It is said that whiskey tastes better when water is added. How should I mix it?

It is said that whiskey tastes better when water is added. How should I mix it?

I often hear some whisky lovers say: "I always develop to drink whisky pure, never watered down! As if the act of blending water can greatly so spoil that one enterprise drops as precious whisky. Some years ago, pure drinking whisky really own once we stand at the top of the student contempt chain, for an unknown truth outside the circle generally, as if "I only drink black coffee" "I only eat steak medium rare" can show cultural taste.

However, in recent years, even whiskey, a drink with its own "aristocratic temperament", has become the home of the common man, and countless couples are playing with it, not to mention mixing water. Mixed orange juice, mixed with cola, mixed with lemon tea, and even to raise the Le Le, whisky hong kongas long as you feel good, what is not mixed?

And there's nothing silly about adding water to whiskey. After all, except for barrels of strong whiskey, the distillery has been mixed with water before your regular whiskey is bottled.

1、Why water it down?

For whisky, the ratio of alcohol to water has a big impact on the final taste and state. A little higher or lower alcohol, the style and taste will be different.

General whisky in the aging time stage work is over, ready to be bottled before, the alcohol content are above 60%, with such strength, alcohol will not only make the tongue and taste buds numb, there may cause people taste system damage. So we generally need the distillery before bottling, will be diluted with water to about 40% alcohol. Now there are also a lot of whisky bottled in China at original cask strength, the alcohol content of 60% or more, consumer analysis can choose to use the proportion of water relationship or pure drinking through their own business.

Even if the water added during the distillation process is not the same as the water added by the consumer after bottling and distribution, the whisky has a significant impact on water. Most industry insiders now agree that adding water releases the aromatic molecules of the whisky, making the spirit more aromatic.

This is because the solution of ethanol and water is not perfectly aligned, and some aromaticity may be captured in ethanol clusters that do not reach the surface of the liquid. When water dilutes whisky, the alcohol spreads more evenly and more of the aromatics reach the surface, making it easier to smell.

In fact, many whisky experts measure whisky by "dotting the water" as well.

2、How much water should be added?

The above we mentioned only add a drop or two of "water" operating system can stimulate the aroma of whisky, but for the product taste, a drop or two can change more really not much.

Once popular in Japan, the Highball drinking method, also almost directly dilute the whisky to about 20% abv. It's almost a 1:1 ratio. Everyone's tastes and preferences are different, of course, there is no such thing as the optimal ratio. If you can not accept the high alcohol content of whisky, you can try from light to strong water, you will always find the best ratio for you.

How much water should be added can be calculated according to this formula.

Target as well as alcohol = whisky volume / (whisky volume + add water for volume) * whisky alcohol

3、Mineral water? Distilled water? Or no tap water?

Mineral water, mineral water, distilled water or tap water, if you usually drink these water alone, you can already feel the difference in taste and flavor, adding whisky will also have a different impact on the flavor of the wine. So what kind of water should whisky be mixed with?

If you just want to reduce the alcohol content of the whisky to make it smoother and less harsh, then choose distilled or purified water, which have little (or no) mineral content and have no direct effect on the flavor of the whisky.

The main thing that will affect the flavor of whisky is the mineral content and type of water. Softer water will make the whisky softer, while mineral water with a high mineral content is like opening a blind box. The minerals will change the flavor of the whisky. However, depending on the type of whisky and the mineral water used, there are many possibilities for specific changes.

Some whisky enthusiasts have selected mineral water with different company brands to whisky to do a test and found that the problem some company brands of mineral water will make the aroma of whisky more intense, while some students will produce learning some unpleasant smell. This way change we can hardly make generalizations, nor can we pass predictions, we can only say that "practice makes perfect".

However, it should be noted that it is best not to use too high grade natural mineral water, which usually comes from a specific natural spring with a high mineral content, and while it is a great drink with a crunchy sweet taste, when added to whisky the minerals can be overwhelming and when mixed with whisky the flavors can be mutually detrimental, wasting both water and whisky.