Thread: A splash of water in your single malt ?

The one and only Scotch whisky tasting I went to was put on by a college chemistry professor who happened to be from Scotland and had visited most of the distilleries over the years.

He went through all the steps of producing Scotch whisky and pointed out that a goodly number of them were there to reduce the water content. He also pointed out that other than "cask strength" bottles the whisky was eventually watered down before distribution anyway, mostly to meet some arbitrary percentages. If I remember what he said, this was partly done to get certain tax incentives (or avoid tax penalties, depending on your point of view).

So his advice was that it was unreasonable to add a splash of water to something that was already watered down anyway, perhaps even past its ideal. He pointed out that at least the water used by the distillery was the same water the stuff was made from in the first place and that tap water would be a crime against nature.

This gent turned me on to Islay whiskys and I am happier for that! I drink it neat.