Glenfiddich 12 year single malt

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Betonov

Dont want to sound like a total idiot but I got to clear this:
12 years means it has been in the barrel for 12 years right, if it was in the barrel for 12 years and then in the bottle for 12 years its still 12 years old. Is this right or am I missing something??

You are correct. One can't buy a bottle of Scotch and put it on the shelf for 12 years and think you have scotch that is aged 12 years. Well actually it has aged 12 years, but not in a good way.

The key is the verb "aged" which indicates a specific process as opposed to just getting old.