Labels

The label is the most important single element of identification of a whisky bottle.
The label is generally made of paper or might be occasionally engraved on the
bottle itself. The purpose is this item is to identify the product and the trade name
or brand.
The amount of information present on the label might be very limited (e.g., only
volume of the bottle, strength and a brand name) to very extensive (see for
example label 3). In this document, I will try to explain the different information
that you can gather just by reading a label, based on 3 different examples (label 1,
2, and 3).
So lets start with the number 1:

Well, the label is directly printed on the bottle and some writing is printed on in
such a way that you have to play with the light in order to guess some parts of the
text:
1. The volume corresponds to the volume of the whisky contained in the bottle.
In Europe, since the EU directives of 1992 are in force, the standard bottle
size must be 70 cl or 700 ml. In the US, the standard volume is 75 cl or 750
ml. Of course, bottles of smaller (e.g, 20 cl or 50 cl) or larger (e.g., 1.5 or
4.5 L) size can be produced.
2. Strength or alcohol by volume (ABV). It is expressed in percentage of
alcohol by volume. i.e., 46% correspond to a mixture of 46% of ethanol and
54% of water at 20C. In the US, the strength is expressed in degree Proof,
with 2 degree proof corresponding to 1 % ABV (or 1 US proof = 0.5 %
ABV). Caution! Under the old imperial metric system, the strength of the

bottles for the UK market was measured in UK (Imperial) degree proof with
the UK degree Proof being different from the US degree proof. (e.g., 100
UK degree proof = 104 US degree proof =57% ABV
3. In this case, the (brand) name corresponds to the name of the distillery.
4. Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Scotch whisky is defined by law,
indicating that the product is distilled in Scotland and matured at least for 3
years in Scotland. For more details on the definition of Scotch whisky,
see Whisky. Single Malt indicates that this whisky is made exclusively of
malted barley and it is the result of 1 distillery. Islay corresponds to the
geographical area of production. Scotland is traditionally divided in 5
production regions: Campebltown, Lowlands, Highlands (including
Speyside), Islands and Islay.
5. 2001 23.10.01 . The date and year corresponds to the start to the date of the
reopening of the distillery. In this case, the whisky was distilled in 2001 as
mentioned in the back label (not shown) and 2001 thus corresponds to the
vintage. It does not mean that this whisky was distilled on the 23rd of
October.
6. Distilled, Matured and Bottled at Bruichladdich Distillery Islay Scotland: it
indicates that all the production steps (distillation, maturation and bottling)
were performed by the Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay in Scotland.
Nowdays, in many distilleries the maturation is not anymore done at the
distillery but on the mainland, and the great majority of the whisky is bottled
the big Scottish cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh or Perth).
Summary: This label is relatively succinct, providing only information about
the distiller, the location of the maturation and its bottling, as well as the
strength of the whisky. No information concerning the age of the whisky is
provided. You have to go and search on the web (e.g.,
at www.bruichladdich.com) to find out that this Bruichladdich was indeed
distilled in 2001 and that the malt used for this whisky is unusually peated at 10
ppm instead of 5 ppm as for most Bruichladdich bottlings. With a phenolic
level of 10 ppm, the whisky is likely to be medium-lightly peated.
Label N2:

1. and 2): See label 1.

