisky (rather than just drinking it) for a long time (maybe 30 years?) before NCF & higher ABVs became fashionable among 'enthusiasts', so I prefer a lot of 40% chill-filtered whiskies with e150a...
And it’s VERY important that those of us that are new to whisky don’t forget that. When I got into it nearly 2 years ago, the industry was already moving away from the 40%, CF, E150a paradigm, so I’ve not really known much different, but it’s very important that the people like yourself on whisky, without which this industry wouldn’t be where it is, are not left behind and neglected in exchange for the new drinkers. Thankfully I think we have some runway but, do you tend to shy away from the whiskies with the more fashionable numbers on the bottle? Are they less to your taste? Slainte! 🥃
@@itsgoodjuice I do buy 'integrity malts' (pardon the sound of me grinding my teeth!) as well, but I don't like fighting with my whisky, so I don't see words like "grip", "spicy", "exciting" etc. in the same positive light as some do. I'm trying to get hold of an old 40% Bunnahabhain 12 to do a side-by-side and don't want to prejudge the issue...
McDonald's is fine in a pinch, but no one will argue it isn't designed to be mass produced and a hand crafted burger isn't typically better. Chill filtration (and 40% ABV) just screams that it is a "fast food" whisky. It doesnt mean it is "bad", just generally inferior in objective qualities. I subjectively love several chill filtered, 40% whiskies but a well crafted, non-chill filtered, uncolored, 46%+ presentation indicates that the whisky was not designed for the mass market and has been designed with the enthusiast in mind.
Very well said, and couldn’t agree more, although… I think there are a lot of whiskies which have been doing it “their” way for so long the customer has come to expect that, and changing it just isn’t necessary as they can experiment on other lines. The whisky may have been considered incredibly “premium” in its day, but does the fact it doesn’t have what we consider those marks of quality… make it lesser quality now? Personally, I just think it’s a change in the market, and we must be a little careful not to write a whisky off just because the label doesn’t read well. Thanks for watching dude! Slainte mhath! 🥃
Fair-minded and informative. But as a whisky nerd who wants the maximum experience, chill-filtration is adulteration. Plus I just love the visuals of a cloudy dram. Here's a tip: a torch/flashlight held against the glass can help you notice haze when it is particularly light.
Thanks, Craig! I don’t disagree. I definitely prefer everything left in. I have a light fitted flush with my table for this very reason! Haha. Slainte! 🥃
Yeah whilst it’s not a deal breaker for me, it is something I like to see on the label, but then i tend to like the higher ABV’s so don’t see it that much really tbh. Slainte! 🥃
Wow " more sciency" c'mon. I found the vid extremely informative. So I thank you for that. On one of your other videos you said its best for newbies to get down to a whisky bar. Well, last week I found one in the Glenesk Hotel in Edzell but sadly as it was in the morning there was no staff to talk to
Cheers dude! Much appreciated! Absolutely… love a good bar. I find hotels can something be a bit hit or miss… but there’s usually someone doing the buying and if you find them, then you’ll usually hit a goldmine of knowledge, or at worst… just a load of fun whiskies to try! Slainte! 🥃
Does chill filtration matter to you? Is your favourite whisky chill-filtered? Do you care about hazy whisky? Let me know below!! ⬇⬇⬇
If it tastes and smells good im good😎
Mouth feel matters to some extant as well
I am early into my whisky journey and am really enjoying the quality of your videos. Very helpful but not pushy. Thank you.
I enjoy the oily texture, that in my opinion, helps the flavour lingerie for longer. Great video as always 👍
Here's my entirely unscientific analogy: chill filtering whisky is like deglazing the fond from a pan and throwing away all those bits and drippings rather than keeping them in.
I wonder: has any distillery ever released two versions of the same batch--one half of it having been chill filtered and the other half foregoing that process? I'll guess not, and I'll bet most of us will come up with the same several reasons why they wouldn't do that.
Thanks for presenting another well-articulated, informative video!
I’m sure someone has at some point, but I think in many instances it’s so ingrained in the process it would be far too much effort! Would definitely love to see it, though. Cheers! 🥃
Just found your Channel, Love your Videos - keep Up the good Work
Thanks, Jan! Slainte! 🥃🥃
Excellent video. Informative and thought-provoking
Thanks bud! Very much appreciated. Thanks for watching, Slainte! 🥃
I don't necessarily 'care ' about CF, BUT I do look for the wonderful words 'non chill filtered' when purchasing
I think that’s shared by a fair few of the newer wave drinkers too…. I’ll be honest though, if I get a bottle and I don’t see “UCF”, I always have a little flicker of disappointment, even though I understand it’s likely not THAT big a deal
What a fine looking lab coat in the thumbnail!! Great video ;)
Hahaha thanks buddy! I’ll have that back to you soon… drams or beers?
Very well explained, Ben. Thanks.
