Whether or not you lend water towhiskeydefines you as a whisky drinker . While many consecrated whiskey drinker are securely opposed to “ stretch ” a glass of corking whisky , others believe that adding a few drops of urine to a drachm open up up its flavors and aroma . This possibility inspired companies in Scotland and Kentucky to market waters specifically design to blend withbourbonandscotch .
The thinking is that the best water for a especial whiskey is one that do from the same source as that whisky . While that logic make sense , we were still skeptical . It got us think : Does the case of water you scare away into your whiskey actually make a difference ? We decided to define up an experimentation .
We tested eight different amnionic fluid ( five specialty Ethel Waters , three promptly uncommitted options ) , taste each on its own and splosh into a stock overproof whiskey , to find out exactly how each water affected the spirit ’s aroma and flavor . Here ’s what happened .
Disclaimer : We did not taste each of the strong point waters with the particular whiskeys for which they were designed . The results of this trial run should be taken as general tasting notes and not as a reflection of the precise role or effectuality of these waters .
Unfiltered NYC Tap Water
New York City ’s tap pee has been lauded as some of the practiced in the nation , and we can demonstrate to its balmy flavor and smooth mouthfeel compared with wiretap water from , say , Kansas ( this particular writer ’s home State Department ) . Its pH scale is about 7.2 — just slimly above what is considered neutral . On its own , the flavor is uncontaminating with mild minerality . But in whisky , the tap water did petty to enhance the flavor . It mince the reversal of the fermentation alcohol at first sip , but did n’t bring onward or unfold up any of the sweeter or warmer tones in the whiskey .
Distilled Water
The pH of distilled water is purportedly about the same as that of tap water , although various tests on the subject have proven otherwise , include one done by spirits writerCamper Englishwho measure out it coming in at a pH of 5.6 . With only our tongue to judge , we found that it did n’t have much feel one way or the other . The distilled piss soften the whiskey on the palate a picayune better than the water faucet water system , but did n’t do much to afford up or neuter the flavor .
Evian Natural Spring Water
We regain this bottled water to be fairly similar to tap water . It ’s light on the palate and faintly chalky with a pH of 7.4 . In the whisky , it mellowed the spicery and started to lash out out the spirit ’s sweet notes . But it also give some minerality to the drachma .
Uisge Source Islay
Each bottling of Uisge Source is meant to complement a dissimilar variety of scotch . This one , which is sourced from the Ardilistry Spring , is have in mind to couple well with Islay whiskey . These whiskey often have a smokier character , thanks to thepeated barleyprocess , and this water shares some of those timber . When sip by itself it has a mild gross flavor . The brand does n’t disclose the precise pH levels of each of its piss on its website , though it does indicatethat the water number in close to a pH of 6 , and assign this mellow acidity to its innate peat filtration . When added to whiskey , it tame the ethanol flavors , rounding it out and heighten the plentiful , leathery bill of the whisky . We were pretty impressed with this particular water ’s ability to improve the overall flavor .
Uisge Source Speyside
If we had to choose any of Uisge Source ’s piddle to sip on a everyday fundament , we ’d pick this one . It ’s dispirited in minerality with a silky grain , coming in nearer to 8 on the pH scale . Its placid and stoney flavor can be attributed to its root : the smoky quartz Well in the Speyside region of Scotland . The pee naturally separate out through hard John Rock , including granite . Though we have sex it straight , it did not get to the whisky up as much as we were hoping . Perhaps our overproof whiskey was too much for it . We find its effects quite similar to that of the hydrant water supply .
Uisge Source Highland
As its name suggests , this H2O — and the variety of scotch it ’s signify to complement — hails from the northern region of Scotland . It ’s sourced from St. Colman ’s Well in Betsy Ross - shire horse and is purportedly very similar to the water used by the region ’s distillery . On its own , it has a light minerality and a fragile stoniness , thanks to the sandstone and limestone through which it naturally flows . When added to whiskey , the flavors remain largely unchanged .
Franklin & Sons Ltd. Scottish Artesian Water
This Scottish Highlands - source water — which issue forth from the spring near Balmoral Castle in the Cairngorms National Park — breaks everything down right on the recording label , from the atomic number 20 , magnesium and chloride content of the water to the pH at source , which comes in at 6.1 . It has a diffused minerality than Uisge ’s Highland water , though it ’s noticeably more mineral - intemperate than distilled water . Rather than relegating itself to one case of whisky , Franklin & Sons claim it helps “ release the true character of the finest spirit . ” A splash of this water in whisky enhance the whisky ’s natural sweetness and smoothed the flavour significantly more than the other Highland water as well as the other more widely available water .
Old Limestone Mixing Water
The term “ branch water ” or “ Bourbon dynasty and branch ” get from an old Southern tradition of serving Kentucky bourbon with sassy bound water . That ’s the canonic idea behind Old Limestone ’s piss , which is bottle with a pH of 5.6 . Sipped straight , the limestone flavor shines through . In a Methedrine of whisky , Old Limestone helped to labialize out and soften the flavors , seemingly without altering its flavor , but wreak some of the sweeter caramel flavor to the forefront .
The Verdict
The type of water you splash into your whiskey really does make a difference . We were surprise by the extreme difference of opinion between each of the waters in this tasting , both on their own and in the whiskey . The specialty piss that share some of the whisky ’s characteristics by all odds helped the whiskey open up , so it seems these potentially gimmicky products are actually save on their promise . We also noticed that we tended to favor the waters with a low pH.
