Do you drink whiskey with water? They’ve found the perfect ratio

With or without snow? Or just a touch of water? It’s a matter long debated by whiskey aficionados and left largely to personal preference…until now. in a new studyAnd A team of food scientists has determined the exact point at which heating whiskey ends up changing its unique aroma beyond recognition..

The study is the result of a collaboration between five nutrition scientists from Washington State University, Michigan State University, and Oregon State University, and was published in the journal. food. In the study, a group of 20 regular whiskey drinkers trained in the experiment were less able to distinguish rye from bourbon, or single malt Scotch from blended Scotch, once the whiskey was diluted with water by more than twenty-one percent.

The reason is something called Henry’s law And it may go against centuries of so-called whiskey best practices. How do aromas work and how do they emanate from liquids such as whiskey?

whiskey test

For the study, the researchers surveyed regular consumers about the aromas they detected in the whiskey—similar to the wine’s tasting notes, such as oak, peat, vanilla, and sawdust. From this survey, they made a list of 15 boxes that they gave to 20 panelists in the experiment, who were trained to smell these notes as part of the experiment.

→ The 15 whiskey aromas tested are: Bacon, Sticky, Brine, Cedar, Cornmeal/Cooked Polenta, Hay, Barley, Oak, Peat, Smoke, Pine, Applefruit, Rubber, Solvent/Sawdust Chemical, and vanilla.

In the mix were 25 samples of whiskey, including from the United States, Ireland and Scotland. They were diluted to various concentrations, from 100% original to 50% whiskey and 50% water. Each dilution was presented to each of the 20 panelists, who smelled it and marked the corresponding 15 aromatic notes.

The smoke-related adjectives for “gum,” “bacon,” and “peat smoke” were highly predictive of single malt Scotch, while the descriptors for “oak” and “vanilla” were strong predictors for bourbon. “Pump fruit” was a good predictor for whiskey. In general, undiluted whiskeys were more associated with the aromas of “chemicals/solvents,” “vanilla,” “oak,” and “bacon,” while diluted whiskeys were associated with the aromas of “Fruta de pepita” and “sidro,” as Study reads.

How do the flavors and aromas of whiskey change with water

The scents are very contextual and interactive. To talk about why, we’ll need to go over some technical terms. The first important determination is whether the molecules hold on to water or fat better, something you might know if you’ve ever had the experience of using different spices in cooking or even considering how vitamin supplements are digested. Hydrophilic molecules are like water, while lipophilic molecules are like fats.

The authors suggest that “the decrease in vanilla aroma with dilution is expected due to the amphibious nature of phenols such as vanillin and guaiacol.” Vanillin is the main component of what we know as a “vanilla” scent, and amphipathic or amphiphilic means that the molecule loves water and fat at the same time. Emulsifiers such as mustard or egg yolk from amphibians, as well as some chemicals used in soaps.

“The oaky aroma appears to evolve towards that of cedar with dilution, possibly due to the hydrophobic nature of many of the oak lactones present in bourbon,” they explain. Hydrophobic molecules do not naturally mix with water, but instead clump together or bond with other, friendlier substances. In other words, the oak lactones move away from the increased amount of water and have less and less surface area from which to contribute to the aroma.

In general, the dilution of hydrophobic (water-loving) or lipophilic (fat-loving) molecules largely explains why odors change so dramatically. Varieties of whiskey began to blend from 80% whiskey and 20% water as the non-hydrophilic (water-loving) molecules drifted and moved. But whiskey is mostly water, right? Why is this seemingly small increase in water content a decisive factor?

Application of Henry’s Law to whiskey

Henry’s law is a chemical law that relates to the amount of different gases – in this case, aromatic compounds – that dissolve and float on a liquid. The space in the glass above the whiskey is called the “headspace,” and the proportion of gas dissolved in the liquid is directly proportional to the amount of those gases circulating in the “headspace.”

A whiskey may already contain water, but that water content has been macerating in the same cask or other environment as the rest of the whisky; It is full of aromatic compounds. The whiskey is then diluted from “barrel casks” from 55 to 65 percent alcohol to about 40 percent alcohol, which distillers have found to be the sweet spot for what consumers like to drink. If distillers see fit to add more water, they certainly will: they can sell more bottles of the same cask volume.

Jeff J MitchellGetty Images

With all this in mind, it stands to reason that a water content of only 20% would be the suggested maximum. It may also be that people who prefer whiskey with water find it easier to enjoy it, and thus savor the aromas and flavor compounds, when the alcohol’s harsh flavor is toned down a bit more. (When whiskey is mixed with other mixers—like ginger ale, vermouth, or even plain sparkling water—the aromas are modified by additives, not just diluted.)

What is the best ice for whiskey?

The corresponding author of this study, named Thomas Collins, says so The study lends credence to people who recommended using an oversized ice cube in their whiskey. Collins says in his book Press release from Washington State University.

3 spherical ice cube molds

Timmy Mao
amazon.es

14.99 euros

An ice cube with a length of five centimeters has a surface area of ​​54 square centimeters. The same amount of ice but in 1-inch (2.54 cm) cubes, for a total of 27 cubes, has a surface area of ​​162 square inches (411 sq cm), three times more. So the big cube is better for slimming, but it is not the best choice.. In fact, it’s a ball of ice, the same 27 cubic inches (68.5 cm) in size, and a paltry 43 square inches (109 cm) in area.