We have met the enemy, and they are us. It’s time for whisk(e)y drinkers and the industry to move into the 21st century, and out of the dark ages of ignorance, misunderstanding, mysterious and mythological. Too many well regarded, highly visible key figures and ambassadors of the whisky industry are teaching misinformation supported by ridiculously absurd explanations, and directly in the face of scientific fact. This discussion refers to all whisky, whiskey, and whiskies, but for simplicity, whisky.

One has only to look around the whisky expos, master classes, and various whisky pairing dinners, to deduce that the vast majority of single malt whisky drinkers and many bourbon drinkers, enjoy their spirits straight up, with no water or ice. Although we have no actual data to back it up, we are confident that straight whiskey drinkers are in the vast majority among single malt advocates, and of those, we guess that less than 20% add water. Regardless of the whisky, very few diluters understand why, when it works, or how it works.

When is education not education? When you “open up” your whisky by adding a little water. Many have been adding water for years, justifying it with this erroneous statement. In their quest to fill in the blanks and explain the phenomenon that ethanol “disappears” when water is added, drinkers, distillers, and marketers searched diligently for validation, and satisfaction seems to have been met by an often misunderstood, highly distributed article by Martin Lersch, published on June 3, 2007 in the periodical Khymos, entitled New Perspectives on Whisky and Water. Many rely on it, misusing the information by taking some statements out of context and ignoring others (footnote a/).

It comes down to who you ask, and how you consider the answer. In response to “Will the addition of water release aromatic and flavor compounds in my whisky?” The chemist will answer “absolutely”. The physicist will say “yes, it releases them within the liquid, but getting them into the air for olfactory detection is another problem”. If you are not in a hurry, you may hear the chemist calling out as you approach the door “adding water masks other compounds”. This aspect is also well covered in the reference article.

When nosing whisky, the name of the game should be to present all the aromas for proper evaluation of all qualities, and not to suppress the less pleasant flavors (reflecting on the chemist’s belated answer above). Adding water to a whisky so we can smell happier, fruity esters changes the game considerably, not necessarily for the better, especially if the reasoning is not well understood.

The Lersch article clearly and correctly states that addition of water will free up micelles of flavor if enough is added to reduce ethanol to below 20% ABV. This is not accomplished with a squeeze or two from an eyedropper. If you have a 1 oz. shot of whiskey at 40% ABV, add another 1 oz. shot of water, and you are getting close to 20% ABV.

Question: Who dilutes their spirits with that much water? Answer: Blenders. Most large commercial distillery blenders dilute component spirits to around 20% ABV because:

Blending takes time, with much sniffing and re-tasting, and requires dilution to prevent olfactory lockout (footnote b/) and fatigue (everything smells the same, or not at all). Adding water cuts down evaporation of overabundant nose numbing alcohol along with everything else, allowing the blender time to perfect the blend. Ethanol affects blenders’ palate condition and numbs, irritates, anesthetizes, inflames, and abuses the taste buds, just like it does to the olfactory sensors, creating palate fatigue (everything tastes the same, or not at all) Blenders use a tall, convergent rim, copita style glass to blend, borrowed from sherry drinkers. This size and shape of glass concentrates ethanol aromas at the rim, necessitating dilution with water. Glasses similar to copita (taller than wide) are suitable for drinking 20% ABV spirits without nose burn. Sherry is about 17-24% ethanol, and few argue the nearly perfect utility of the copita for drinking sherry, ports, and other fortified wines. Blenders are searching for the optimum continuum of ethanol-water mix that releases micelles of flavorful compounds.

The average consumer, brand ambassador and spirits advocate knows little about what goes on in blending rooms, and their target markets seldom if ever drink whisky diluted to these levels. Most have certainly not been exposed to the science. Whether or not you add water to your whisky is dependent on (1) surface tension, (2) the importance one places on finish, (3) the glassware used in evaluation, and most importantly, (4) your preferences.

(1) Surface Tension: Per the physicist, “getting the released flavor molecules into the air for olfactory detection is another problem”.

Surface tension is the force that controls the interface (barrier) between air and the spirit. Surface tension is the reason a super lightweight water bug can walk on water. If surface tension keeps somewhat heavy things from falling in, you can believe it will also keep lighter flavor compound molecules from getting out (evaporating).

Ethanol evaporates quicker than water for all the reasons shown in the chart below. Water has over three times the surface tension of ethanol. Adding water increases surface tension, decreasing aromas unless you do something to break the surface tension (like swirl or stir vigorously, difficult in tall, skinny glasses).

