Chill filtering is a method in whisky

Whisky

Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...

 making for removing residue. In chill filtering, whisky is cooled to between -10 and 4 degrees Celsius (often roughly 0) and passed through a fine adsorption

Adsorption

Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, biomolecules or molecules of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids to a surface. This process creates a film of the adsorbate on the surface of the adsorbent. It differs from absorption, in which a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid...

 filter. This is done mostly for cosmetic reasons – to remove cloudiness, rather than to improve taste or consistency.

Method

Chill filtering works by reducing the temperature sufficiently that some fatty acids, proteins and esters precipitate out so that they are caught on the filter. The chillfiltering prevents the whisky from becoming hazy when in the bottle, when served, when chilled, or when water or ice is added. However, as this only happens at an alcohol content below 46 %abv, stronger bottled whisky is non-chill filtered or unchill-filtered, as the spirit will generally remain unclouded at this alcohol level.

Controversy

The merits of this method are disputed, opponents claim that it diminishes the flavour of the whisky. As such, some distilleries pride themselves on not using this process, for example, the Aberlour Distillery's

Aberlour Distillery

Aberlour is a distillery of single malt Scotch whisky, located on Aberlour town, Speyside, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Lour and Spey near Ben Rinnes. The Speyside region is the most prolific whisky producing region in Scotland, accounting for over half of all of Scotland's distilleries...

 distinctively flavoured A'bunadh

A'bunadh

A'bunadh is a cask-strength single malt whisky from the Aberlour Distillery in Scotland. Though it has no age statement, it is released in limited run batches, each batch carrying a unique number on its label...

 whisky or Laphroaig

Laphroaig

Laphroaig , is an Islay single malt Scotch whisky distillery and brand name. It is named for the area of land at the head of Loch Laphroaig on the south coast of the Isle of Islay...

's Quarter Cask bottles are not chill-filtered.

Some whisky bottlers produce whiskies that are not chill-filtered, reportedly due to the reduction in flavour compounds that chill filtering produces. Skipping the chill filtering step can also reduce production costs.

See also

• A'bunadh
  A'bunadh
  A'bunadh is a cask-strength single malt whisky from the Aberlour Distillery in Scotland. Though it has no age statement, it is released in limited run batches, each batch carrying a unique number on its label...
  
   (a Speyside
  Speyside Single Malts
  Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland....
  
   single malt Scotch whisky
  Scotch whisky
  Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
  
   that is not chill filtered)
• Booker's
  Booker's
  Booker’s bourbon is one of the small batch bourbons produced by the Jim Beam distillery, which is owned by Beam Inc.. Having the highest alcohol content of the brands in the Jim Beam “Small Batch Bourbon Collection”, it is a cask strength bourbon. It was personally selected from barrels by Jim...
  
   (a cask strength
  Cask strength
  Cask strength is a term used in whisky-making to describe the level of alcohol-by-volume strength that is used for a whisky during its storage in a cask for maturation – typically in the range of 60–65% abv....
  
   Bourbon whiskey
  Bourbon whiskey
  Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
  
   that is not chill filtered)
• Laphroaig
  Laphroaig
  Laphroaig , is an Islay single malt Scotch whisky distillery and brand name. It is named for the area of land at the head of Loch Laphroaig on the south coast of the Isle of Islay...
  
  (an Islay Scotch whisky which has a “Quarter Cask” single malt expression that is not chill filtered)