Definition:
: an amount of an alcoholic drink (such as cognac, brandy, or whiskey) that is lost to evaporation when the liquid is being aged in porous oak barrels
Example:
"He reflected a moment, then leaned closer. 'Lady Trembel's scent wasn't that of the angel's share.'” – Donna MacMeans, Redeeming the Rogue, 2011
About the Word:
The angel's share has the sound of a fine old expression, muttered by crooked old makers of ardent spirits since the days of yore, as they carefully craft their variants of whiskey that had been produced by the same yard of peat bog for a thousand years.
However, there is no known written evidence for this term before 1970, when it appears in an article in the Los Angeles Times on cognac makers: "'We are allowed 5% evaporation a year,' Hine said. In France this is known as 'the angel's share.'"
