Single Malts: To water, or not to water?

Hi all, I'm new to this group and had a question I thought might be best suited for the experts (or just the serious drinkers) here.

I've always been a fan of scotch whisky, and have usually stuck with Johnny Walker Black or Glenfiddich over the years. Lately I have been getting a little more serious about my scotch drinking and have really started to enjoy the single malts, especially the Islay's like Laphroaig and Lagavulin...what flavor!

The question I have is regarding adding water. I always drink the single malts neat to get the full flavor. Somebody recently told me that the "right" way to drink a good single malt is with a few drops of water added to bring out the flavor. I have tried this with my current bottle of Lagavulin, but I don't really notice any significant flavor change. Is this watering the "proper' way to drink single malts, and are there some brands that are significantly effected by the few drops of water?

Also, does the drinking glass make much of a difference? I usually drink mine in a short square bar glass.

Thanks in advance.

Reply to
S. Smith
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Go to Google, choose "Groups" and search for "water malt adding whisky" You'll find lots of postings on this subject. At the end of the day it comes down to Some do, some don't, try it and if you don't like it, don't try it again.

Reply to
Brett...

OK, thanks.

I guess I'm really interested to find out if there are certain types, or brands, that taste better with the "angels tears" than others.

Reply to
S. Smith

Welcome to the conversation!

[snip]

Both of your questions are perennial topics on alt.drinks.scotch-whisky.

You can search the archives at

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which are both entertaining and informative.

With regards to adding water, there is no "right" way to drink scotch nor a "right" amount to add. Many drinkers never add water and always drink it neat. Some add a little, and some add a lot.

Long ago whisky was generally sold at cask strength, which could be quite strong: 65%, 70%, or even higher alcohol by volume (ABV). The puchaser would add a little water at the table when drinking to bring it down to an ABV with which the drinker was more comfortable. Eventually whisky began to be diluted before sale to the ABV that was considered (by the government) to be normal drinking strength. (I don't have all the details but I believe it was a war-time restriction during WWI; I could be off on that.) So whisky bottled at 40% ABV already has the water added. And even today, while distillers can bottle at cask strength or any ratio above 40% ABV, 40% is still the most popular bottling strength. 43% is also very popular, especially for whisky destined for export markets, like the U.S.A. 46% is also common; Murray McDavid (an independent bottler) has called 46% the "real drinking strenght" implying that 40% is a little too low. 46% is also a "magic number" because it is the strength at which (on average) un-chillfiltered whisky will not turn cloudy when chilled. So bottles like the Springbanks, and current Ardbegs like the Ardbeg 10 which are not chillfiltered, are bottled at 46% ABV. Above 46% there are some whiskies bottled at 50% or near it, and then there are undiluted cask strength bottlings.

Here's what adding water can do for you. If a whisky is too "hot" or "spirity" it can burn you palate and you can't taste its subtleties. Adding enough water that it doesn't burn your palate allows you to enjoy it and discern all of its flavors. Some volatile components will be released immediately after adding a drop of water so when nosing a whisky a little water can help you find all of its components. Sometimes the flavors of a whisky are tightly bound together and a little water can spread them out so you can identify each one.

But you lose some flavor intensity if you add more water than is necessary for you to drink the whisky without "burning".

There is more of a consensus against adding ice. I occasionally break that rule in the summertime, but I live in a very warm clime.

I almost never add any water (or a sliver of ice) to malts bottled at

46% ABV, or under. I taste cask strength whiskies undiluted, but then generally add a few drops of water to them. With any malt add it drop by drop tasting frequently - you'll know when you've gone too far.

Glassware is also mostly a matter of personal preference. I like the short stemmed tasting glasses that come as premiums in gift boxes of whisky this time of year, but an ordinary "cowboy style" shot glass is O.K. I used to think it made no difference whatsoever, but following an article on the malt maniacs' web site and trying for myself, I've found the best glass for really analyzing a malt is a medium-large brandy snifter. It's not necessarily the best glass for simply enjoying a malt though.

Bart

--------------------------------------------------------- "May I, as a humble Scotsman (living within sight of the Auchentoshan distillery) offer the bit of advice that my father gave me...

'The best way to drink whisky is the way that suits you best.'

Never been known to fail."

----------John Daly Erskine, Scotland in alt.drinks.scotch-whisky

Reply to
Bart

or brands, that taste better with the "angels tears" than others.

It's completely hit-or-miss. If a whisky is a bit 'tight', and a few drops seems to liberate the bouquet, so to speak, then the few drops are helpful. But you can have two whiskies from the same distillery, in different versions, and one might seem to benefit, and the other might not.

And, to be brutally frank, as diluting liquid goes, there is already plenty where the whisky is going to get put anyways.

Reply to
Douglas W. Hoyt

I have maybe 50 or 60 different shapes and styles of glassware in the cupboard. At least 20 of them are great for whisky.

