add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

[fgod222]

Hi,
To improve the taste, do you add sugar to the whiskey before bottling?
if yes, how much?
thank you

[bilgriss]

Why do you think that will improve the taste if done before bottling? Why not add it to whatever drink you make later if you want it to be sweet?
If you just want bottles of sweetened whiskey, I suppose you could add sugar to your proofing water until it's in solution and then proof down your whiskey with it.
My own preference is to age on wood until it's ready.

[Stonecutter]

No I don’t. And I don’t add it to my rum either.
To improve the taste of my whiskey I adjust my mashing, fermenting, distilling, and aging protocols. You should be able to sap plenty of sugar, vanilla and other “sweet” profiles from a half decent oak aging process.

[Bolverk]

I don't add sugar to rum or whiskey... neither really need it in my opinion, but I have been tempted to try making a caramel from a recipe in The Distiller... just to see how it tastes.

[Saltbush Bill]

To improve the taste, do you add sugar to the whiskey before bottling?

I think your being impatient and looking for shortcuts.
Both this and your post about rum are asking the same question, about the same thing.
Good washes or mashes, correct distilling procedures , good cuts and then time on Oak are what make good Rum and Whisky.
Your previous post asking about the minimum time before drinking Rum when it leaves the still, indicates the same thing. Your in a rush.
If it were possible to hurry the process the commercial guys would have been doing it for the last 200 or more years I'd think.

[Yonder]

Sugared whiskey? Sounds suspiciously like Sudden Discomfort. No thanks.

[Deplorable]

Sugared whiskey? Sounds suspiciously like Sudden Discomfort. No thanks.

Now there is a nickname for SC i have never heard.

[Setsumi]

If you realy want a sweeter wisky or rum add dried apricots to your aging stock. Be careful it can be very sweet. Another to add is dried dates., but in both cases your wisky profile changes more to a brandy profile.

[NZChris]

Hi,
To improve the taste, do you add sugar to the whiskey before bottling?
if yes, how much?
thank you

No, not to improve the taste.

I have used whiskey as an ingredient in liquors and liqueurs that have also contained sugar as an ingredient, often honey.

[Chauncey]

Hi,
To improve the taste, do you add sugar to the whiskey before bottling?
if yes, how much?
thank you

No.

[Dr Griz]

I think your being impatient and looking for shortcuts.

Can confirm. When I started out, I found an website like https://www.rumrevelations.com/sugar-list that suggested a lot of commercial rums backsweeten a little to smooth out their spirits. I was still working on making decent cuts, so my rums were a bit janky, and I figured that this was the solution. So I did a lot of experiments with corn sugar and macerating different fruits (dried dates were my favorite, btw). It was fine, but I found that the stuff I just let sit on oak was a whole lot better in the end. Especially once I got my cuts worked out.

[NZChris]

I think your being impatient and looking for shortcuts.

Can confirm. When I started out, I found an website like https://www.rumrevelations.com/sugar-list that suggested a lot of commercial rums backsweeten a little to smooth out their spirits. I was still working on making decent cuts, so my rums were a bit janky, and I figured that this was the solution. So I did a lot of experiments with corn sugar and macerating different fruits (dried dates were my favorite, btw). It was fine, but I found that the stuff I just let sit on oak was a whole lot better in the end. Especially once I got my cuts worked out.

Whiskey is not rum.
viewtopic.php?t=93449

[Dr Griz]

Whiskey is not rum.

That's true enough. You may have noticed I was responding to Saltbush Bill's comment that such additions smack of the impatience of a new distiller. I was sharing my own experience that learning to improve one's cuts was a better path to good product than "tricks" like back-sweetening.