Chill filtering is a method in

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

making for removing residue. In chill filtering, whisky is cooled to between and passed through a fine

adsorption Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions or molecules from a gas, liquid or dissolved solid to a surface. This process creates a film of the ''adsorbate'' on the surface of the ''adsorbent''. This process differs from absorption, in which a f ...

filter. This is done mostly for cosmetic reasons — to remove cloudiness — however by many whisky drinkers it is thought to impair the taste by removing the details which differentiate between the many distilleries.

Method

Chill filtering prevents the whisky from becoming hazy when in the bottle, when served, when chilled, or when water or ice is added, as well as precluding sedimentation from occurring in the bottles. It works by reducing the temperature sufficiently so that some

fatty acids In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, f ...

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

and

esters In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides are ...

(created during the distillation process) precipitate out and are caught on the filter. Whiskies are usually chilled down to . Factors affecting the chill filtering process include the temperature, number of filters used, and speed at which the whisky is passed through the filters. The slower the process and the more filters used, the more of the distillates will be collected, but at increasing cost. This process generally impacts the taste of the whisky, by for example, removing peat particles that contribute to the complexity, subtlety and smokiness of the flavour. Some

distilleries Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

pride themselves on not using this process. Non-chill-filtered whisky is often advertised as being more "natural", "authentic", or "old-fashioned". For example, the

Aberlour Distillery Aberlour is a distillery of Speyside single malt Scotch whisky, in Aberlour, Strathspey, Scotland, at the confluence of the Lour Burn and River Spey near Ben Rinnes. History James Fleming (1830-1895) was born and baptised on the first day of ...

's distinctively flavored

A'bunadh A'bunadh is a cask-strength single malt whisky from the Aberlour Distillery in Scotland. Though it has no age statement, it is released in limited run batches, each batch carrying a unique number on its label. Each batch of this whisky is b ...

whisky, Laphroaig's ''Quarter Cask'' bottles,

Kilchoman Kilchoman ( or ; gd, Cill Chomain ) is a small settlement and large parish on the Scottish island of Islay, within the unitary council of Argyll and Bute. Settlement The settlement of Kilchoman consists of a small number of houses gather ...

' s Machir Bay, and all of

Springbank distillery The Springbank distillery is a family-owned single malt whisky distillery on the Kintyre Peninsula in western Scotland. It is owned by J & A Mitchell & Company, which also owns the Glengyle distillery, the oldest independent bottler, William C ...

's whiskies are not chill-filtered and are advertised as such. There are also a number of specialist whisky suppliers, such as the

Scotch Malt Whisky Society The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), founded in Edinburgh in 1983, is a membership organisation which bottles and sells single cask, single malt whisky Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery. Single malts are typica ...

, that provide bottlings from a wide range of distilleries without chill filtering.

Chemistry

Unfiltered whiskies chilled below a certain temperature can force some fatty acid esters out of suspension. In Scotch whisky these are usually agglomerations of ethyl dodecanoate and ethyl hexadeconate. Chill filtering removes these as well as ethyl palmitoleate from the whisky, although complete removal of ethyl dodecanoate is not seen as desirable as it tends to contribute positively to the character of a spirit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chill Filtering Filtration Whisky