How To Drink Your Whisky

Now we are not going to say which is the best way to drink whisky, there is no right or wrong way as it is solely down to personal preference. We will simply be offering some suggestions as to how you can best enjoy your whisky!

The Glass Of Choice

For casual drinking of a whisky you already know you like, a tumbler is definitely the go to style of glass. However, there is a slight difference required in the style of the glass when tasting whisky, if you want to do it properly. If you have ever been to a high-end whisky tasting, you may have noticed the tulip shaped glassware. This means the whisky can be swilled at the bottom without spilling and it also funnels the aromas of the whisky to the upper neck of the glass, allowing for a fuller experience of what the whisky has to offer when taking a sip.

Add Ice

Adding ice to a premium single malt is only going to negatively affect it in our opinion. The lower temperature freezes the aromas and withholds the smell and therefore dulls the taste. Many people do use ice for the duller taste, so in that case it does its job well. For those that want to fully experience the depths of various flavour profiles and noses of the upper echelons of whisky, we would suggest avoiding ice!

Adding Water

There is divided opinion on whether you should add water to your whisky, with those that drink it neat saying it spoils the taste and those that add water saying it brings out hidden characteristics. All this shows is that it is just down to personal preference however, the professionals tend to add a little water to theirs. The reasoning behind it is so that the whisky doesn’t numb their senses and hinder their ability to fully enjoy it. Scientifically, certain enzymes within the whisky are activated when water is added, therefore showing that ‘bringing out of hidden characteristics’ is actually a thing! It should be noted that the water added must be still spring water as tap water with all its chemicals in would spoil the whisky more so than add to it.

Adding Mixer

The adding of mixers such as soda water, lemonade and coke to single malts has become very popular over recent years. People that are adding mixers to single malts are generally not those that are strong advocates for whisky and its complexities, instead they just enjoy the taste of the whisky in an altered state. Although whisky connoisseurs would frown upon it, these consumers are just as valuable to distillers due to the sheer volume of sales and also the brand exposure it brings.