{"id":61218,"date":"2025-12-18T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T10:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T11:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T11:05:00","slug":"whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it time to overturn the 1915 Immature Spirits Act? Dave Worthington (AKA Boutique-y Dave) asks and answers some big questions.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve hosted numerous tastings over the years, and I always want to share my passion for this wonderful spirit<\/a>, so that hopefully someone else will find the enthusiasm to embark on their own journey of discovery. I want my tastings to be as approachable as possible, and I always say that there are no wrong questions to ask about whisky<\/strong>. There aren\u2019t, seriously!<\/span><\/p>\n

Every single one of us knew nothing about whisky until we were introduced to it through books, events, or our friends. I knew NOTHING about whisky when I had my \u2018Eureka\u2019 moment, and so had to ask plenty of questions. Sometimes, the information we\u2019ve been given is wrong, though. Just look back through some of the early whisky books, where the mystery of the spirit was often attributed to the water.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the examples I\u2019ve heard over the years\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can only make Single Malt<\/a> in Scotland\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cBourbon<\/a> can only be made in Kentucky\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOnly Scotland makes whisky; everybody else makes whiskey\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cBourbon is OK, but it\u2019s not as strong as Scotch!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

So please, never be afraid to ask questions, even if that means the host has to go right back to basics. If you don\u2019t like asking the question in public (I fully understand that), just grab them after a tasting, or drop them a line.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dave

Say hello to Dave, or @BoutiqueyDave as you might know him!<\/p><\/div>\n

The Three-Year Rule<\/b><\/h3>\n

One question I often ask at one of my tastings is: \u2018Why does whisky have to be three years old before it can be called whisky?\u201d It\u2019s a question that\u2019s always bothered me. It\u2019s a question I rarely get an answer to when I ask in a tasting I\u2019m hosting, too. Why was this three-year period of maturation necessary, and when did it start? Technically, if it\u2019s only whisky after sitting in oak for three years, then whisky isn\u2019t made at the distillery at all; it\u2019s made in the warehouse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three years isn\u2019t common across the world either; There are no minimum age statements for American Whiskey<\/a>. While there are strict rules on the manufacture of bourbon, rye<\/a>, and other whiskeys in the United States, and \u2018Straight Bourbon\u2019 must be at least 2 Years Old, there is no minimum age. Then, in Australia<\/a>, whiskies have to be matured for two years before they can be labelled as whisky.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is Tequila<\/a> (or mezcal<\/a>) when spirit comes off the still in Mexico, and rum<\/a> or rhum agricole<\/a> when molasses\/sugar cane is distilled, and while I don\u2019t tend to sip white rum (although some of it is wonderful!) I do love blanco agave spirits; try sipping it alongside a traditional Sangrita! There\u2019s also Blanche Armagnac, a clear spirit that\u2019s rested for at least 3 months in inert vessels. However, both wood-matured Armagnac<\/a> and Cognac<\/a> have minimum age requirements in wood, based on the season in which the grapes were harvested and the last permissible distillation date.<\/span><\/p>\n

So why three years in Scotland<\/a> and Ireland<\/a> (and the rest of Europe, which has adopted this practice)?<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, it all harks back to the Immature Spirits Act of 1915.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Water

What would you call this: new make? Whisky?<\/p><\/div>\n

Prohibition and the Immature Spirits Act<\/b><\/h3>\n

When one thinks of Prohibition, one immediately thinks of the United States of America. When the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution (also known as the Volstead Act) was passed in 1919, it made the production and sale of alcohol illegal, and it was in effect from 1920 to 1933. It had a devastating impact on American spirits, wiping out thousands of distilleries. At the time, just 10 licences were granted, and only six were taken up. On 5th December 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified, making alcohol once again legal in the United States. The 5th of December is now celebrated as \u2018Repeal Day\u2019 by US producers and bars.<\/span><\/p>\n

The threat of prohibition in the UK came a little earlier. Welsh politician David Lloyd George, who became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1908, was passionately concerned about the problems caused by alcohol, particularly in the wartime context \u2013 arguing that drink was doing more harm to the war effort than all the German submarines put together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reading The Making of Scotch Whisky, Moss & Hume (<\/em>1981), it sounds like the drinks industry bore the blame for not delivering the guns and shells that were urgently required at the front, rather than the lack of manpower and equipment, which was more likely the cause. Lloyd George advocated total prohibition of alcohol, but had to make do with a compromise of various measures, including a ban on the sale of spirits aged for less than three (initially two) years under the Immature Spirits (Restriction) Act 1915.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was both a reflection of the temperance movement\u2019s contention that \u2018immature\u2019 spirits caused more drunkenness than those left to age for longer, and also the concern of many in the Scotch whisky industry that irresponsible distillers were padding out cheap blends with large dollops of unaged grain spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"7

When is a whisky, whisky? As the world expands, our understanding constantly evolves.<\/p><\/div>\n

