Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?

"jw 1111" wrote in message
...
Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?




No. It's a matter of your taste. Drinking it straight is fine, but some
people find that a bit too potent, taste-wise. Mixing with good quality
water, perhaps 1 to 1 ratio, may be more to your liking. Try both and see
what you like! You should let your own taste be your guide and not someone
else's idea of what you "should" do. On the other hand, mixing good whiskey
with anything but water is a waste because the special tastes of the whiskey
will be covered up.


--
Peter Aitken
(who just remembered the bottle of 18 year old Glenfiddich in the closet and
is headed that way)

jw 1111 wrote:

Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?



I prefer to sip it straight and enjoy the aroma more than the taste.
Full strength, it doesn't have much taste to me except slightly sweet
from the alcohol. Maybe the alcohol is too strong for the taste buds to
register. The proof is about 90 to 100 on the bourbon that I liked; I
also like Crown Royal at 80 proof IIRC.

When I dilute it with a little water or with ice, it tastes a lot
harsher and unpleasant, like cheap whiskey.

Bob

jw 1111 wrote:
Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?

Try it and see what you like. It may depend on what kind of whisky it
is. Many aficionados of single malt scotch insist that a little bit of
pure cold water should be added but never any ice. Personally, I like
top quality bourbon neat, single malt scotch with a little water,
except that I like the really peaty ones neat. -aem

jw 1111 wrote:

Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?

Depends on the whisky. Try it without any water and then with a small
amount of good water in it. Some whiskies taste better with a tiny bit
of water in them.

jw 1111 wrote:

Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?

Only among the tiny minority of people who really
appreciate fine whiskey.

How do you know which type you are? Compare regular
Crown Royal and (at twice the price) Crown Royal Special
Reserve. If the difference is barely perceptible,
fine whiskey is wasted on you. You'd be just as happy
with any good whiskey mixed with Coca-Cola or something.

"Mark Thorson" wrote in message
...
jw 1111 wrote:

Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?

Only among the tiny minority of people who really
appreciate fine whiskey.

How do you know which type you are? Compare regular
Crown Royal and (at twice the price) Crown Royal Special
Reserve. If the difference is barely perceptible,
fine whiskey is wasted on you. You'd be just as happy
with any good whiskey mixed with Coca-Cola or something.

Bad idea. Canadian whiskey is the least interesting of all. It's like
testing your taste for beer by comparing Bud and Miller. Scotch and bourbon,
in that order, are vastly superior.


--
Peter Aitken

"jw 1111" wrote in message
...
Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?

IMHO --- sort of -

IMHE, bourbon benefits from sips of ice-chip water between sips of whiskey.

Irish, scotch, bourbon, and cognac/brandy lose a little of the heaviness of
the peat/tannin when water is added, and they also lose some of the strength
of the bouquet - both essential elements of the "flavor".
Water also dilutes the "bite", part of the distilling effort - (bite,
which BTW makes up much of the flavor sensory experience for vodka
afficionados)

Can't speak to Canadian - never tried it with water.

fwiw...

Peter Aitken wrote:
"Mark Thorson" wrote in message
...

jw 1111 wrote:

Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was
gently communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be
in some way not lead to its real appreciation. Is this a
generally accepted view?

Only among the tiny minority of people who really appreciate fine
whiskey.

How do you know which type you are? Compare regular Crown Royal
and (at twice the price) Crown Royal Special Reserve. If the
difference is barely perceptible, fine whiskey is wasted on you.
You'd be just as happy with any good whiskey mixed with Coca-Cola
or something.


Bad idea. Canadian whiskey is the least interesting of all. It's like
testing your taste for beer by comparing Bud and Miller. Scotch and
bourbon, in that order, are vastly superior.




I like Bourbon much better than Scotch*, but maybe I'm just not old
enough to appreciate Scotch. The best whiskey I've tasted was Woodford
Reserve, but I usually drink Elijah Craig 12 y.o. Bourbon

*the Scotch I tried was Johnny Walker black label

Best regards,
Bob

In article ,
"jw 1111" wrote:

Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?




IMHO, yeah. ;-)

I never drink whiskey with water anyway!
I might pour it over just a little bit of crushed ice, then sip it.

Slowly...
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...

I like Bourbon much better than Scotch*, but maybe I'm just not old
enough to appreciate Scotch. The best whiskey I've tasted was
Woodford
Reserve, but I usually drink Elijah Craig 12 y.o. Bourbon

*the Scotch I tried was Johnny Walker black label


Both Bourbons are excellent quality. So is the Scotch.
So are the previously mentioned Canadian Ryes. So are
Cognacs and aged Tequilas and Armagnacs and carefully
made Vodkas and ... approach them all as individuals,
awaiting your discovery of their unique qualities. They all
have them; that is the beauty of good whiskeys. If you do
not like them straight add a bit of water, or a bit of ice, and
at some point you will think that it isn't all that bad. Then
you will be halfway there. You have a lifetime of fun ahead.

pavane

In article ,
"Peter Aitken" wrote:

"Mark Thorson" wrote in message
...
jw 1111 wrote:

Hi, i was recently offered some very good whisky and it was gently
communicated to me that to mix it with any water would be in some way not
lead to its real appreciation. Is this a generally accepted view?

Only among the tiny minority of people who really
appreciate fine whiskey.

How do you know which type you are? Compare regular
Crown Royal and (at twice the price) Crown Royal Special
Reserve. If the difference is barely perceptible,
fine whiskey is wasted on you. You'd be just as happy
with any good whiskey mixed with Coca-Cola or something.

Bad idea. Canadian whiskey is the least interesting of all. It's like
testing your taste for beer by comparing Bud and Miller. Scotch and bourbon,
in that order, are vastly superior.

Even Williams.

Black Label. :-)
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

Peter Aitken wrote:

How do you know which type you are? Compare regular
Crown Royal and (at twice the price) Crown Royal Special
Reserve. If the difference is barely perceptible,
fine whiskey is wasted on you. You'd be just as happy
with any good whiskey mixed with Coca-Cola or something.

Bad idea. Canadian whiskey is the least interesting of all. It's like
testing your taste for beer by comparing Bud and Miller. Scotch and bourbon,
in that order, are vastly superior.

Actually, it sounded like good advice to me. I am not sure Canadian whiskey is
the least interesting as long as there is still Bourbon around. I don't think
either of those compare with a good Scotch or even a nice Irish Whiskey. Never
the less, he had a good point about it being a waste if the OP can't tell the
difference. And if a person insists on mix with whiskey it would be a terrible
waste of the good stuff.

hob wrote:


IMHE, bourbon benefits from sips of ice-chip water between sips of whiskey.

Irish, scotch, bourbon, and cognac/brandy lose a little of the heaviness of
the peat/tannin when water is added, and they also lose some of the strength
of the bouquet - both essential elements of the "flavor".
Water also dilutes the "bite", part of the distilling effort - (bite,
which BTW makes up much of the flavor sensory experience for vodka
afficionados)

Can't speak to Canadian - never tried it with water.

fwiw...

Good Canadian rye whiskey is not bad stuff, but it has to be the the good stuff.

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:



IMHO, yeah. ;-)

I never drink whiskey with water anyway!
I might pour it over just a little bit of crushed ice, then sip it.

Slowly...

There was episode on the Mary Tyler Moore show where Mr.Grant told mary how to
drink Scotch. His advice was to get a nice glass, but some ice in it and add a
hefty shot of Scotch. Then you swirl the whiskey around in the glass and have a
sip, and you do that a few times, and when there is just enough ice melted into the
whiskey you knock it back.