WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE, BUT JUST A DROP IN MY DRINK

Like many everyday wine drinkers, the thought of decanting a bottle of house wine never occurred to me and why would it? Isn’t decanting just for those special wines …the ones that are out of my price range? Well in some cases that is true, some older wines need to be decanted because they have sediment at the bottom that should not end up in the bottom of someone’s glass. This is not to say the sediment is bad for you it is just a bit unpleasant to get a mouthful on the last sip.

Actually, here’s a great reason for decanting a young wine that could be improved with more time in the bottle. Expose it to the maximum amount of air possible to artificially add the age that time in the bottle would add. The slow exposure to oxygen that is exchanged over years through the porous cork mellows a wine; to speed that process up a bit we decant (and not in the careful fashion we employ with an older wine that has sediment we are trying to separate out). We instead decant quickly, just dumping the bottle as it were into the decanter to aerate. This will improve a sharp young wine that needs more age.

As any good distiller knows that same theory applies with whiskey/y, but rather than air we want to expose the whisky to water. A dedicated malt whisky drinker who drinks his or her whisky neat will often require a small pitcher of water on the side and will add water to the whisky as he or she enjoys the whisky. There is no hard and fast rule because all whisky drinkers have their theory about how much water improves the dram. What we do know is that there is science behind the addition of water.  Beverage alcohol is a fatty acid, and the addition of water will unlock it’s aromas and flavors, releasing them into your nose and on your palate (BUT not too much water, just enough to enhance without watering down). Most dedicated connoisseurs agree that with an ounce of whisky a half-ounce of water will do the trick nicely but some swear that doubling the amount of whisky with water is the key. It has to be a matter of personal taste. But it is absolutely something you must try if drink your whisky neat.

CARDHU NEAT +

1.5 ounces Cardhu 12 year old Malt whisky

.75 ounces filtered or spring water

 Assemble in a hefty old fashioned glass and enjoy

 

See you next week …enjoy your drinks responsibly and don’t forget to turn the lights out when you leave.

Dale aka kingcocktail