Why Your Whiskey’s Age Matters

We’re living in the golden age of whiskey. Open up a bar menu these days, and you’re likely to find bourbon, rye, and single malts; stuff from Japan, Tennessee, India, and Ireland; bottles that are old, bottles that are young, and bottles that are age-ambiguous. For those of us who aren’t whiskey experts, that last distinction can be the most confusing: does age matter? And how does aged whiskey significantly differ from its more youthful counterparts? The older bottles on a whiskey list are going to be more expensive, but are they necessarily better? We asked three booze experts to weigh in on whether or not that age statement matters. See more at GQ.