A common question asked is, “Can I add water to my whisky?”
The short answer is yes, which leads to the next question, “Well how much water should I add?”
There is no straight forward answer to that follow up question. Some people enjoy their whisky at 40% ABV (80 proof), others at 50% ABV (100 proof), others still prefer their drams at cask strength. There really is no wrong way to enjoy it. Even the legendary bourbon distiller Pappy Van Winkle believed 50% ABV was the ideal alcohol concentration for whisky, yet even he recognized that some people liked adding water to his whisky.
So, how much water should you add to your whisky?
First: do not wing it, you may spoil a good thing and each whisky is different. Start with trying the liquid as bottled. Next add a couple drops and see what that does, add a bit more and so on until you find that optimal ABV for that bottling. Some whisky expressions are so robust and flavourful you can dilute them up to 1:1 (equal parts whisky and water), others may end up more like Bud Light if you tried to do this.
How do I find my perfect proof?
First, experiment. Start with a known volume of whisky, say 2 ounces. Pour a known volume of water into a graduated cylinder, add small amounts of water to the whisky until you like the taste. Look at the cylinder and note how much what you added. Then use the form below “Water into Whisky” to find your perfect ABV.
Once you know your perfect ABV, use the next calculator to find out how much water to add to any amount of whisky to reach your preferred ABV. If it is still to much for your palate, add a little more to that particular expression, if it was to much, take a little away next time. Each whisky is unique in how much water can be added, so keep notes for your next pour of that bottle.
Water into Whisky
Desired Whisky ABV
Does the water matter?
Some will say yes and then recommend distilled. What I’ve found is, you want to taste the whisky, not the water, so choosing the right water to add matters. If I add distilled water, I can taste it, because I never drink distilled water. My go to is the water I’ve been drinking lately. My brain is use to the taste of that water and doesn’t pick it out of the whisky. This is usually my tap water (I’m on a well, so no chemicals from the city), or natural spring water. Again, experiment. Water is cheap, find which one you can’t taste in your whisky.
At the end of it all, enjoy your dram the way you want to, each whisky is unique, each person is unique.
Cheers,
Darryl the WhiskeySith
