MyOldKyDram Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Indeed. I doubt taste factors into it much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portwood Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I believe profit rather than taste is the driving force. Indeed. I doubt taste factors into it much. Taste does factor into the equation .... in the marketing materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBoldBully Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Anywhere from no additional water to 20 parts water/etc. to 1 part bourbon seems to suit me, depending on the occasion. I see no reason to hold some sort of reverence for whatever proof the bottle happens to hold, which is generally more a function of marketing/margin/taxation or other business consideration than some sort of inspired edict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Anything over 80 proof inspires me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeti Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I splashed a small bit of water into an AE Rye last night after seeing this thread pop up again. Not better, not worse, just different and still very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcgumbohead Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I splashed a small bit of water into an AE Rye last night after seeing this thread pop up again. Not better, not worse, just different and still very good.Therein lies the fun factor regarding this topic. The O.P. was looking for some guidance on the addition of water and ultimately we each have to decide if or how much. The formula is really handy for quantifying a "splash" and from there let the taste guide you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 The traditional British formula was half and half with lots of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
393foureyedfox Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 The traditional British formula was half and half with lots of water.how many things do the Brits actually get right, though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrel800 Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 how many things do the Brits actually get right, though?I would have backed you, but the season ending episode of top gear this season was a pretty amazing eye opener to what the Brits actually get right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 how many things do the Brits actually get right, though? Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Beckinsale, Elizabeth Hurley, and Audrey Hepburn come to mind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutton Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Beckinsale, Elizabeth Hurley, and Audrey Hepburn come to mind... 007 ... still the coolest spy on the screen 50 years on...oh, and London is a great city and just a short hop across the pond from the East Coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
393foureyedfox Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Beckinsale, Elizabeth Hurley, and Audrey Hepburn come to mind... you force me to rethink my original statement, joe.... it IS nice to watch a british woman talk too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Beckinsale, Elizabeth Hurley, and Audrey Hepburn come to mind... Zeta-Jones is of course Welsh and they are generally unsure if they like to be included in that whole Brit "thang" although not so much as the Irish and Scots. Hepburn, although she had British citizenship through her father was born in Belgium and was more Dutch (her mother was a Dutch Baroness) and Austrian than she was British! However, you get full marks for both Hurley and Beckinsale! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hn4bourbon Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Zeta-Jones is of course Welsh and they are generally unsure if they like to be included in that whole Brit "thang" although not so much as the Irish and Scots. Hepburn, although she had British citizenship through her father was born in Belgium and was more Dutch (her mother was a Dutch Baroness) and Austrian than she was British!However, you get full marks for both Hurley and Beckinsale!:cool:hurley's great until she starts talking. Beckinsale is a 10 in my book:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Zeta-Jones is of course Welsh and they are generally unsure if they like to be included in that whole Brit "thang" although not so much as the Irish and Scots. Hepburn, although she had British citizenship through her father was born in Belgium and was more Dutch (her mother was a Dutch Baroness) and Austrian than she was British!However, you get full marks for both Hurley and Beckinsale! :cool: Bruce, you know how I am with that whole Geography thing... All I want for Christmas is a Globe...Wait! Maybe, it's time to bring out and open up that Evan Williams Millenium Globe Decanter!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcones Winston Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I most always drink everything neat (I like to think that the people who make whiskey... know how to make whiskey, and what they bottle is what that bottle should taste like). ?Actually I think the idea behind a cask strength bottling is that you have the option to dilute it to whatever strength you prefer. That's our intention at Balcones at least. Once we put water in, you can't take it out. Whisky can taste and smell different at varying dilution points and I always encourage people to add a little water so they can observe the effect. While drinking at cask strength is nice, it's not necessarily required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcones Winston Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 A couple of things happen when you dilute. First off, you reduce the alcoholic strength, which can cover up aromas. Second, H2O combines with esterfied alcohols and creates new chains of esters. Finally, you reduce the masking effect of certain esters like whisky lactones, a strong coconut aroma that can overpower more delicate esters even in small amounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyfish Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Actually I think the idea behind a cask strength bottling is that you have the option to dilute it to whatever strength you prefer. That's our intention at Balcones at least. Once we put water in, you can't take it out. Whisky can taste and smell different at varying dilution points and I always encourage people to add a little water so they can observe the effect. While drinking at cask strength is nice, it's not necessarily required.I have never felt that "dilution" was the point. Adding just a drop of water results in a chemical reaction that releases some of the suspended fatty acids, changing the nose and the flavor noticeably. That's why I start neat, then add a drop, then move on to ice. Each is a different experience. I never add enough water to actually dilute (except when melting ice makes this unavoidalbe) and I have found that I prefer some bourbon, even high barrel proof, taken neat because it does not necessarily "open up" with just a drop. De gustibus non disputantum est. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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