Quote:
Originally Posted by Taylor514ce
No, no... "pfft" requires an exhalation. You're still doing it wrong.
VR: adding a bit of water and swirling it causes a chemical reaction which release a tiny bit of heat, which vaporises some of the volatiles. Too much and Geoff is correct, you lose flavor. The trick is, for each individual Scotch, finding the right amount of water to give you a good "nasal" hit of flavor when you first sip/smell it, which builds slowly to a flavor "peak" on the tongue, and the subsides into a wonderful, subtle finish.
I contend that releasing some of the "flavor components" of a Scotch into the air, where your palate and nose can participate fully, improves the overall experience.
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Well, I'm not so sure but I have little evidence to disagree with you. It's just that you should be able to get that same effect simply by warming it in your hands if it was just a release of heat. But that doesn't seem to produce the same effect at all. So I've assumed it's a deviation from Raoult's Law (the relative vapor pressures of the individual components change) when the water is added (polar, increased hydrogen bonding) so that some components are "enhanced" in the vapor compared to the neat liquor. Anyway, it's really quite interesting. And more interesting than drinking games. A lot more sophisticated, anyway.