Friday's Question of the week:

[Taylor514ce]

Try this, for me. In a private room where no one can see, if necessary, if you feel your fellow countrymen might render you bodily harm: equal amount of a malt of your choice in identical glasses. Sniff the "unadulterated" glass. Then, a few drops of water in the other. Swirl. Sniff. Can you tell a difference?

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Try this, for me. In a private room where no one can see, if necessary, if you feel your fellow countrymen might render you bodily harm: equal amount of a malt of your choice in identical glasses. Sniff the "unadulterated" glass. Then, a few drops of water in the other. Swirl. Sniff. Can you tell a difference?

Aye,

One splashes across the palate and trickles slowly down the throat, and then wimpers into the belly.

One fair crackles across the palate and bangs hard against the throat, reaching down into yer izzards and fair sets fire into yer belly.
Yahee, that'll keep the winter cold away...

[Taylor514ce]

Silly puddy tat. I said SNIFF. Not drink. If you're getting a splash across the palate, then you're sniffing too hard.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Silly puddy tat. I said SNIFF. Not drink. If you're getting a splash across the palate, then you're sniffing too hard.

You play it your way, and I'll swing mine...

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Silly puddy tat. I said SNIFF. Not drink. If you're getting a splash across the palate, then you're sniffing too hard.

I'm with PH here, though I don't have a hankering for many things alcoholic myself. There's an incredible difference between neat and slightly diluted. I don't understand the physics/physiology behind it but I was astounded by the interesting differences.

[GeoffC]

Pfft...

[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.

[vivaldirules]

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.

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.

[zelda_pinwheel]

drinking game : explicate the following. whosever tongue stumbles, drinks.

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

(...) 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.

(guaranteed to get the entire table drunk in record time)

[pshrynk]

You shift the contents of a fluid, you change the nature of the evaporated gasses in the surrounding air space. Sheesh.

[badgoodDeb]

Yeah --- it depends who is AT that table, ZP. I thought it made sense! (well, mostly. Some bits I just smile and nod at.

[zelda_pinwheel]

ahem. actually, i said "tongue", not "brain". although i suspect after the first whisky or 6, your brains might not find it quite that clear either. but really it was just a reply to VR saying it was a lot more sophisticated than drinking games. how could i not take the challenge of concatenating the two ? y'all can be so *pedestrian*, sometimes. sheesh.

[pshrynk]

Maybe concatenation was the word I was looking for...

[zelda_pinwheel]

i'm pretty sure it wasn't. (la la la...)

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Try this, for me. In a private room where no one can see, if necessary, if you feel your fellow countrymen might render you bodily harm: equal amount of a malt of your choice in identical glasses. Sniff the "unadulterated" glass. Then, a few drops of water in the other. Swirl. Sniff. Can you tell a difference?

I recently visited the Scotch Whisky Experience place in Edinburgh, and the guide said the adding water issue remained a controversial one among connoisseurs.
Personally, I prefer maybe 1 part water to 3 parts scotch (but I'm no expert).
The most interesting thing I learned was that blended whiskies are as highly regarded as single malts. The skill of the (generations of) blenders being much appreciated.
I'd always thought the good stuff went in the single malts, and the rest went in the blends. It turns out a good blend has more nuances of flavour than many single malts, and you get a consistent product from year to year - all thanks to the craft of the blender.
There's certainly a lot more to scotch than I'd thought .