What the Floc is That?!

Have you ever seen those particles floating around in whiskey? Well, in our case they’re supposed to be there, so don’t freak out! This phenomenon is completely natural and is called flocculation – precipitation from solution in the form of fleecy masses. Sounds….interesting, right? Well, there’s an explanation for this and it actually has quite a few benefits!

Flocculation occurs when grain oils (or in our case corn oils) come out of solution due to a plethora of reasons, the main one being changes in temperature. When the solution is warm the oils are able to dissolve away but as the temperature lowers, they fall out and combine into the creamy off-white clouds you see in the bottle. These clouds are natural and the whiskey is 100% safe to drink. It actually adds to the complex mouthfeel of the drink – simply shake the bottle and watch the clouds disappear.

Filtering spirits can stop flocculation from occurring, however, our John Shaw Bourbon Whiskey is intentionally left unfiltered. When filtering a spirit, you must put the liquid under freezing conditions to filter out the heavy oils which keep the product looking clear. Yet when you do this, it can lose some complexity and desired mouthfeel. For some products this is beneficial, but we believe our John Shaw Bourbon would lose characteristics that make it unique. 

If you see some clouds in your whiskey, know that it’s safe (and intentional in this case)! This odd formation in your bottle is natural and only adds to the flavor and texture of the whiskey. Just give the bottle a shake before serving. 

John Shaw Bourbon Whiskey is distilled from Hidden Marsh Distillery, our distillery located right on-premise. All of our spirits are available to taste and can be purchased in our tasting room.