how each distillery ages their liquor varies with the distillery and beverage. It all matters...type of wood, charred or not, length of time in the cask, temperature, movement. Some varieties start in aged oak, then are moved into cherry or some other wood cask. Sometimes they are put in a cask that was used for another beverage, like sherry, to add more variety to the final flavor. All the variables is why single malts are so different from one another.

Blended whiskeys tend to homogenize and "flatten" the flavor variation.

An 18 or more year old single malt is a smooth and flavorful drink.