There are several whisky countries of origin; Ireland, Japan, India, the US and Canada - but to begin with we will introduce the whiskies of Scotland ( blended Scotch & Single Malt Scotch) and we’ll begin with colour

We can all see the difference but what does it mean? The pale bottle on the left is the natural colour and 5 years old, the dark bottle on the right is aged in a sherry cask and is 16 years old. The extra years in the cask have added colour. The bottle in the middle is likely to have had it’s colour enhanced, or standardised, by the addition of a colouring agent called caramel. The dark bottle may also of have some caramel added. So the first thing to be careful about is to not always trust what the colour communicates - because in most cases it is not a guarantee of either age or quality.