with or without water

floosy

I have always drunk single malt whiskey neat..... but have recently started adding tap water.... all the taste but none of the burn

should i man up and drink it neat or add the water for taste...


(btw if it makes a difference its 15 year old Glenfidich)

Dave.

floosy

I voted for tap water.......

fatblokefromwarwick

Drink it neat, you big bra strap !

verloren

Definitely not 50/50, except for Laphroaig, but some water is fine if it tastes better to you (5%-20%, say)

rogerthecat

verloren wrote:

Definitely not 50/50, except for Laphroaig, but some water is fine if it tastes better to you (5%-20%, say)

+1

Bikehawk

A good whiskey neat but anything of a lesser quality with a drop of water. If you dislike the harshness/burn then try 12yr old Red Breast whiskey (very smooth).

deptfordmarmoset

Neat. Though if you live in a soft water region (which I don't) it might be just about ok. Part of what gives many malts their quality is the softness of the water - why mix it with tap water?

Jez mon

Drink it however you like it, life is too short! But I wouldn't suggest quite so much water.

GavH

Neat, although a couple of ice cubes adds a nice dimension on occasions.

pb21

I have heard that a small amount of water added to whiskey actually improves the taste. I think you are 'supposed' to add water, not much mind.

Lagavulin

Neat or with a drop of water in malt whisky for me. I wouldn't treat like a bottle of Robinsons though and turn it into a long drink.

richk

Definitely neat for a good malt...

Buckled_Rims

Malt you need to drink neat, or if need be buy bottled water from the area the whiskey was made.

Blended Whiskeys you can use dish water and it wouldn't matter

Nuggs

Certain whiskies need a drop of water to unlock the flavours. These tend to be the smokier/peatier whiskies such as Ardberg and Laphroaig.

I recently finished a bottle of Longmorn 1989 cask strength, which was like paint stripper without water but nectar with just a single drop of water added.

In terms of using water: yes, it's great if you can find water from near the distillery, however, in the real world use a drop of (still) mineral water or (at a push) filtered tap water. Using water straight from the tap isn't great as the chemicals will affect the taste.

Another golden rule is to use water at room temp. You don't want cool the whisky as you will lose some of the flavours. That's why having ice in the glass is considered a no-no, as you're depriving yourself of the experience the distiller intended you to have.

Ultimately, you need to work out what tastes best for you and go with that. However, if you're going to add loads of water and/or ice, then you might consider going for a blended whiskey.

pedylan

The alcohol content of matured whisky in the Vat will be around 60% (over 100o proof).

Before bottling, the cask strength vatted whisky has water added to it to effectively dilute it to 40% alcohol content. It will usually be chill filtered to further remove impurities at this stage.

Adding a little additional water shouldn't therefore be considered anything other than a matter of personal taste ie not the snobbish heresy suggested by some alleged whisky know alls. As to whether the water should come from the distillery area; most whisky is matured miles away from the distillery of origin and bottling plants are just industrial complexes in some convenient location.

Adding ice is perhaps a different matter as it affects the texture to an arguably detrimental extent and there's a good case for avoiding it as it changes both taste and texture for the worse.

It is down to choice whether to add water but usually only a splash. For some whiskies a splash will release flavour components but leaving it out will preserve the harshness of texture that many (me for one) actually enjoy. Taste around and find a malt with the combination of taste and texture you can enjoy neat is probably a good compromise.

BTW, 15 year old Glenfiddich is a single malt whisky - not whiskey. The e is only used in the Irish heresies.

gandhi

pedylan wrote:

BTW, 15 year old Glenfiddich is a single malt whisky - not whiskey. The e is only used in the Irish heresies.

Some of the Irish ones are pretty nice, I wouldn't call them heresies - However, the American "Whiskeys"...

I like to add a dribble of water. The dream is to get the water from the same source as the distillery.

shouldbeinbed

pb21 wrote:

I have heard that a small amount of water added to whiskey actually improves the taste. I think you are 'supposed' to add water, not much mind.

correct & it's best to use the same water as it's distilled from or filtered/decent bottled stuff at least.

Adding a drop of water releases the alcohol esters and does improve the flavour. you can see this by looking at the whisky as you add water and swirling it round, it looks like a little oil slick on top of the drink.

cathald

A slight drop of water

I'm surprised some of the younger folk didn't tell you to put coke in it :shock:

rogerthecat

Coke is for Grouse, Bells, Teachers or the like.

Lagavulin

cathald wrote:

I'm surprised some of the younger folk didn't tell you to put coke in it :shock:

You should've seen my uber lightning reactions the time my mate was in the throws of adding Diet Coke to a large home measure of Balvenie DoubleWood. My prompt actions avoided such desecration but he got a bloody good ticking off and, I feel, learned a very valuable lesson that night.

Lagavulin

rogerthecat wrote:

Coke is for Grouse, Bells, Teachers or the like.

Or there to cover up that North American stuff people buy you when they hear you like whisky.
A colleague of mine who likes his whisky speaks highly of Wild Turkey Rare Breed (which I haven't tried) but I've had numerous Jack Daniels, Jim Beam's, Canadian Club and Crown Royal and haven't found anything I like.

Old Pedaller

cathald wrote:

A slight drop of water

I'm surprised some of the younger folk didn't tell you to put coke in it :shock:

There was a famous Edinburgh publican, sadly no longer with us, and the stories are legion, who told the American unwise enough to order a malt with orange "We don't serve f*****g cocktails" and huckled him out the door.

rogerthecat

Top tip, have a half of Guinness with you when you have a good malt, a wee sip of Guinness then a nip of the ski, you will I guarantee you will be enlightened. The Guinness prepares the pallet, dry’s the mouth; the taste from a malt will be enhanced.

Old Pedaller

rogerthecat wrote:

Top tip, have a half of Guinness with you when you have a good malt, a wee sip of Guinness then a nip of the ski, you will I guarantee you will be enlightened. The Guinness prepares the pallet, dry’s the mouth; the taste from a malt will be enhanced.

Not normally Guiness but the hauf an' a hauf used to be commonplace in Scotland.

beverick

Grain should be fermented not distilled......

Bob

-spider-

There are no rules on this - have whisky with whatever you like. Some people would only advocate adding more whisky but I prefer putting a little water into a good malt (I try to buy mine cask strength).

Never tried orange, coke etc (don't think I ever will) but a rough whisky can be improved by adding green ginger (Crabbies is best). Adding ice, I feel, tends to destroy the taste and I wouldn't recommend it in a malt. Ice is OK in grain whisky (whiskey).

Summary - add what you like and enjoy the experience. All in moderaton of course.