Spirit labels decoded

Governments allow certain words only if production rules are met: bourbon, tequila, Scotch whisky, bottled-in-bond, 100% de agave. Everything else — small batch, craft, reserve, hand-selected — is mostly decoration unless a number (proof, age, NOM) backs it up.

Your job at the shelf is boring and powerful: find the category word, check proof, note origin, then decide if the price matches the promise.

Alcohol percentage is one of the few honest numbers on the label. US labels show proof (twice the ABV) or ABV directly. A 40% whiskey often tastes thin once you add syrup or lemon; 45–50% usually holds its ground.

“Cask strength” with a stated proof is useful — it tells you the bottle was not cut to a standard 40%. “Barrel proof” without numbers is just tone-setting.

On Scotch (and Irish whiskey), a printed age is a legal floor: if it says 10 or 12 Years, the youngest whisky in that bottle is at least that old. Older casks can go in the blend; younger ones cannot.

No age on the label (NAS) is allowed. It does not mean the whisky is young; it means they chose not to print a floor. Tequila uses different words entirely — blanco, reposado, añejo — covered in the agave labels lesson, not year-counts like Scotch.

Tequila and mezcal are Mexican denominations of origin — geography and agave rules are load-bearing. Scotch must be made in Scotland. Bourbon must be made in the United States (Kentucky is marketing, not law).

“Product of” and “distilled in” lines matter when a recipe assumes a flavor profile. Canadian “rye,” US rye, and Scotch single malt are not interchangeable just because they all say whisky.