Am I on my own here?<\/b><\/h3>\n

While I understand the reasons for Scotch and Irish whisky\/whiskey to maintain their three-year rule, I don\u2019t understand why the rest of Europe, and most of the world, followed suit. I\u2019ve tasted some amazing \u2018new make spirit\u2019 that I\u2019d sip! In fact, we drink rum and agave spirits straight off the still; why not whisky?<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>I\u2019ve also tasted some very young whiskies from English distilleries that have been in casks for less than six months, that have picked up a decent hue of colour, and some tasty flavours that I would certainly define as whisky.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>I think it\u2019s about time the 1915 Immature Spirits Act is overturned. Whisky should be made in the distillery, and not the warehouse!<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Am I really on my own here?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it time to overturn the 1915 Immature Spirits Act? Dave Worthington (AKA Boutique-y Dave) asks and answers some big questions….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":59350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[893],"tags":[1969,894],"yoast_head":"\nWhisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old? | Master of Malt blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it wrong to call new make whisky? Boutique-y Dave explores.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old? | Master of Malt blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it wrong to call new make whisky? Boutique-y Dave explores.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Master of Malt blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-18T10:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-26T11:05:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"934\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dave Worthington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MasterOfMalt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MasterOfMalt\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dave Worthington\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/17bec3069ebdb27cb7c57fb3b50f50c1\"},\"headline\":\"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-18T10:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-26T11:05:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/\"},\"wordCount\":1055,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Dave Worthington\",\"Whisky\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Features\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/\",\"name\":\"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old? | Master of Malt blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-18T10:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-26T11:05:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it wrong to call new make whisky? Boutique-y Dave explores.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":934,\"caption\":\"The Debt Collector range\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Features\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/category\/features\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Master of Malt Blog\",\"description\":\"Whisky and Sprits news, reviews, features & interviews, innovations, offers and competitions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Master of Malt\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Master-of-Malt-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Master-of-Malt-logo.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Master of Malt\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/MasterOfMalt\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/masterofmalt\/\",\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/company\/master-of-malt\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/masterofmalt\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/17bec3069ebdb27cb7c57fb3b50f50c1\",\"name\":\"Dave Worthington\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5865949382a4ef9302330bc5f5729e0b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5865949382a4ef9302330bc5f5729e0b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dave Worthington\"},\"description\":\"Dave Worthington is That Boutiquey-Whisky Company\u2019s beloved and hard-working global brand ambassador. Recognised as the world whisky Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year by the Icons of Whisky awards in 2018, Dave started documenting his adventures and tastings as an enthusiast on his Whisky Discovery blog as far back as 2011 before leaving his engineering career behind to share his infectious love for this amazing spirit full-time.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/author\/dave-worthington\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old? | Master of Malt blog","description":"Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it wrong to call new make whisky? Boutique-y Dave explores.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old? | Master of Malt blog","og_description":"Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it wrong to call new make whisky? Boutique-y Dave explores.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/","og_site_name":"Master of Malt blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt","article_published_time":"2025-12-18T10:00:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-26T11:05:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":934,"url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dave Worthington","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MasterOfMalt","twitter_site":"@MasterOfMalt","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/"},"author":{"name":"Dave Worthington","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/17bec3069ebdb27cb7c57fb3b50f50c1"},"headline":"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old?","datePublished":"2025-12-18T10:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-26T11:05:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/"},"wordCount":1055,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg","keywords":["Dave Worthington","Whisky"],"articleSection":["Features"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/","name":"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old? | Master of Malt blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-18T10:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-26T11:05:00+00:00","description":"Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it wrong to call new make whisky? Boutique-y Dave explores.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg","width":1400,"height":934,"caption":"The Debt Collector range"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/whisky-of-ages-why-does-whisky-have-to-be-three-years-old\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog Home","item":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Features","item":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/category\/features\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Whisky Of Ages: Why Does Whisky Have To Be Three Years Old?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/","name":"Master of Malt Blog","description":"Whisky and Sprits news, reviews, features & interviews, innovations, offers and competitions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Master of Malt","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Master-of-Malt-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Master-of-Malt-logo.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Master of Malt"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt","https:\/\/x.com\/MasterOfMalt","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/masterofmalt\/","https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/company\/master-of-malt","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/masterofmalt"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/17bec3069ebdb27cb7c57fb3b50f50c1","name":"Dave Worthington","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5865949382a4ef9302330bc5f5729e0b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5865949382a4ef9302330bc5f5729e0b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dave Worthington"},"description":"Dave Worthington is That Boutiquey-Whisky Company\u2019s beloved and hard-working global brand ambassador. Recognised as the world whisky Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year by the Icons of Whisky awards in 2018, Dave started documenting his adventures and tastings as an enthusiast on his Whisky Discovery blog as far back as 2011 before leaving his engineering career behind to share his infectious love for this amazing spirit full-time.","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/author\/dave-worthington\/"}]}},"meta_description":"Why does whisky have to be three years old? Is it wrong to call new make whisky? Boutique-y Dave explores.","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Debt-Collector-Collection.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61218"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61567,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61218\/revisions\/61567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}