You should add water to you whisky!

[Andy Mink]

The water should not be tap water, the father of a friend told me years ago that he made is ice from distilled water because if you spend all that money on a good bottle of booze why screw it up with tap water. It was good advice, now I only use filtered water for any of my drinks that I include water or ice. It also is great when making coffee.

Filtered water in coffee is a must! The heat makes the chlorine taste/smell come out.

 

[Eddie S]

@Philpug and I went to a Whiskey session at the local liquor store this past week.
During the actual tasting we sipped straight, then added a tiny bit of water to see how it opened up. Interesting class.

It was $20/person for this 2 hour Whiskey session. We got 8 shots of different whiskey, each with a different price point and type.
Well worth the 20/person.

I was fortunate to take a similar session in April at the Irish Whiskey Museum in Dublin. We experimented by adding one to a few drops of water to several whiskeys, comparing the results with neat sips. In most cases, a very few drops of water released flavors from the whiskey.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

a splash of distilled water is a must for good scotch
"releases the spirit" as the locals say.
ice cubes melt, so at some period you may achieve the best flavour but then becomes over diluted. Good scotchs deserve consistency.
for blends or house plunk cubes are fine.
although for the later its better to mask it with a bit of Drambuie.

 

[Eleeski]

Your whiskey is diluted already. The effect of adding a small amount of extra water may be real but it will be a fleeting effect. I like to enjoy the entire shot over long conversations with friends. Sometimes we analyze things too much.

Eric

 

[Tricia]

Sometimes we analyze things too much.

Eric

Cheers

 

[noncrazycanuck]

way too much
(wrong glass)

 

[Bad Bob]

If it is, "Wyoming Whisky" just don't drink it. NASTY!

 

[Andy Mink]

@Philpug, @Tricia, my wife, and I did the scotch tasting at Total Wine. They had us taste it without water then with. It was an especially noticeable difference in the monster peaty/smokey Scotch. It really calmed down the smoke so you could taste the other flavors. I've always just used an ice cube but I think I will change my style.

 

[Tricia]

@Philpug, @Tricia, my wife, and I did the scotch tasting at Total Wine. They had us taste it without water then with. It was an especially noticeable difference in the monster peaty/smokey Scotch. It really calmed down the smoke so you could taste the other flavors. I've always just used an ice cube but I think I will change my style.

 

[HDSkiing]

All these Scotch drinkers, now I know I’m in the right place.

 

[Tony S]

My problem with the ice cube is simply that it makes it too cold. I have no need for my whiskey to be cold.

 

[antigonowhere]

Any scotch I have the first time is taken neat. After that I try a few drops of water.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

with a name like antigonowhere I suspect your reasonably close to that distillery up on Cape Breaton. Have you tried it yet?
Nice stop, interesting flavour, they have a tasting room, but I don't think they can label it Scotch anymore.

 

[TexasStout]

@Philpug and I went to a Whiskey session at the local liquor store this past week.
During the actual tasting we sipped straight, then added a tiny bit of water to see how it opened up. Interesting class.

It was $20/person for this 2 hour Whiskey session. We got 8 shots of different whiskey, each with a different price point and type.
Well worth the 20/person.

Eight shots? Hope y'all Ubered home!

 

[Alexzn]

The original study in question is published in the journal Scientific Reports, which means that it does not have to be novel, but has to be peer-reviewed to be correct. Which probably is a perfect reflection of the study. A rumor has it that the first chemist to investigate alcohol and water mixture ratios was Mendeleev (who later invented the Periodic Table), and that he noticed that 40% is a particularly stable mixture that drinks very smoothly. This is sadly, a myth, although his PhD thesis was indeed titled:
"A Discourse on the combination of alcohol and water". The real reasons are a bit more complicated. First of all, at 40 degrees alcohol molecules starts forming weak clusters, which do make the drink feel smoother. The other reasons are even more practical. At 40 degrees the mixture just about can ignite, but below it won't, which gave customers an easy way to check for adulterated product in an era when chemical analysis was difficult. Also, at 40 degrees alcohol and water evaporate together, so prolonged storage would not change the composition of the product. So, as far as whiskey is concerned, cask strength will benefit from a few drops, if it is 40 deg, drink it neat...