Reply to
Douglas W. Hoyt

Well, do you think adding one drop of water to something that is already about 50% water can possibly change anything? Answer: NO! But people see and feel and taste and smell what they think they should. So, my guess is that people do taste something different after adding a tiny amount of water, but it is only imagination at work.

Second point. The distillers/bottlers try to bottle a balanced whisky. Balanced means that the nose, flavor, alcohol, body, etc. compliment each other and that no single characteristic dominates. So, if the whisky is balanced when bottled, adding water must un-balance the whiskey. My strong advice is to drink your whisky as it is bottled.

Water is for bathing, whisky is for drinking.

Regards, jimbo

Reply to
jimbo

Good onya jimbo. I'm guessing that you are also not a person who uses $2000.00 interconnect cable on his sound system so he can appreciate the nuances that only specially constructed wires made of "oxygen-free" copper bring out in the music he listens to.

But to be fair to those who add "a drop" of water to their malts, it's probably more than that tiny bit. For example, adding only 1/4 oz of water to 2 oz of a 46% ABV malt would reduce the concentration of alcohol to about 40%, well below what most folks consider to be a good balance for tasting. I suppose one could calculate out the minimum amount of water to add to various strengths of our favorite brands, but I'm one who tried water, and found that the only thing I noticed was watery scotch. Now I only put a very tiny bit in only the very strongest drams.

:>)

Reply to
Michael Barrett

"Horses for Courses" would be an appropriate adage here. Attempting to justify your taste preferences over someone else is crass, lacks respect for the tastes of others and is rather patronising to boot which is why thankfully most folk on this newsgroup don't attempt to do it.

Reply to
Brett...

I have also tried all of the advice on adding water, even to the extent of calculating and adding the exact amount to give a specific proof. And of adding exactly one little drop to a 1 1/2 oz drink. All I ever got was watery whiskey, as you put it, or nothing at all from one drop. But as I said, imagination can produce astounding effects.

Regards, jimbo

Reply to
jimbo

Brett, all I can offer is my opinion. If that conflicts with your beliefs, too bad. You can use as much or as little water as you like, I could care less. But don't tell me about one drop of water changing the whole character of whiskey. Your imagination is working overtime.

jimbo

Reply to
jimbo

Generally speaking, one drop of water will not change the presentation of a dram. That said, there are a subset of people who are classified as "super tasters". These folks have a much higher density of tastebuds and olfactory receptors than the average folks do. Their ability to detect minuscule variations and tastes in some cases as low as parts per million is well documented. But not everyone is a super taster. Many, though, can train their palates to be more responsive. It can be as simple as just paying attention.

The addition of water to a spirit can and does alter the presentation of the spirit. In some cases, it allows volatiles to be more readily released (and dissipated). In others it allows more flavor and less alcohol to be enjoyed. To others, it provides a watery experience. It is personal, and that is what makes exploring malt so fun. 10 people trying the same malt at the same time can have 10 different experiences.

Me? There are some cask strengths that I like to add a splash to. Others I do not. I've a bottle of 31 year old Caperdonach at cask strength that is just too rich and syrupy when drunk neat in a Riedel glass. I take the same dram and add a splash (a tablespoon? of still water) and the caramel and fruit are still there, but the heaviness is gone and I have a rather ethereal dram to savor. I *like* it that way. OTOH, I have some cask strength Lagavulin that needs nothing (okay, it needs a bowl of GLP Odyssey pipe tobacco in a largish bent billiard to play counterpoint).

I guess my point is to not listen to what anybody tells you that you should like. Find out for yourself and smile.

Reply to
Jeff Folloder - (TES)

Hi jimbo,

I can only speak for myself and not for your tastbuttes. I have tatsted more than 1000 different whisky's and when you say that one drop of water can impossible change whisky, I have to say that you are wrong. It's not that it changes from Lowland to Islay that's for sure, but the whisky gets more open in the nose and the taste, gives other flavours, even drinks easier. I have an Imperial at 60,4% that can have lots of water and when i say lots, i mean about 35%. Others like Glenburgie first sherry cask at 58,6% needs no water to improve. These are all selected casks. Everybody can experement with water if he wants to ad it. Some whisky's will change other will not, but when you are not open to the fact that whisky can change with water you will never taste it. And this has nothing todo with you mind!!!.

Marc "jimbo" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

Reply to
Segers Marc

I wouldnt add a drop the Macallen

Reply to
Lowryter

If you can taste the difference between a 1 1/2 ounce dram "neat" and one with one drop of water added, good for you. I haven't tried "thousands" of whisky's but I have experimented with water several different times. There is absolutely nothing there for me. Maybe I have dead taste buds. But I could change my opinion if someone could explain how just one drop of water added to something that contains about 50 percent water can cause any change.