Slàinte mhath
Thanks, dude! Very much appreciated. Slainte! 🥃
thank you sir! it was very useful informations for me
Great video buddy. Good to see both sides of the argument covered with some of the pros and reasons why chill filtering happens. Personally I rather see it without as it feels a more authentic reflection of the whisky but it wouldn't stop me from enjoying one that has been chill filtered. Possibly some whiskies are better for it, I probably can't even taste a difference 😂. Cheers
Very informative and interesting video. Do you have an explanation, why Diageo and others never mention on the label, that the Whisky is chillfiltered?
Thank you very much!
I think it’s likely for 2 reasons… 1) it’s been a “standard” of sorts for a fair while now, so it’s likely that it would simply be assumed that it is unless the bottle states otherwise… And 2) because those who actually know about it or care wether it is or not might not see it as an especially positive attribute so why tell people if you don’t have to? But that’s purely speculation, and my opinion.
There is no legal requirement to specify either way, so any bottler specifying that a whisky is or is not chillfiltered is them choosing to give us more information than they are obliged to give.
I love it when it goes cloudy and hazy. Think it adds to the experience. It’s the same with beers I love a big juicy hazy ipa
I do love a big hazy IPA, that's for sure. Tbh i rarely chill, nor water down my whisky, so it's not usually something I come across THAT often! Slainte! 🥃
@@itsgoodjuice me either I only see it when sitting outside with a cigar as it’s usually cold enough at night here in Glasgow
@@callummackinnon1050 It absolutely is. I've not had a cigar in a LONG time. I recently heard of a place in town that does good cigars and whisky. I wanna say the Dakota Hotel?
@@itsgoodjuice not too sure, something I’ll need to check out
Thanks for another super interesting diary entry. Personally I like a less controlled whiskey with less processing. I see why chill filtration can be appealing to give you a refined more subtle, predicable taste but at the cost of the raw honesty of the drink and just feels less interesting. I think I might need to continue to test and drink a lot more to ratify this theory.
Highly recommend you do!! (Responsibly, of course). Yeah I feel like there’s just an honesty there, but then again I know a lot of people that have been drinking the same stuff for years, and really don’t feel the need to change. Slainte! 🥃
Most of my current favourites are up in the high 50s, NCF, no fake tan. Used to run whisky tastings for a couple of years about a decade ago now. Nowadays I’m just having the occasional relaxing dram at home. Things like the Kilkerran Heavily Peated and Benromach Cask Strength have been speaking to me more than a lot of stuff that’s out there. Although I do still enjoy plenty of 40-46% drams too. I think Diageo’s classics are all chill filtered and e150a added, but I still enjoy the Clynelish 14 and Dalwhinnie 15. It’s horses for courses really. Personally though, a bit of scotch mist doesn’t put me off at all.
Me too, mate! Love the big ABV’s. Aye I believe a lot of the Diageo entry stuff is more “classic” stats, but they are what they are. Literally picked up my first Clynelish 14 yesterday. Good stuff! Slainte! 🥃
@@itsgoodjuice nice nice. Between you and me, there's currently a cask strength 10 year Clynelish @ 58.8% out there, that's been readily available for a decent amount of time, that's worth checking out. Its not cheap though, which, along with the name not being exactly hidden, but also not explicitly on there, has meant you can still get it. Have a search for "cask 2505" in your search engine of choice and you should be able to find it.
@@barryfrombarnsley2790 literally just scooped a bottle of that! Thanks for the recommendation!
@@itsgoodjuice No worries man, enjoy
Right there with you on the "big three" (higher ABV, NCF, natural color). Was recently lucky enough to be gifted a bottle of my choice. I said, "Well, I've had my eye on the Kilkerran Heavily Peated." Instant love!
Good stuff mate. I personally don't care about chill filterint. It is never something that I go out of my way to think about, so I can't really say that I notice any difference. I just enjoy good whisky for what it is.
Couldn’t agree more!! Good whisky is good whisky, but I do love that the standard is starting to shift to 43%+, unchillfiltered and natural Color. Slainte! 🥃
Oh this was interesting! Before the rise of popularity in hazy IPAs, chill haze was a big topic in home-brewing. I do wonder if hazy whisky has a place. Perhaps those fatty acids, fusel alcohols, etc. have something to offer in flavour and mouth feel. Warrants some investigation!
I believe it does, although I think the concentrations of those fatty acids and esters are far higher in undistllled products, but how I’d go about testing it would be a challenge. I’m a massive IPA fan. Gimme something 9% ABV and full of hops. Do love my imperial stouts too. Slainte! 🥃
Very nice review 👍, I always try to buy whiskies with non chill filtered, natural color, 46 or if I get something different than that is that I tried it before and loved it
Not a bad rule! I’m very much the same, but really try not to judge a bottle by its label, y’know? Thanks for watching! Slainte! 🥃
Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate it. I drink my whisky to enjoy the flavors and the experience. I don't drink to get drunk. I want to enjoy my experience...so whether it is chill filtered or not really isn't a concern. I'm very much the same way with coloring issue. If you could tell me that the negligible amount of E150 is going to change me tasting bacon and smoke, honey suckle and oak into tasting bubblegum and skittles...then I might have a different opinion.
