The Angels’ Share

During the maturation of Scotch whisky, about 2% is lost from the cask through evaporation. The UK Revenue and Customs accept the vanished amount as part of the production process, and duty is not claimed. The lost amount is known as ‘The Angels’ Share’.

cartoon of … “a play of words between ‘Cher’ and the Angels Share” by Steven Carroll … click the picture for a link to Steven’s site

Expert opinion

As the experts at Bruichladdich Distillery on the Isle of Islay say:

For Scotch to be legally called Scotch, it must be matured in oak barrels, in Scotland, for at least three years.  Oak barrels are permeable however, and they absorb a significant amount of liquid over time.

As much as 5% of the volume of the new spirit we put into a cask will be quickly absorbed into the thirsty wood when it is initially filled – but it does not stop there.  A smaller proportion, up to 2%, will go right through the grain each year and out into the atmosphere to be lost forever (unless you are an angel).  It is therefore not uncommon for a cask that is fifteen years old to be half empty by the time it is bottled.

Angels’ Share Series

What do you get when you uncover a corrosive blend of corrupt politicians, bent government officials, criminal bankers, greedy business people, and gangsters, all lining their pockets at public expense? A death sentence—that’s what.

Mac Logan’s Angels’ Share series takes the idea and explores how it can be twisted into a dark criminal conspiracy of self-serving officials, business people, bankers and organized crime. People who:

• evaporate money from contracts, drugs and human trafficking.
• make and hide vast profits in their vicious, self-serving greed.
• learn how to kill to protect their revenues.

If you’d like to know more about Angels’ Cut or Dark Art, follow the links in the sidebar.

Mac Logan
©