Regards, jimbo

Reply to
jimbo

I'm not going to try to change your mind. For years I steadfastly refused to add water to any whisky, even cask strength whiskies. With stronger whiskies I just took smaller sips. I felt there was nothing worse you could do to whisky than over water it. And some whiskies seemed to me to be dangerously close to over watered right out of the bottle. My first Ardbegs were Gordon & Macphails bottlings at 40% ABV and I couldn't help but wonder what they would have been like if they were bottled at a higher sttrength.

But consider also that a standard pour in much of Europe is 25ml, less than the ounce and a half we enjoy in the US, closer to an ounce, only half of a mini bottle. So a drop of water would make a bigger difference in a smaller amount of whisky.

Also, the general advice is to add a drop of water, taste, add another drop of water, taste, and so on until you have found the strength which is optimum for you. Many people who do add water will add more than a single drop. The idea of adding drops one at a time is to avoid adding too much.

I've come to appreciate a little water in some whiskies, though certainly not all of them. If you keep experimenting you may find you like a little water in some, especially some cask strength whiskies. And if you don't, then certainly you should drink your dram the way that pleases you.

Bart

Reply to
Bart

Then all I can say is that I'm in good company. Your lack of respect for the belief's and wishes of others who don't agree with you, says it all.

Reply to
Brett...

I'm not going to try to change your mind. For years I steadfastly refused to add water to any whisky, even cask strength whiskies. With stronger whiskies I just took smaller sips. I felt there was nothing worse you could do to whisky than over water it. And some whiskies seemed to me to be dangerously close to over watered right out of the bottle. My first Ardbegs were Gordon & Macphails bottlings at 40% ABV and I couldn't help but wonder what they would have been like if they were bottled at a higher sttrength.

But consider also that a standard pour in much of Europe is 25ml, less than the ounce and a half we enjoy in the US, closer to an ounce, only half of a mini bottle. So a drop of water would make a bigger difference in a smaller amount of whisky.

Also, the general advice is to add a drop of water, taste, add another drop of water, taste, and so on until you have found the strength which is optimum for you. Many people who do add water will add more than a single drop. The idea of adding drops one at a time is to avoid adding too much.

I've come to appreciate a little water in some whiskies, though certainly not all of them. If you keep experimenting you may find you like a little water in some, especially some cask strength whiskies. And if you don't, then certainly you should drink your dram the way that pleases you.

Bart

I treated myself this xmas by purchasing a bottle of Bruichladdich 15. Inside the metal packaging tube is a little promo booklet describing some of B` laddies other expressions. The distiller recommends the ideal volume of water for each.

10 yo- up to 100%(yikes!!!)

15yo- up to 50%

17yo- up to 50%

20yo- 5%(a dash)

Vintage 1970- between 5 and 10%

1966 Legacy- a drop

B`laddies stated guidline is: The older the whisky(or the more sherried)is, the less water is required to open it up. I wonder if this is for all single malts, or just for Bruichladdich?

By the way, the 15 year old was the first `Laddie I`ve tried, and I can truly see why this dram is so lauded. Delicious.

Scott Helesic Kingston, Ontario Canada

"The Internet: A vanity press for the deranged." -Erik-Lars Nelson

Reply to
Scott Helesic

That's an interesting quote.

Laphroaig has recommended adding twice as much water as whisky to their cask strength bottling - that's 200% - but I can't help think that any malt lover who followed their advice would be disappointed.

Still it's a matter of personal taste and preference.

A lot of silly things get put on back labels, boxes and advertisments. Whether the above is one of them is again a matter of personal taste.

However Bruichladdich is a tasty whisky. I haven't tried (or even seen) the 1970 yet. I recently did try the new

15yo and liked it very much, considerably more than the 10yo. I was fortunate previously to try a shot of the '66 at the local whisky bar - I could never afford a bottle - and it is an amazing very deep whisky. I can't do it justice in evaluating it because I've tasted so few whiskies in its price range. But I posted my amateur impression to this newsgroup at the time.

The general idea that older and sherried whiskies need less "adjusting" seems to me to make sense. These are the whiskies that are more likely to be less spirity.

Bart

Reply to
Bart

Scott Helesic ( snipped-for-privacy@cogeco.ca) wrote: : By the way, the 15 year old was the first `Laddie I`ve tried, and I : can truly see why this dram is so lauded. Delicious.

I was lucky enough to receive for Christmas the Bruichladdich first edition sample pack, consisting of 200ml bottles of the 10 y-o, 15 y-o, and the XVII. Looking forward to trying it. Also should be interesting to compare Jim McEwan's current 10 y-o version to the older version I have that came in the dark blue tube.

-- Greg Beaulieu snipped-for-privacy@chebucto.ns.ca Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Reply to
Greg Beaulieu

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