Why did adding water change aroma? Raising surface tension shuts down evaporation, keeping more nose-numbing ethanol in the liquid. Question: “If adding water shuts down evaporation, why does it smell so much better?” Answer: “You are no longer distracted by uncomfortable pain and overabundant nose-numbing ethanol, and can better detect other aromas”. This is not “opening up”, it’s reducing air pollution. Adding water reduces ethanol aroma pollution. The “new” stuff you are smelling was always there, hiding behind overabundant ethanol. You thought it “opened up” because adding water made it smell more pleasant (see footnote b/).

The referenced article contains no explanation of surface tension effects, but in fairness to Lersch, the pictorial includes the statement “aroma compounds need to break loose from surface to be smelled”. This statement has been conveniently ignored. Surface tension is not quantified in GCMS testing, which detects minute traces of compounds in highly diluted spirits using much longer exposure times than those of a casual whisky noser. Surface tension has always been there, and increases when you add more water.

(2) The importance of finish: Finish is the final taste of the spirit, and includes olfactory, palate, and mouth feel (oily, tannin, minty, etc.) after one has placed it in the mouth and completely swished and sloshed it all around and under the tongue, swallowed and savored. When tasting, saliva, largely water, begins to dilute the spirit instantly, and also dilutes palate pain, adding enough to small sips to release the same elusive flavorful esters you were searching for if you added water to your spirit.

Finish olfactory is detected through the pharyngeal opening (retronasal olfaction). Swirl, smell, sip, slosh, swallow, smack your tongue against the roof of your mouth, breathe in slightly, close your mouth and breathe a little out through the nose, and there you have it, retronasal finish. The physical movement of the spirit in the mouth and smacking the palate against the roof of the mouth breaks the surface tension, freeing more flavors for evaluation (flavor = taste + smell).

Initial orthonasal smells (through the nostrils) are important as a safety warning or a harbinger of something wonderful, but the most important information is the finish, where all aspects (smell, taste, mouth feel) of the spirit are combined into a single message to the brain for identification, evaluation, and enjoyment or rejection. The palate and olfactory nerves join before they reach the brain recognition center, and all information is sent simultaneously, in a single sensory packet of information.

Consider this: Instead of inventing “scientific” sounding excuses to add water, let the saliva do the work of releasing flavor and make the finish evaluation your highest priority, more important than the orthonasal nose. If it’s painful, add just enough water for comfort. There is a profound difference in orthonasal aroma and retronasal finish. Rely on finish and natural “magic” of saliva, instead of trying to whip the whisky into shape with a few drops of water so you can search orthonasally for a few elusive smells in a water distorted aroma profile.

Who decided on 20% anyway? With present technology, finding a perfect continuum of water and alcohol is a waste of time, because the ratio is not exactly 20% for all whiskies. The perfect mix depends on the spirit, what’s in it, and differs from cask to cask of the same whisky. The blenders won’t find it unless they re-taste many times to “zero in” on the correct ratio for each specific whisky barrel.

If they do find it, what should be done next? Tell the intended market exactly how much water to add to get the most flavorful esters from the whisky that came from that barrel at the expense of other flavors? Would any one pay attention? Should they add notes describing which flavors have been masked to get the fruity flavors out? Totally unrealistic, this situation is similar to attempting to control a manufacturing dimension to the nearest millimeter, when your instrumentation only measures in centimeters.

In spite of high dilution, blenders do their best work by weighting retronasal finish as the most important part of the process. Drinkers, aficionados, collectors, judges, and sales persons would do well to have a similar approach.

Reality check: When you add water with an eye dropper, what actually happens? Very little. You cut down a small amount of evaporation to make it a tad easier on the nose, but no fruity esters can be released with such small dilution (refer back to the referenced article). Water alleviates some palate pain, but masks many aromas (oily, soapy, grassy), if they were present. Know what’s in the spirit before you add water.

Adding water became widespread when the American scotch drinker was encouraged to add water to make scotch whisky easier to drink back in the ‘60s. Searching for a wider market in the USA, scotch distillers soon found that the American palate was not acclimated to drinking straight spirits, and Americans added mixes and ice, and made cocktails to mask the foul smelling rotgut hanging over from prohibition. European/Scottish distillers had to produce better spirits, because for decades, use of ice and mixers never become widespread in Europe/UK. Poorly made spirits are more easily discovered when they are enjoyed straight up. Unfortunately, adding water has gone completely out of hand, and is the most misunderstand method of enjoying whisky, ever.

Why are the industry representatives perpetuating myth with silly, ritualistic, meaningless displays using eyedroppers, pipettes, and graduated cylinders to add very small amounts of water of unknown origin, additives, or mineral content in the name of science? Playing “lab scientist” doesn’t help anyone and makes us look silly.

Adding water provokes debate at the very top of the aficionado/expert chain. There are two types of “ultra-purists”, Add Water Purists say the ideal is to use the same spring water from which the spirit was made, to release the fruity, flowery esters (damn the science, this has to be right, even if we don’t add enough to release them), and No Water Purists who say “straight from the bottle is the way it’s made, and that is the way I choose to drink it” (damn the Add Water Purists). We are getting too full of ourselves in our search for some sort of “elite” status. Adding water is about marketing and palate pain.

