Is there a magical age?

With respect to price, the older a whisky is, the more that has evaporated. Also, long term storage and cask management also add a cost. Finally, given the prestige of older whisky (whether deserved or not), older whisky commands a higher premium because it can.

I find that the magical range is 10-20 years old. Anything over 20 yo might or might not be excellent, but usually the price/quality drops severely. One exception; Japanese Whisky which I find to be too "woody" after 15 yo (eg. Yamazaki 18 or any of the Karuizawas)

Age is relative. Different whiskies require different ages to mature gracefully. There is no magical age.

It also depends upon the barrels used. Some barrels will "over oak" at 21 when others will not. Whiskies can also be transferred or "finished" in other barrels to avoid this problem.

The whole science and magic of whisky making can become very complex, and true masters of the art know how to avoid the pitfalls. In other words, if price is no option, age can be cultivated without the perils of over-oaking and bitterness. But even with such tricks and techniques, any whisky can reach a point where its age becomes detrimental. This varies by the whisky, as I've said. No magic formula.

Glenfarclas has whiskies that are delightful at 40 and Balvenie has a famous one that seem over-oaked at 21, at least in my estimation.

This said, I very much enjoy some Balvenies, nothing against the distiller. I have two in my safe right now: the 15 and the Carribean 14 that I am looking forward to trying at some point in the future. I also have a Glenfarclas 21 and 25. The 40 escapes me due to the price tag ; ) If price was no option, I would certainly acquire it!

Older whiskies cost more for many reasons. Angels get more and more of the "share" the older they get. And that makes the rest more valuable if the distiller knows how far to push the envelope and price is no limitation! Many distillers can't afford to sit on their eggs too long! They must turn over their inventory to keep the ink of their accounting books in the black! Distilling is a business, after all, as well as an art form. Unfortunately, the business side often wins before the whisky in question has reached maturity.

In my opinion the "aging" is fundamental in order to increase the complexity of the whisky. But at the same time I tasted bad "long aged whisky" and very good "short aged whisky". Whisky is a private sensation.

A few things I have picked up on regarding age:

1) Peated whiskies tend to pack more punch at a younger age. As they mature, they mellow. So, when buying a peated whisky, the question is "What are you looking for in your peated whiskies?"

2) At over 18+ years, the wood seems to start playing a bigger role in the taste, and not always for the better. The whisky can become very drying and tannic in extreme cases. I find 14 - 18 year old whiskies pretty much on the money for my tastes.

3) In the 80's, there was apparantly a bit of a whisky glut. Lots of old whisky stocks without a lot of buyers led to lots of older casks being available in the last decade. There is no whisky glut today, hence the continued rising prices of older stocks and the push into NAS whiskies. Distillers want to sell what they have, not what they are running out of, or waiting to develop.

Nicely put @rigmorole - single malt whisky in it's truest sense should not be held hostage (by the consumer and then in turn by the marketing department) to age statements. The perfect age is when ever that whisky is ready to be taken out of the cask and consumed.

Which is why I also don't have any objections to NAS expressions. Keep the taste and complexities alive which ever way you like - I don't care. If it tastes good I'm all for it.

I'm even against standardizing flavors batch after batch. This, in my opinion, makes the process mechanical which it certainly isn't. I would like to see newer flavors and different layers batch after batch to keep the romance alive. I want to have the excitement of not knowing what to expect. Good or bad.

But that's just me...

@tabarakRazvi

so you, good sir, sound like a fan of the A'bunadh, if you like batch variation (and no age statement...)

I would go further, suggest to you yo find some way to get a bottle or 2 of Bladnoch 55% 10 or 11 year old (or 12 if you want to splurge) sherry cask matured. Each bottling is from a single (high quality - it seems) cask, so you're likely to get some "batch" variation there too.

Thanks to you all.... Finally, I got some great feedback. I have been getting bull-dozed by the snob crews who only care about flighty "gotchas!"..... Thanks to everyone. I try and ask questions worth answering because I am trying to learn.... You all saved me from a prompt account delete.