 

[antigonowhere]

with a name like antigonowhere I suspect your reasonably close to that distillery up on Cape Breaton. Have you tried it yet?
Nice stop, interesting flavour, they have a tasting room, but I don't think they can label it Scotch anymore.

I'm further from nowhere now, on the edges of the Tantramar Marsh, but I travel to the area of the distillery quite often during summer due to a lot of family in the Cheticamp area.

I didn't find the distillery all that interesting. I'd rather visit Big Spruce and drink their beer, to be honest. Of the Glen Breton's, I find their Rare to be flavoured like rotten dog's arsehole; but their Fiddler's Choice is dandy, and cheaper!

Re: legal issues: I am not sure they ever labelled it Scotch. They did, however, get into a tangle with the SWA over the term "Glen" because those frumpy, pompous, arrogant, stuffy dickheads seemed to think that the only place in the whole wide world with places termed as glens could be Scotland.

For the purpose of clarity: I worked for five years there and have many friends from my time there, I also have had this discussion with all of them - and all of them agree that some in the SWA need to be shot with a barrel full of their own shit.

This is all failing to mention that the land I come from is called Nova Scotia. That's Latin for New Scotland. In French we call it Nouvelle Ecosse. Same difference. If there was enough Scottish presence here to name the damned place after the foggy/rocky one, then I imagine that with place names like New Glasgow, or Inverness, or Caledonia (of which I count at least two), then we'd eventually call something a Glen.

The first legal battle went the way of the SWA. It was overturned on appeal and then dismissed with costs. Then Glenora (which is named after Glenora falls/brook) issued an edition called Battle of the Glens. The wrangling went on for YEARS, showing that sometimes very smart people are really, really dumb.

Thus concludes your lesson on how wee Nova Scotia entered the conversation about single malts.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

your right about the taste, I was being polite with "interesting" for the few I tried.
locally (B.C.) the brother of a good friend owns a brewery/distillery.
Beer has been very successful but now they are trying single malt whiskey market
The results so far have also been just as interesting and prices as hard to swallow as in Nova Scotia.

 

[GregK]

I have always followed the "try neat first and then add a splash of distilled water with Scotch" method and have heard the "dilute to 38-40% alcohol level" at many tastings which lines up with the just a splash on most non cast strength Scotch.

Great to see all the Scotch fans on here! As you can tell from the pic, I'm not really much of a Scotch guy and could quit anytime......lol

 

[antigonowhere]

Nice collection! No Oban?

I used to despise Bowmore. Likely due to it being the first single malt I ever tried. But, not so long ago, a friend who works for the NSLC gave me a taste of the 18 and I was immediately packing it up for home.

Re: water: I go either way when I drink A'Bunadh...depends on my mood and the setting. IMO, best enjoyed neat in a colder setting. It's cask strength. Rocket fuel, actually, but sometimes I like her straight up. Just a nip, usually no more than two. Now Laphroig I may have to cut a teensy bit no matter what. To each their own.

I've just received word that my local liquor store has three crocks of Bunnahabhain waiting for me. Probably one of my more fave whiskeys.

 

[GregK]

Do like and have had Oban before, it’s just not “in stock” currently....haha

I’m a huge Islay fan with Lagavulin, Caol ILa and Laphroaig being my favs there and Highland Park 18yr old being one of my Highlands favs.

Yes, ALWAYS start “new to Scotch” people with Lowlands Scotch, then Highlands then later the more peaty Islay Scotch so they aren’t so overwhelmed.
You don’t want them to like it TOO much the first night though as then they’ll drink too much of my booze! Lol