(3) Glass shape is the biggest issue: At its best, the addition of water is a crutch to make a tall, narrow glass design perform better as a blenders tool. Copitas and chimneys are too tall to get characteristic aromas because they concentrate overabundant alcohol at the nose (see footnote c/), with surface areas too small to swirl properly and power up aromas (by breaking surface tension).

In essence both blenders and consumers have chosen to stand by an iconic glass shape which forces them to use other methods to enjoy their whisky (adding water, breathing with the mouth open, wafting aromas toward the nose, and successive repositioning closer to the nose to gradually condition the olfactory). Other straight spirits drinkers (rum, gin, vodka, tequila), do not use this style of glass, and therefore do not indulge in the contrived devices and procedures that whisky drinkers love to do.

At worst, it is a pretentious exercise by some to add mystique and romantic ritual to the drinking of whisky. Admit it: “I add water to my whiskey to save my nose and alleviate the palate burn because I like to drink from a tall convergent rim glass which blasts my nose with ethanol unless I add water” or “That’s the way I like it, no explanation needed”. That covers all bases.

Short glasses with wide surface areas work better to get aromas to the nose. Many American Bourbon lovers drink whisky from a rocks glass without adding water. Maybe they are on to something. Adding water to a coupe, margarita, on-the-rocks (no rocks of course), martini, or NEAT glass will kill almost all evaporation. Try it. No need to add water to accomplish what a proper glass does. This is more proof of the powers of surface tension and wide evaporation areas.

No one ever believed glass shape could make a difference in presentation until Riedel introduced the large air volume Burgundy Grand Cru glass in 1958. Design effect on presentation is well known and accepted as fact in the wine industry, yet with spirits, very few get it. The fact is, spirits drinkers need a glass designed specifically for drinking spirits straight up, because ethanol concentrations are much higher and interfere with drinking enjoyment and proper evaluation.

As long as whisky drinkers choose to drink straight up, no water or ice (footnote d/) added, a glass should eliminate nose burn and enhance aromas. Start your search with any glass that has a large surface area and lets you get your nose close to the spirit so you can pick up the stuff that never reaches the top of a tall, confined glass, and don’t add water unless it’s too painful on the palate to drink straight.

Wider mouth glassware with a wider liquid surface area also allows you to swirl better. Swirling is the engine that powers the aromas up to the nose, and swirling creates more ethanol problems for copita and chimney style glass users with high ethanol concentrations at their convergent rims.

Blending highly diluted whisky quickly becomes a self-serving, academic process, since few drinkers dilute to the 20% ABV level required to release flavor micelles. Kind of like tuning your McLaren 650S for even higher top speed at the expense of acceleration, when it already has the best balance of both. Concentrating on improving a single aspect usually results in sacrifice of something else. Finding the glass that dissipates ethanol is an easier answer, and they are out there, but no one will know until a few more brave souls step away from the old rituals, old rules, and inadequate tools (see footnote e/).

(4) Personal preference: We are not going to tell you how to drink your whisky. Adding water is truly personal preference, but doing it for the right reasons will keep you from looking like an idiot should you feel compelled to explain.

Summary: So many have been diluting with water for so long, and for all the wrong reasons, that myths grow larger than fact. Let’s summarize so there is no doubt about the effect of water in whisky.

Adding enough water to release more flavor compounds masks other flavors, and makes orthonasal aromas more difficult to detect due to increased surface tension. Pain on the palate is a good reason to add water, perhaps the only good reason, unless you enjoy your whisky at 20% ABV. Pain on the olfactory is a very good reason to add water if you drink from tall convergent rim glassware and place too much importance on orthonasal aroma. Whether or not to add water depends on the glass. Water should not be added to glasses with large surface areas. Different glassware requires different methodology and procedures to use them at their best. “I like it that way” is the very best reason to add water, just don’t try to justify it with crap disguised as “scientific” explanation. Fewer drinkers add water than those who drink straight up, and the majority that do, never add enough to find what they have been told they are seeking. You won’t find whisky ester nirvana with an eyedropper.

Why pursue marketing at the expense of the truth? It’s a losers’ game in the longer run. Many new young minds, interested in how things work, have reached legal drinking age. Not for one minute do they believe in faulty rationale. They are techies, and like the rest of us, they deserve the right answers, which, by the way, have been there all along. Faulty reasoning, mindless ritual, and shortcuts to make the explanation easier are grounds for rejection.

Focus on the relevant issue, glassware, and take science seriously, from distillation to consumption and evaluation. We are all better served by building on fact, teaching truth, discarding the useless, and empowering the consumer and ourselves with better understanding.

