faults
TCA / corked
Contamination by 2,4,6-trichloroanisole and related haloanisoles, giving damp cardboard, wet dog and musty cellar aromas and flattening fruit.
Not a legal term
No whisky regulation in Scotland, Ireland, the United States, the EU or Japan defines this. It is a trade or marketing term, so it is only actionable if its use is actively misleading.
Often confused with a crumbling or leaking cork
A failed cork causes evaporation and oxidation. 'Corked' properly means TCA taint — a chemical contamination detectable in the low nanograms per litre, unrelated to whether the cork is physically intact.
Worth knowing
Much rarer in whisky than wine, because high ethanol and short cork contact suppress the pathway — but real, and it can arrive via warehouse air or cask wood, so a corked whisky is not always the closure's fault.
Related terms
Last reviewed 2026-07-30 · All glossary terms