Explainer |

Does a whisky’s age really matter? Barrel-aged Scotch is standard for brands like Macallan and Glenlivet, but the practice only took off in the mid-19th century …

• Modern distillers like America’s Lost Spirits sparked controversy for claiming they could condense a 20-year ageing process into just one week
• Single malts have grown in popularity – Gordon & Macphail’s 80-year-old Glenlivet is the world’s oldest single malt and was auctioned in Hong Kong this year