Did you know a single drop of water can transform whisky?

Whisky is bottled at a wide range of strengths. Sometimes that can be just a bit too punchy for your palate. Fortunately, there’s a simple fix. Did you know a drop of water can sometimes help a whisky truly shine?

Water plays a vital role in whisky. After all, the water of life is distilled with pure water. And after distillation, water remains important during bottling. Distilleries often reduce whisky to a desired strength and they do that with pure water.

Whisky isn’t always diluted before it goes into the bottle. Every whisky lover has heard of cask strength. That’s whisky bottled at its natural cask strength.

Depending on the whisky, that’s a fairly high alcohol level, typically between 50 and 60 percent alcohol by volume (ABV).

Adding water to whisky isn’t second nature to every enthusiast. Some swear by it, others see it as sacrilege. The latter group appreciates the extra kick a higher ABV brings.

Water is often added because the alcohol content is simply too high, for example with cask-strength releases. A drop of water effectively lowers the strength, making the whisky a touch gentler and less fiery.

But water has another important effect, which is why many drinkers use it: it helps the whisky “open up.”

A few drops of water rearrange the water–alcohol bonds in the glass. Certain compounds become more volatile and evaporate more readily.

That means your nose can pick them up more easily, and the whisky effectively releases more aroma. You could say it blossoms in the glass like a flower.

This isn’t just about aroma—the flavor can shift as well. A whisky can taste quite different with just a few drops of water.

So how much water should you add to a glass to get this effect? That's entirely up to you and your taste buds. Experiment with it is oud general advise. First add a drop, then taste. Then add a drop again en repeat the process.

An important notes is to add water very carefully and in moderation. For whiskies under 46 percent alcohol by volume, the advice is to add it drop by drop to avoid thinning the whisky too much.

There’s a real risk of watering it down, and once that happens the whisky’s flavor is immediately ruined.