In the immortal words of Al Capp, “We have met the enemy, and they are us”.

Footnotes:

a/ Much information is also provided by an article from The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture #79, by John M. Conner, Alistair Paterson and John R. Piggott, entitled Release of distillate flavour compounds in Scotch malt whisky. Although of a slightly different bent pertaining to the effects of wood extracts on the interface barrier a working discussion of ester micelle formation emerges, useful to Lersch in the presentation of his argument, and adds some verification to many of his conclusions. There are practical time and condition

limitations to human nosing and tasting which do not correlate with the longer exposure times and conditions that GCMS studies need to detect and measure compounds the nose doesn’t smell, and there are many smells that humans can detect which cannot be picked up by GCMS. Therefore, it is unrealistic to extract information from scientific reports and apply them directly to what happens in the human olfactory. Also keep in mind that spirits used in these studies are highly diluted with no respect to the perfect alcohol/water continuum needed to release flavor micelles, and are geared to the sensitivity of the instrumentation.

b/ Olfactory lockout is a phrase coined by Arsilica, Inc in 2012. to describe the phenomenon that alcohol molecules can “fool” the olfactory sensors because of their similarity in shape to many other compounds. This is based on the “lock and key” theory of smell (proposed by 2004 Nobel prize winners Richard Axel and Linda Buck, and weak shape/odotope theory proposed by Mori and Shepherd in 1994, and R.W Moncrief in 1949). Considering overabundance of alcohol on the nose from 40% ABV spirits, the chances of ethanol reaching the cilia of an olfactory sensor first is of very high probability. The ratio of ethanol to other molecules in the aroma “cloud” is much higher than 40% because ethanol evaporates far more rapidly than most other molecules. The ethanol “key” gets to the lock before the intended “key” did. The result: The sensor is “locked out” of detecting its intended set of molecules because the ethanol molecule got there first and took it out of action. We still know little about the mechanism of olfactory, but lock and key is the current accepted state of the art. Vibration theory proposed by Dyson in 1928, expanded by Wright in 1954 and Turin in 1996, is the more unpopular, having recently been discredited by Block in a 2015 paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

c/ Images of ethanol emanating from different glassware tells part of the story. Refer to: Can the shape and design of a glass affect the taste of wine?, by Stephy Chung, Published in CNN Style>Luxury on January 18, 2016. Using a device called a snif-cam, Professor Kohji Mitsubayashi confirms with infrared photography that the shape of a glass matters. Because the cocktail glass has more red, it indicates alcohol is leaving from all over the surface area. The cocktail glass red area is less concentrated alcohol than the wine glass or straight glass red areas. This study was performed with wine (10-13% ABV). Imagine what happens when 40% ABV pushes even more ethanol to the top of the convergent rim glass and the green spot disappears under a cloud of red. Even more red will show in a very small rim glass like the copita or chimney shapes. These pictures are directional until we actually snif-cam 40%+ ABV whisky with different glassware. More to come on this issue.

d/ The referenced Lersch article deduces that cooling “actually enhances flavor” and “serving whiskey on the rocks will actually promote the release of flavor compounds from the ethanol micelles”. Note that this is true only for release of flavors trapped in the micelles into the liquid, and does not enhance flavor orthonasally, as you cannot smell the released flavors in cold, high surface tension water mixes. Lersch’s conclusion that the release of micelles resulted in more flavors completely ignores surface tension considerations. Ice lowers the temperature, increases surface tension, and melting ice adds more water, further increasing the surface tension, so detecting flavor compounds is even more difficult than before adding ice. Flavors floating around in the liquid are undetectable unless they can break the surface tension. Ice dumbs down the liquor, dumbs the palate (cold temperature), and abates palate burn. Exercise: smell the same whisky cold and warm, side-by-side in the same style glass. If you smelled anything at all from the cold whisky add an ice cube to make it colder. Many vodka drinkers love to serve martinis in frozen glasses, using vodka or gin from the freezer, served in a divergent rim, wide surface area glass to eliminate alcohol aroma. “I love the smell of ethanol” said no one ever, except the hopelessly addicted “huffer”.

e/ Drinkers, blenders and industry professionals should feel compelled to examine other types of glassware which display the spirit at its best; undiluted, the way the majority of whisky drinkers actually drink it. No time soon are the full strength drinkers of the world going to dilute to 20% ABV. Many blenders of whisky, perfume, essential oils, wine, olive oils, coffee, tea, and spirits use the NEAT glass to display aromas for blending or quality verification, because it physically redirects the alcohol (or superheated water vapor), and displays all aromas in orderly fashion without adding water. Many distillers and blenders use a copita or chimney style glass, and supplement with NEAT as a secondary check for aromas. Changing to a different glass may mean some nosing baseline recalibration, but all for the better.