How to Drink Whisky

How to Drink Whisky

The simple answer to this is: drink whisky the way you like to drink it.

There are plenty of people who will tell you otherwise, but I think there are actually two important questions that get muddled into one: what’s the best way to drink whisky, and what’s the best way to taste whisky?

Sitting back and enjoying a dram and analysing a dram are two very different experiences. If it’s a Friday night after a long week, I’m pouring myself a dram to sit on the sofa to just drink and enjoy it.

However, if I’ve got six whiskies in front of me that I’ve never tasted and someone is delivering a tasting, then I’m approaching those whiskies in a completely different way.

Adding Water

Adding water takes down the alcohol in your glass.

Often, the alcohol will be the overpowering smell and taste, but adding a little bit of water will reduce the alcohol and can uncover certain flavours and notes that were being hidden.

I’d always try it neat first to see if water is required, and then work out how much.

A good piece of advice I was given and would pass on is this: you can add water to a dram, but you can’t take it out.

It can be quite frustrating if I add some water, try it, and then add some more only to realise it tasted better before I added the second drop.

Ice or No Ice?

Ice will hide flavours. If the whisky is too cold, there’s a good chance that some of the subtle flavours get lost.

This is why you’ll see plenty of water on the tables at whisky tastings but rarely see ice.

But ice in a drink can also make it refreshing. Ice will melt and dilute the alcohol, which could bring a spicy, punchy dram down to a nice refreshing sipper. For me, this comes back to the question of whether I am tasting or just drinking this dram.

I don’t often put ice in my whisky at all now, but if I was going to, it would be sitting outside on a nice sunny afternoon with a fruity, sherried, cask-strength whisky. The ice would bring down the ABV, take away some of the tannins, and hopefully leave me with a refreshing dram to sip.

Is Mixing Whisky Wrong?

Years ago, I’d have probably said ‘yes’ or “unless it’s whisky that’s made for mixing”

Am I going to stick ginger ale, a slice of lime, and a handful of ice into a Macallan 25? Probably not. But if you can afford to do that and that’s your choice of dram for a whisky ginger, then by all means, crack on.

I like a whisky ginger and this summer I found out that mixing a Lagavulin 16 with Coca-Cola makes a great ‘Smokey Cokey’. A lovely sweet way to kick off an evening.

This summer I also tried and enjoyed a ‘Smokey Mary’ using Smokehead Unfiltered which was a great twist on a Bloody Mary without the vodka.

Again, it comes down to whether you’re tasting the dram or just wanting to drink and enjoy it. You’re not going to taste much of the whisky’s flavour if you’ve added a mixer to it, but the whisky flavours will add something to the mixer to make a nice and enjoyable drink to sip.

Conclusion

I think the answer is clear. Whisky is made to be enjoyed, and if you enjoy it neat, then brilliant. It can be enjoyed by each person differently, and the important thing is that however you’re enjoying it, you’re enjoying and drinking whisky.

Don’t be scared to try something different; if you’d told me I’d be promoting putting Coca-Cola into a dram as a mixer a few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. There’s too much pretentiousness in whisky, and that’s what we don’t want. If you’re not into tilting the glass at 45 degrees, sticking your nose in it, swirling the whisky around, and trying to come up with a tasting note, then don’t worry. That’s not what all whisky drinking is.

Drink it the way you like it.