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What happens during maturation? What exactly does the cask do? Well it
has 3 functions. It had what they call mechanisms in the trade. First of all, it
extracts unwanted flavors in the new make spirit. Secondly it adds desirable
flavors, and thirdly, and most mysteriously, there is what they call an
interactive effect, and interactive mechanism the liquid in the cask breathes
through the walls of the cask, and develops certain desirable flavors, acetyls,
the chemical term, and other things. During the course of the maturation,
volume and strength is lost. Now, customs and excise allow for 2% of the
volume of the cask loss every year. This is called the angel's share, and it
amounts to approximately 50 liters of alcohol, in 10 years. During that time
the strength is coming down, the spirit is becoming more mellow, its
drawing flavors as I say from the walls of the cask, the char, particularly
these barrels are charred on the inside, whereas the puncheons and butts are
only toasted. The char extracts unwanted, particularly sulfury compounds,
and this wonderful interactive effect, the angel's taking a fair proportion of
the contents of the barrel. These are the 3 mechanisms of maturation.