How Evaporation Became One of Distilling’s Most Enduring Legends
Legend is that a long time ago the people of Ireland and Scotland suspected that angels descended to earth and enjoyed a small amount of their whisk(e)y directly from their casks. The proof of that tale was easy as with bottling less whisk(e)y was in the cask as upon filling them.
(About 2-5% of whiskey is lost annually due to Angel's Share evaporation in the aging process in oak barrels. Distillers around the globe believe that heaven loves fine spirits just as much as we humans do and that it a tribute worth paying to share with the Angels.
Despite the fact that the Angel's Share Legend is placed either in Ireland or England, it is quite likely that the origin of the idea is carried over from the French "la part des anges" that referred to the barrel aging loss of French Brandy (Cognac) - as the the Angel's Share. The term "Angel's Share" is commonly in use in distilling since ca. the 1970th.
The Distilling Culture
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This story is part of The Distilling Culture, an original literary collection conceived, researched, developed, edited, assembled, and curated by Caroline Porsiel. Comprising more than 150 stories first published between 2022 and 2026, the collection explores the history and culture of drinking through Caroline’s research, interpretation, narrative direction, thematic organization, and overarching creative vision. Published by House Of Applejay, Inc.
The Distilling Culture collection © 2022–2026 Caroline Porsiel. All rights reserved. No claim is made to ownership of the underlying historical facts or traditions. Copyright is claimed in the original writing, interpretation, narrative treatment, selection, coordination, arrangement, presentation, and collection as a whole.
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