3) Age: The age indicates the age of the youngest whisky present in the
bottle. In this case, the youngest whisky is a least 12 years old.
4)
Glen Lairg: this is a trade name and does not correspond to the name of a
distillery. This whisky could have been produced by any distillery(ies) in
Scotland.
5) Pure Highland Malt Scotch Whisky: this information is rather vague and
Pure is unspecific. This might be the product of 1 or several distilleries (most
of the time). Malt indicates that only malt whisky was used. Highland indicates
the whisky has been produced anywhere in the Highlands (including Speyside).
Since about 90% of the distilleries are located in this area, this does not help
very much to identify the distillery(ies). In addition, different styles of whiskies
are produced in this region, so the whisky can be anything from malty to peaty,
with or without sherry influence.
6) Distilled, Matured & Bottled in Scotland by Clydesdale Scotch Whisky Co.
Edinburgh. In this case, the only information provided is the name of the owner
of the brand. In this case, a blender in Scotland based in Edinburgh. All the
production steps, distillation, maturation and bottling could have taken place in
3 different locations in Scotland.
Summary: This is a typical label to be found on the shelves of a supermarket,
with information made to confuse the consumer about its provenance. At the
exception of the volume and strength, the only information valuable found on
this label is that this whisky is at least 12 years old and that it is made
exclusively of malt whisky. However, no information about the distillery(ies) is
provided, nor the place of maturation and of bottling. Needless to say, you can
only guess at the flavour profile of this whisky.

Label 3:

1) See label 1.
2) Strength: whiskies are traditionally bottled at 40, 43 or 46%. When the
strength is different from these values, it might suggest that the whisky is cask
strength, or directly bottled straight from the cask.
3) Brora: This is the name of the distillery
4) Age: Age of the whisky.
5) Distillation: This label is very precise, with the exact date of the distillation
and cask filling.
6) Bottled: Exact date when the content of the cask was bottled.
7) Maturation in a sherry butt. This provided information on the type of cask
used for the maturation of this whisky. Sherry: indicates that the oak cask used
for the maturation has previously contained sherry. Butt indicates the size of the
cask used for its maturation. See Cask for the respective volume of this type of
cask.
8) Cask: Indicates the number of the cask in which the whisky was matured.
9) Natural Colour: Indicates that the colour of the whisky is natural. In most
whiskies bottled at 40-43%, caramel is usually added to the whisky in order to
obtain consistent colour between the different batches.
10) Cask individually selected and bottled by Signatory (). No information is
provided about the maturation, but this cask was selected by the company who
bottled this whisky. This also indicates that the company which bottled the
whisky is probably not the owner of the distillery.
Summary: this label provides almost all possible technical details about the
whisky, the place of maturation being the only missing information.
I have selected 3 labels, rather different from each other to illustrate the variability
of information that a label can carry. Some do only carry the strict minimum

(volume, strength and brand name), while some are more exhaustive, even
including tasting notes on top of the cask number, type of wood, etc. At the start,
the label was used to promote the brand and to capture the attention of the
customer by adding illustrations of Highlanders, Scotish Glens and other
archetypical Scottish images, without any reference to the content (e.g, smooth
or peaty whisky, old or young). For single malt whiskies, the situation was not
much better, with Gordon & MacPhail being pioneering in indicating the age of
distillation. Nowdays, the situation has considerably improved, with most (back)
labels providing information about the flavour profile and the production process
and/or other marketing information. Until the 1990s, more than 95% of the whisky
produced in Scotland was blended whisky, and the lions share caring the following
brand names: Johnny Walker, Teachers, Ballantines, J& B, Dewars, Haig, White
Horse and a few others. Since the last 10 years or so, single malts and whisky in
general, have become more fashionable and consumers more knowledgeable and
curious. As a consequence, the information carried on the label has significantly
improved. Age has always been an important element of information to attract the
customer and the price tag associated to older whiskies. Recently, a few companies
(e.g., Glenmorangie, Bruichladdich) have stepped back and decided to simply
delete the age statement or to replace it with the vintage information. This allows
the companies to keep the age of the content non-disclosed for mainly two reasons:
to allow fluctuation in the age of the whisky due to stock availability and/or to
justify a high price for a very young whisky. Of note, absence of age statement is
not necessarily associated with low quality product.
As a conclusion, a label is the single most important identifier of a whisky bottle.
Information on the label can be very limited or very exhaustive. Not only can it be
used to identify a brand, but it can help to date the bottle (for whisky collectors), to
help the choice of a consumer or to find more information about its contents (e.g.,
tasting notes). I hope that this report will help you to get the most of the label the
next time that you are in a whisky shop!
Slainte.