Printable View
I'm with the camp that says it just takes some time to build a tolerance. I can't offer a physiological explanation but something eventually changes in your mouth/tongue/esophagus, and you no longer feel a burning sensation. I personally love the concentrated flavors of barrel proofers -- I just have to watch how much I consume... :falling:
Just add water until you find the taste you like. Remember professional tasters dilute the whisky down to 40 proof so you have quite a lot of leeway.
Addition to above, I've been drinking bourbon for 40+ years and over time I've used less water and have enjoyed higher proofed bourbons.
I'm going to make 2 points:
1. you can do whatever you want. you can add water to see it that works for you
2. water never worked for me, it just drowned the flavor. I think what I did was worked my way up. First with a bottle of knob creek 100 proof. Anything at 100 or 101 proof will work. once you get used to that find something at 107 or 108. I did it with wild turkey rare breed. after I was used to that I think I had a bottle of Noah's Mill at 114 proof. You can also use OGD 114, a great bottle. There are also some good four roses private select bottles between 110 and 120. By the time you've gotten used to these whiskeys you should be ready to tackle the big stuff. I guess you can look at it like weight lifting.
third point: If you have a cold bourbons will taste "hotter".
I powered my way through the first half of my first pour of GTS. It hurt. Then something flipped and the second half was pure butterscotch heaven. I was fine drinking high proofers ever since.
I think you're onto something with your theory. My spicy food/hot sauce tolerance is down from my younger days and 107 proof is now pretty much my max... I even add a few water drops to that 114 proof elixer of the gods you know a bit about :grin:.Quote:
Originally Posted by SMOWK
I LOVE high proof bourbon I think in part because it is like a Transformer. If I want it hot and bold, I can sip it neat - but if I add just a bit of water and let it work its magic, it changes. And a bit more - it changes again! With a lower proof bourbon, I find that a bit of water may still open it up, but there are way fewer levels before it loses my interest.
Having said all that, I prefer the small sip/neat method with higher proofs, with maybe just a few drops of water. The first time I took a sip of GTS neat and held it for 20 seconds, I was just floored!
Absolutely nothing wrong with adding water to high proof bourbon. I look at it like "Hey, this is MY bourbon, so if I enjoy it with water - I'm doing it! Hell, if I want to mix it with ginger ale, I'm doing it!" There aren't any rules . . . and as Joe often says, if you ain't having fun - you're doing it wrong.
Wow, I'm just a pup............40+ years ago I wasn't even cutting my own food. :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Special Reserve
Sorry, Will, I couldn't resist.
If the burn of drinking it neat seems to be a bit much, I will take small sips and let the drink go all of the way down before inhaling. The method works for overly bitter IPAs as well.
Too right, Gary. Drink it whichever way suits you, especially when tackling the super high proof whiskeys. Things like GTS and WLW can reveal all sorts of new flavors/aromas with the addition of small amounts of water after a few initial sips neat.Quote:
Originally Posted by darylld911