Bourbon & Rye

[Chin Diesel]

adding water to whiskey, yea or nay. or add some ice and let it sit a bit

Depends.

If it's something new I've never tried before, I prefer it neat to taste it in its purest form.
But, there are definitely some bourbons or whiskies I prefer with a drop or two of water.
And there are some I prefer with a cube.

 

[AreBee1969]

adding water to whiskey, yea or nay. or add some ice and let it sit a bit

I got to meet Richard Paterson at a Scotch tasting in New Haven. What a character! There's a full documentary that I can't find now showing the story of how he recreated the Scotch buried for 100 years in the Antarctic ice under Ernest Shackleton's base camp.

Here's the short version.

 

[HCCForever]

I got to meet Richard Paterson at a Scotch tasting in New Haven. What a character! There's a full documentary that I can't find now showing the story of how he recreated the Scotch buried for 100 years in the Antarctic ice under Ernest Shackleton's base camp.

Here's the short version.

I read the book about Endurance and don’t remember the scotch being mentioned. Wild adventure then and good story about recreation of the scotch.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Depends.

If it's something new I've never tried before, I prefer it neat to taste it in its purest form.
But, there are definitely some bourbons or whiskies I prefer with a drop or two of water.
And there are some I prefer with a cube.

I'll add this. When Mrs. Diesel and I went up to bourbon country earlier this year and did flight testings at five different distilleries, every distillery had it set up to take a sip of each selected bourbon neat, and then had a medicine dropper to add a drop or two so you could compare the differences.

That was 6-7 months ago which is my way of saying I have no idea which ones tasted better neat or with a drop or two of water, but I know some of the bourbons tasted a bit better with the water, some not as good, and some I really couldn't tell the difference.

 

[Kolumbo]

I'll add this. When Mrs. Diesel and I went up to bourbon country earlier this year and did flight testings at five different distilleries, every distillery had it set up to take a sip of each selected bourbon neat, and then had a medicine dropper to add a drop or two so you could compare the differences.

That was 6-7 months ago which is my way of saying I have no idea which ones tasted better neat or with a drop or two of water, but I know some of the bourbons tasted a bit better with the water, some not as good, and some I really couldn't tell the difference.

I don't drink much whiskey so I would have no idea. But if I was on a tasting tour, I think I'd go with the additional H2O. I know straight whiskey burns a little more than I like.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't drink much whiskey so I would have no idea. But if I was on a tasting tour, I think I'd go with the additional H2O. I know straight whiskey burns a little more than I like.

That's just getting used to it. I get no burn at 100 proof or less, some with barrel proof stuff. But lately I often add a small ice cube that melts simply to keep me from drinking as much of it as I otherwise might.

When tasting more critically, I try it neat first. I do that for anything new and never added water back when I was wring reviews on Reddit. I would say that barrel proof bourbon and no water makes for a slow consumption time with very small sips.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I don't drink much whiskey so I would have no idea. But if I was on a tasting tour, I think I'd go with the additional H2O. I know straight whiskey burns a little more than I like.

That's just getting used to it. I get no burn at 100 proof or less, some with barrel proof stuff. But lately I often add a small ice cube that melts simply to keep me from drinking as much of it as I otherwise might.

When tasting more critically, I try it neat first. I do that for anything new and never added water back when I was wring reviews on Reddit. I would say that barrel proof bourbon and no water makes for a slow consumption time with very small sips.

The Kentucky Chew. First sip of bourbon is most likely going to burn a bit and have some bite.
That was another thing we were introduced to on our tastings. First sip is mostly a waste as your taste buds need to get over the shock of the alcohol. Each person is a bit different but it's common to need a sip to acclimate your body to the alcohol.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Kentucky Chew. First sip of bourbon is most likely going to burn a bit and have some bite.
That was another thing we were introduced to on our tastings. First sip is mostly a waste as your taste buds need to get over the shock of the alcohol. Each person is a bit different but it's common to need a sip to acclimate your body to the alcohol.

The other thing is air time. Just like with wine. The first pour from a bottle is always the worst. That can be mitigated if you let it sit in the glass for 20 minutes before that first sip, and it would have a bit less "chew". Not possible at a distillery tasting of course, but I did then when writing reviews, started writing while it sat.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The other thing is air time. Just like with wine. The first pour from a bottle is always the worst. That can be mitigated if you let it sit in the glass for 20 minutes before that first sip, and it would have a bit less "chew". Not possible at a distillery tasting of course, but I did then when writing reviews, started writing while it sat.

Agree on giving it time to breathe in a glass before sipping. Most of the tasting tours we did had the glasses prefilled when we walked in to the tasting room so they had time to breathe before we sampled. Only exception was the Jim Beam tour we used the whiskey thief to pull the bourbon directly out the bung hole in the barrel.

 

[Deepelm]

adding water to whiskey, yea or nay. or add some ice and let it sit a bit

Never ice, it ruins the flavor. I taste neat first, then add a few drops, and maybe a few more depending on proof.

 

[Kolumbo]

huh huh you said bung hole huh huh

breathe

 

[Deepelm]

 

[Deepelm]

 

[Deepelm]

Not a huge fan of the new look they swapped to a couple years ago but the spirit is still tasty.