Great whisky as always mate. Interesting take but for me. NCF and no colour added was how God intended it! 😉
Amen, brother! Slainte! 🥃
Really interesting vlog, Good explanation of the whole process, just dawned on me why they have to force the whisky through at pressure, if it's below feezing and its turning to a solid, I guess they have no choice.
As for the great debate, I see a crystal clear whisky now at 40% or even higher and I'm a bit suspicious that I'm not getting the full experience, but then I'm also suspicious if they don't claim its unchillfiltered, and now some people are putting filtered or soft filtered on their labels.
You might want to mention the actual filtration plant which is used for this process it really is industrial and again makes you wonder what is being removed.
I just want the companies to be honest and tell us whether it's non chilfiltered, filtered at ambient, or chill filtered, because its' one of the above. The non chillfiltered variety being simply put through a basic sieve to remove the larger particles at ambient temperature.
Finally my son didn't appreciate the background music, or noise as he called it. Cheers
Hey Ben! I have so many conflicting views on the subject… but more than anything I’m about transparency. I think we, as consumers, should be able to make those kinds of choices. Even letter codes or some sort of naming convention to be stashed away on the back of the bottle would be great,!!75 also don’t want there to be SO much control over the entire thing… I love to see distillers have a bit of fun!!
If he doesn’t like that… he should hear what I listen to in my spare time! 😂
Thanks for watching, and for the comment! Talking about it this stuff is why I do this. Slainte! 🥃🥃🥃
I think in my case the problem might be that I had already been tasting whisky (rather than just drinking it) for a long time (maybe 30 years?) before NCF & higher ABVs became fashionable among 'enthusiasts', so I prefer a lot of 40% chill-filtered whiskies with e150a...
And it’s VERY important that those of us that are new to whisky don’t forget that. When I got into it nearly 2 years ago, the industry was already moving away from the 40%, CF, E150a paradigm, so I’ve not really known much different, but it’s very important that the people like yourself on whisky, without which this industry wouldn’t be where it is, are not left behind and neglected in exchange for the new drinkers. Thankfully I think we have some runway but, do you tend to shy away from the whiskies with the more fashionable numbers on the bottle? Are they less to your taste? Slainte! 🥃
@@itsgoodjuice I do buy 'integrity malts' (pardon the sound of me grinding my teeth!) as well, but I don't like fighting with my whisky, so I don't see words like "grip", "spicy", "exciting" etc. in the same positive light as some do. I'm trying to get hold of an old 40% Bunnahabhain 12 to do a side-by-side and don't want to prejudge the issue...
Nice explanation. thz
My pleasure! Cheers! 🥃🥃
McDonald's is fine in a pinch, but no one will argue it isn't designed to be mass produced and a hand crafted burger isn't typically better. Chill filtration (and 40% ABV) just screams that it is a "fast food" whisky. It doesnt mean it is "bad", just generally inferior in objective qualities. I subjectively love several chill filtered, 40% whiskies but a well crafted, non-chill filtered, uncolored, 46%+ presentation indicates that the whisky was not designed for the mass market and has been designed with the enthusiast in mind.
Very well said, and couldn’t agree more, although… I think there are a lot of whiskies which have been doing it “their” way for so long the customer has come to expect that, and changing it just isn’t necessary as they can experiment on other lines.
The whisky may have been considered incredibly “premium” in its day, but does the fact it doesn’t have what we consider those marks of quality… make it lesser quality now? Personally, I just think it’s a change in the market, and we must be a little careful not to write a whisky off just because the label doesn’t read well. Thanks for watching dude! Slainte mhath! 🥃
Fair-minded and informative. But as a whisky nerd who wants the maximum experience, chill-filtration is adulteration. Plus I just love the visuals of a cloudy dram. Here's a tip: a torch/flashlight held against the glass can help you notice haze when it is particularly light.
Thanks, Craig! I don’t disagree. I definitely prefer everything left in. I have a light fitted flush with my table for this very reason! Haha.
Slainte! 🥃
Nice video. Don’t really care about it. But I know a lot of people want to see it on the label. Also if they added any colour to it.
Yeah whilst it’s not a deal breaker for me, it is something I like to see on the label, but then i tend to like the higher ABV’s so don’t see it that much really tbh. Slainte! 🥃
Wow " more sciency" c'mon. I found the vid extremely informative. So I thank you for that. On one of your other videos you said its best for newbies to get down to a whisky bar. Well, last week I found one in the Glenesk Hotel in Edzell but sadly as it was in the morning there was no staff to talk to
Cheers dude! Much appreciated! Absolutely… love a good bar. I find hotels can something be a bit hit or miss… but there’s usually someone doing the buying and if you find them, then you’ll usually hit a goldmine of knowledge, or at worst… just a load of fun whiskies to try! Slainte! 🥃
People need to stop focusing on chill filtration, like it completely ruins the whisky for some. Rediculous.