Your bottle of whisky does not stay static in the bottle, even an unopened one. Over months and years, tiny amounts of water evaporate and seep through the cap, leaving a lower fill level in the bottle. The fill level of a bottle is also an indicator of storage condition, as a low level in a recently bottled whisky suggests it may have experienced suboptimal storage (e.g., high heat), which may alter the taste of the whisky.

Here at M&E Drinks, we inspect each bottle for sale to make sure most bottles have fill levels which are "Into Neck" or "Base of Neck" (see picture on the left). The fill level of these bottles will be described as "Good" on the product page. Some older bottles, e.g., those bottled in the 1980s or earlier, may have levels which are at "Upper Shoulder" or "Middle Shoulder". From our experience, these older whiskies taste perfectly fine, but in such cases we will indicate the fill level on the product page.

We also noticed that bottles of Karuizawa are without exception filled to about Upper Shoulder, even for the recent releases. We guess this is due to the peculiar shape of Karuizawa bottles.

Please do take note of the fill level description when making your purchasing decision.