Photo Credit: Nature – Dilution of Whisky – The Molecular Perspective
Have you ever wondered why your whisky tastes and smells better after you add a little water? It’s because of this hardcore molecule, guaiacol, an aromatic alcohol, which is a fancy way of saying it makes the whisky smell and taste delicious. See that hexagon with the lines on the inside? That’s a phenol compound. That’s literally what we taste and smell. Mmm mmm good! The crux of the Nature article which explains this process is that at cask strength the guaiacol is trapped at the bottom of our whisky glass beneath a layer of ethanol. This means we won’t be able to smell or taste it as much. However, by adding water into our whisky glass and diluting the whisky to around 27 abv it breaks apart that ethanol layer allowing the guaiacol to rise to the surface thus allowing our tastebuds and ol factory sensors to really take in the whisky’s full experience! Therefore, for a 40 abv dram add about a teaspoon of water to dilute it by around a fourth, and for a cask strength dram add a solid one and a half tea spoons to a full tablespoon of water. Sniff, sip and enjoy! Slàinte!
Here’s the full article which explains the process in detail:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-06423-5
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