Chill-filtration

By Author: Bonny Kominek
Total Articles: 21
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Chill-filtration has long been a divisive subject, the overriding consensus is often against it, and it is seen as an unnatural and untraditional part of whisky production. Does it reflect the public''s preference of looks over real substance, or is it a necessary evil?

When whiskies are reduced in strength to less than around 46% abv, they can become cloudy, particularly when they reach cooler temperatures, or have water or ice added to them. The haziness is perfectly natural and occurs when the congeners and fatty acids present in the spirit clump together. These are removed by chilling the whisky to around 0?C, at this point the congeners and grouped together. The chilled spirit is passed through a fine mesh filter.

Chill-filtration is used solely to improve the look of a whisky, and to maintain consistency. It is, after all, reassuring for a customer to know exactly what they are ordering, and for that product to remain consistent, both in flavour and in appearance, no matter what temperature and no matter if ice of water is added.

So let''s look at some examples of popular chill-filtered whiskies, and ...
... see how the process has affected them. Let''s take Dalmore. It''s a highland distillery, noted for it''s full-bodied whiskies. The 12 year-old is a classic dram, awarded 90 points by noted critic Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible. It was awarded a Bronze at the International Wine and Spirits Competition too. It was crafted from whisky matured in both Oloroso sherry and bourbon casks. On the nose Dalmore 12 offers musty orange, cocoa, winter spice and coffee. The palate is thick and full with marmalade, chocolate orange and yuletide spices. It''s a fine whisky with a lot of body. Regardless, even Jim says Dalmore 12 ?has changed character of late but remains underpowered?.

Another example of a famous, classic single malt is Glenfiddich 12 Year Old. It also undergoes chill-filtration, and the Glenfiddich distillery produces some of the world''s best-selling single malts. The 12 year old is an award winner, with a gold medal from the 2007 International Wine and Spirit Competition. Glenfiddich 12 offers a honeyed nose with nutty notes and cut hay and sweet cereals. The palate is fruity and fresh with creamy vanilla and notes of juicy malt. Jim Murray even awarded it 92.5 points in his Whisky Bible. This is a rather good whisky.

So what about the best-selling whiskies? The blended whisky brands have fashioned their powerful market control on the foundations of familiarity. We buy what we are familiar with, we don''t take risks, we see a name we know. We want consistency. And while brands like Teacher''s and Famous Grouse may not have the subtle nuances of their single malt cousins, nor, necessarily, the same capacity for wide-ranging flavour profiles, they are the staple backbone of the whisky industry. Without their massive malt whisky requirements, many distilleries wouldn''t be in existence. Yes, there is a good chance that many malts would be improved without this filtration and yes, we like our whisky to be as pure and natural as possible, but there are many fine whiskies that have been chill-filtered, and if this is part of maintaining consistency and keeping the customers ? who fund the industry, after all ? happy, then we really can''t complain.

The whiskies mentioned in this article are available from the excellent Master of Malt. Bonny Kominek has been tasting single malt whisky for over 20 years. One of his favourites at the moment is Tomatin Whisky, a single cask single malt whisky.