# Scotch/Bourbon/Whiskey drinkers: Are you supposed to add a drop of water to the drink? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2011, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173 "2011-09-22T06:59:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/41 "2011-09-22T22:35:16Z")
Is this somewhat akin to the idea of letting wine breathe before drinking? If I buy a nice but inexpensive whiskey, say a bottle of Bush, am I likely to not notice much in the way of difference? ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/42 "2011-09-22T22:52:42Z")
> [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > If you’re looking for appreciation, a few drops of water is where to start. Water “opens up” the whisky… many of the flavors are trapped, so to speak, and water breaks down the “trap” and releases aroma and flavor. This is true of every whisky, at every level. Although this is the first response that actually tried to answer the question asked, Cite? Are whiskey snobs even more annoying than wine or beer snobs? Or maybe I was too stupid and took the OP way too literally? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/43 "2011-09-22T23:02:49Z")
See Post #36. Yes. I am two of the three, and even I can’t stand me in snob mode. Maybe. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/44 "2011-09-22T23:03:04Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > the way you’re supposed to drink it is the way you like to drink it. Word. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/45 "2011-09-22T23:06:11Z")
No. Not word. Partial word, maybe. Anybody who mixes Macallan with anything other than a touch of water deserves a horsewhipping. Anybody who drink a fine cognac over ice should be euthanized. Cheap scotch and Christian Bothers, knock yourself out. But it’s the posers who are keeping the prices out of reach of most of us, and this must stop. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/46 "2011-09-22T23:11:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > No. Not word. Partial word, maybe. Anybody who mixes Macallan with anything other than a touch of water deserves a horsewhipping. Anybody who drink a fine cognac over ice should be euthanized. Cheap scotch and Christian Bothers, knock yourself out. But it’s the posers who are keeping the prices out of reach of most of us, and this must stop. Disagree entirely. Do what makes yourself happy. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/47 "2011-09-22T23:14:16Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I know that there is at least one Islay scotch that recommends adding a very small bit of water. IIRC, the advice was on a little foldout attached to the bottle neck. I am drawing a blank on the name tho. IIRC Oban says something like ‘drink neat or with a drop of water like a stalwart’ on it, so I guess they are open to both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/48 "2011-09-22T23:22:21Z")
This is interesting. I’ve deliberately avoided learning to like scotch: liking bourbon is plenty expensive for me, thank you. My favorite bourbon hands-down is Woodford Reserve (I might like some of the uberpremium brands more, but I’ve not tried very many of them, and the one or two I have tried I haven’t liked as well as WR). When I tried WR with a single ice cube, I was profoundly disappointed in it. It might make a difference that I sip bourbon over a ridiculously long time: a single shot can last me an hour or more, and I sip probably a quarter-teaspoon at a time. Mostly I clutch it like a freezing man with a cup of hot coffee and sniff it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/49 "2011-09-22T23:39:44Z")
How could a drop or two of water make any significant difference at all to the flavors/aromas/volatiles? It’s already over half water. What are another couple of drops going to do? I had always understood the tradition to come from when actual dilution (i.e., adding a comparable amount of water) to stretch the drink was common. By adding a single drop, you were making it clear that you weren’t _forgetting_ to dilute it; you were just choosing to dilute it by the bare minimum amount. It’s sort of the same principle as leaving a 1 cent tip for bad service, instead of no tip at all. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/50 "2011-09-23T11:22:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How could a drop or two of water make any significant difference at all to the flavors/aromas/volatiles? It’s already over half water. What are another couple of drops going to do? I think that _literally_ a drop or two in a glassful of whisky probably would make no difference. However, if you start adding water in amounts large enough to measurably affect the alcohol concentration (more in the order of a “splash” than a “drop”), it’s easy to argue that you’ll feel a difference. Remember that a colloquial “drop” isn’t necessary the same as a literal drop (which is about 0.2 mL IIRC) 😉 Firstly, by diluting the whisky you decrease the amount of alcohol vapor going up into the air and to your nose. Since the odor of ethanol is quite sharp to the nose and may blunt our experience of more subtle aromas, I have no problem interpreting this as an experience that the flavors “open up”. The total aroma symphony will be markedly less dominated by the smell of ethanol. Secondly, the vapor pressures of the different components of a complex mixture is pretty difficult to predict. In short, weird things may happen. So, it’s also possible that a fairly small change in the proportions between water, ethanol and all the other components may give a noticable change in the overall aroma experience. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/51 "2011-09-23T12:16:58Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I have a bottle of Laphroaig [Triple Wood](http://www.laphroaig.com/whiskies/triple-wood.aspx) right here… Hmm, I think I tried that one a couple of weeks ago at the distillery (with a splash of water, of course). Anyroad, the Orkney poet George Mackay Brown used to claim that the only thing you can mix with whisky is whisky. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/52 "2011-09-23T13:03:34Z")
