No age statement whisky

A bad sign?

Not at all! For some years now, whiskies have sometimes been referred to as "NAS", which stands for "No Age Statement".

This designation enables distilleries to better manage their stock, as well as giving them creative flexibility. On the other hand, legislation is very demanding on one point: the age of the youngest whisky making up the whisky must be displayed on the label. For example, if a distillery wishes to add 5-year-old whisky to a 15-year-old whisky, to give it a touch of liveliness. This would automatically be sold as 5-year-old whisky. 

So don't shy away from whiskies with no age statement. Aberlour whiskies are perfect examples!

Is a dark whisky necessarily aged?

Not necessarily! When the brandy comes out of the still, it's transparent, and it's only as it ages that it takes on color. So yes, the darker color means it's aged. But there's also a second reason: the influence of wood. Wood influences the color of whisky. For example, a whisky aged in a sherry, port or other red wine cask is bound to be darker than one aged in an oak cask. 

In addition, some distilleries add colorant to their whisky to make it darker, mainly for marketing reasons, but also to unify the color of a whisky production. It can happen that not all whiskies of the same reference are exactly the same color, depending on the cask used.