>> "The annual cycle of heating and cooling gives subtle effects that are
>> only marginally different than, say, 4 straight years of steady summer
>> temperature followed by 4 straight years of winter temperature."
> Tim, if this was true, why do distillers (some of them) make such a big
> thing about artificial cycling?
Why do distillers make such a big thing about only the finest ingredients,
traditional methods, and etc. when we all know they used commodity grains,
the distilleries are giant modern factories, etc.? It makes a good story.
If it's the cycling (i.e. expansion and contraction, soaking into the wood
and receding) that's so important, then why don't they build the warehouses
to be as cold as possible, and cycle the heat on and off as much as possible?
According to the cycling theory, that would result in the fastest maturation.
Maturation would go faster in the winter than in the summer!
My view is that chemical reactions happen faster at higher temperature. In
relatively-cold Scotland, you hardly see anything aged less than ten years.
In the relatively-hot Caribbean, four years is well-aged. I peg
bourbon at sixish to sevenish, with obvious notable exceptions. One might
argue that these aging times are a matter of style, but I would respond
that the sytle reflect the "terroir"... it is dictated by the weather and
the raw materials. But mostly the weather!