I’ve mostly drank whiskey as single-malts, and mostly around people who added not a drop of water. Some single-malts I like, some I find repulsive. I don’t find that monkeying around with water changes one into the other. Bottom line - screw the snobs. Drink what you like in the manner you like to drink it. Unless you’re going to a tasting or a [fill in the blank] appreciation class it’s nobody else’s business how you like your booze. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/53 "2011-09-23T17:32:59Z")
But if it really is a matter of dilution, why don’t they just sell it a little weaker to begin with? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/54 "2011-09-23T17:37:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But if it really is a matter of dilution, why don’t they just sell it a little weaker to begin with? I pretty much said the same thing. I wonder if the “release of volatiles” is the result of the agitation (stirring) instead of the addition of the water. But what do I know. I drink Irish whiskeys and dark rums mostly, only the occasional scotch, and always neat. ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/55 "2011-09-23T18:38:57Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Although this is the first response that actually tried to answer the question asked, Cite? Certainly! [Here’s a website](http://www.scotchdoc.com/tsd/ask/index.html) supporting what I’ve said, plus an explanation of what’s going on chemically. It was a fun read for me, because I didn’t know how it worked either! > [@](#): > > place about a half-teaspoon of good quality, room temperature water in the single malt. I keep a bottle of such in my single malt cabinet. Now quickly swirl the contents a couple of times and nose again. If the whisky has much character, you will now most likely have to move your glass farther from your nose. There may be an intense release of aromas from the malt- or maybe not so intense. This robust release of aromas is due to the old Chemistry 104 term called “heat of solution.” In effect, this rule states that when two chemicals are mixed, they may “take on” or “release” energy, thus becoming cooler or warmer. In the case of a whisky and water mix, the solution becomes slightly warmer, thus releasing the ethyl alcohols which contain much of the aroma of the single malt. The “nosing” step of appreciating the single malt is very important. There are 32 primary aromas, but only four primary tastes (via the tongue). Taste is influenced by the sense of smell for more than most people are aware. ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/56 "2011-09-23T18:47:09Z")
I found [another site](http://www.science20.com/adaptive_complexity/science_scotch) with a somewhat different explanation of what’s going on, as well. This also explains why they don’t just dilute it before shipping, as the dilution needs to happen as you enjoy the scotch. > [@](#): > > Ultimately, my question is whether I should add a little water or just drink my Scotch neat. The servers at my local Scotch bar insist on adding water to release some aroma and flavor. Chemically, you expect any reactions in the Scotch involving water to have largely gone to completion or have reached equilibrium after sitting around for more than a decade. After all, a 40% ethanol drink is about 60% water. > > What happens, according to the Chemistry World interview with a SWRI researcher, is due to dilution: as you add water and reduce the overall alcohol level (making your solution less hydrophobic), you change the solubility of various compounds, some of which evaporate and thus come off as enhanced aroma. Different Scotches will have different flavors that you may or may not want to release by dilution, so how much water to add to your Scotch, if any, depends on the particular brew you’re drinking. Which means you have to do what any good scientist does, and experiment. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/57 "2011-09-23T19:28:36Z")
Anybody who wonders what a little bit of water can do to an alcoholic drink needs to get themselves some ouzo, absinthe, Pernod/pastis, etc. and do an experiment. There are obvious physical changes that occur with the smallest addition of water. (They turn milky white in a process that is called “louching.”) That something similar may occur with whiskey or other alcoholic drinks and that it may affect the taste as well as appearance doesn’t seem too unbelievable to me. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/58 "2011-09-23T19:57:00Z")
As an experiment last night, I poured a half-ounce of 20 year old Black Maple Hill Bourbon, and a half-ounce of 23 year old Black Maple Hill Rye (I know - tough duty, but it was for SCIENCE). I sipped each, then added a quarter teaspoon of filtered water to each. The change in flavor - for the better - was immediately apparent! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/59 "2011-09-23T20:21:29Z")
Thanks for taking one for the team! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173/60 "2011-09-23T20:32:48Z")
Not a _serious_ Scotch drinker here, but probably because I’m not serious about anything. Nonetheless, I generally keep about ten to fifteen single malts on hand and a few choice blends. Similar to an above comment, in all the tastings I’ve been to they’ve recommended adding a touch of water. My suggestion: have it **chilled into a rocks glass**. Bars and restaurants have all sorts of different sized ice cubes, and asking for it with ‘just one cube’ is a bit silly–and many waitstaff and even bartenders can’t get even that correct. But having it chilled means that in short order it’s not cold anymore, and there is pretty much the right amount of added water. It makes ordering easy and avoids the Sally-esque demand that the waitstaff count out the cubes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotch-bourbon-whiskey-drinkers-are-you-supposed-to-add-a-drop-of-water-to-the-drink/597173.md?page=4)