The Pros and Cons of adding Water to the Water of Life.
Does one add water to whisky or not? Like many emotive subjects, it is one that is often sullied by prejudice and misinformation. These are some hints about whether or not to add water to whisky.
Firstly, drinking whisky is a personal thing and no-one should be able to preach about what is right and what is wrong. If someone likes their particular spirit with mixers, then fine. Many whisky lovers, however, shake their heads in disapproval if someone adds water to a standard single malt expression. Should the whisky drinker try this with, say, a rare and expensive Ardbeg or Macallan, the disapproval may turn into apoplexy.
Heresy?
So, does such an act constitute the heresy it is claimed to be? Well no, frankly. Many single malts are routinely brought down from the cask strengths of their constituent expressions to around 40-46% abv. with the addition of water. When someone buys a standard expression of their favourite dram, it is likely they are doing so with water already added. Furthermore, in whisky tasting circles, some experts bring down the alcoholic strength of their whisky from 40% and above to around half that strength with still mineral water. Their reason is that the addition of water can actually enhance the spirit because it changes the molecular structure of the whisky and may bring out some entirely new flavours and levels of complexity hitherto hidden. An oft-heard analogy in whisky tasting circles is that of sniffing a rose after a shower of rain, where the water may enhance the flower’s bouquet.
In some cases, the addition of water to whisky is not just an enhancement but a necessity. Where a whisky is bottled at cask strength (i.e. without water and at the strength it left the cask, sometimes as high as 60% a.b.v.), the whisky can be so strong as to overpower the tastebuds. Whatever complexity and flavour there is is then masked in an initial alcoholic explosion on the tongue. Some people prefer it this way but they may risk losing out on some of the whisky’s hidden dimensions if they do not dilute it.
Older Whiskies
However, there is also a down-side to adding water. Whilst it can also bring out hidden elements, water can also kill a whisky stone dead. This is true of some younger spirits but particularly true with older whiskies where the molecular structure has become sufficiently brittle that the addition of even a drop of water can actually render it pretty-much tasteless. A Tobermory 32 year-old was just such an example - reduced from a magnificent Christmas pudding of a whisky to a flat brown liquid with the addition of a few drops of mineral water. That’s approximately a £30 glass of whisky ruined with about one penny’s worth of water.
There is no science to this. It is a question of trial and error. Above all, remember that if you like the way your diluted whisky tastes, no-one has the right to tell you you are wrong. Some whisky distillers actually add lemonade to their spirit. If they do this, how on earth can one be criticised for adding water?
