While we’re at some sort of trailing edge (with boomerang effects rather likely) of the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic, it has once again become possible to meet the general whisky enthusiastic public at two whisky fairs. Meeting all of the hundreds of visitors to our Smögen stand reminded me that I had long intended to write a few lines about a contentious issue that, alas, is jam packed with misunderstandings and myths. Water. In your whisky. ”That” watery issue, which is very far from diluted – literally.
Whisky is potentially the most complex of alcoholic drinks and has to be at least 40 % alcohol by volume, up towards about 70 % in a few cases. The lower the strength, the less alcohol duty is leveraged and the lower possible price for the consumer, which obviously is an important factor for the large brands that are built on volume, massive volumes even. Conversely, the higher the strength, the more duty and also the more actual whisky in the bottle – a 40, 43 or even 46 % bottling is significantly diluted with water, typically from a strength of nearly 60 %, so the actual product as part of the volume inside the bottle is reduced.
However, diluting a whisky – or really any other spirit – with water will not just reduce the volume of actual whisky inside the bottle; watering a whisky will also adjust the character that it will express to you, as the consumer. Alcohol (ethanol) is a flavour and aroma carrier and enhancer, which is true also for water – but ethanol and water carry and enhance various flavours differently, as these flavours, or congeners, dissolve and release differently in the two different substances. Thus, albeit this is a very simplistic presentation in this respect, the takeaway is to know that a change in the balance of ethanol to water solution in which the flavour carrying congeners are present will also change the character that you as a nosing and tasting consumer will find from your glass.
This is something that everyone can use to work with a whisky, in order to place the whisky at the ideal strength for your own palate, the sweet spot where you yourself enjoy it the most. This can be at a high strength if you prioritise mouthfeel and a powerful flavour impact of one or two compounded main characters (which is the typical effect of taking a whisky at higher strength). Or it can be at a low strength of say down towards even 30 %, where the whisky will have opened up with a more or less complex set of flavours, while also being much softer on its impact on your palate, while the sensation or mouthfeel of a higher strength whisky at the same time will be radically lessened.
Thus, that the addition of water to dilute your whisky will adjust its character is beyond doubt; it is fact. And that is very good, as it enables everyone to add water and get the most out of their whisky, to their own palate. But, how much water to add…? As taste is personal, this will differ between us all. Try it, and find the truth for yourself!
But then onto the watery issue, the contentious issue, that is played out hundreds of times before every stand at whisky fairs and at every single whisky tasting of any size. This issue is rather: how much water will be required to actually achieve any adjustment of the whisky’s character? Or, how little water?
A myth that is often pedalled by certain tasting experts – and hence by many of those that have attended their presentations – is that one or a few drops of water will suffice to change the character of a whisky. This may be true when it comes to very old whiskies that have lost a lot of its strength and nears 40 %, as they tend to be quite fragile (and, to some extent, every single drop of water has relatively higher impact than for a whisky at circa 60 % strength). But it is simply not true that one, three, five or even ten droplets of water from a pipette, straw or small spoon will have an appreciable impact on the character of a normal sized dram of say 25-35 ml of whisky at a strength of 46 % and up (the higher, the less impact, typically). The reason is that droplets are simply so small that they don’t add enough volume of water to make a difference.
Of course, a droplet will differ in volume depending on how it is distributed, but we are talking droplets, not miniature squirts of water which are an entirely different proposition. But there is some consensus on a size of 0,05 ml per droplet, which equates to 20 droplets per milliliter (ml). Adding three droplets to your normal sized dram of say 25 ml will thus equate to adding 0,15 ml, which in turn is the same as approximately 0,6 % of the volume of the dram with the droplets. Five droplets, this is instead 1 % of the total volume. In the three droplet added situation, the strength of a 60 % whisky will have been diluted to around 59,6 % instead. This is simply not enough for just about all of us to discern a difference in character in the whisky (except for the very old and fragile whiskies).
It is my suggestion that in order to actually achieve an appreciable change in character, a lowering of the strength by at least 3 % in alcohol strength is required, as a general principle. This change will ”stir” the whisky somewhat and create a slight nervous reaction therein, as the ethanol molecules start to vibrate and thus generate small amounts of heat, which gives the nose of the whisky a push and the palate will of course also change slightly in character. That would, for a 25 ml sized dram at 60 % strength, mean that a minimum of 1,32 ml of water, thus just over 26 standard sized droplets have to be added.
Seeing anyone add 26 droplets to a dram is very rare indeed. The typical number of droplets added tends to be in the region of three to five. Which is just not enough to achieve an actual adjustment of the whisky’s character (other than in very special cases). Everyone to their own, but now you know the facts of the volumes involved. Happy dramming!
P.S. My own typical preferred strength tends to hover around the 52 % strength level, though there are numerous exceptions depending mainly on the character and intensity of the whisky in question, and to some extent on the mood and environment I am in.