Cask Strength - To Dilute or Not to Dilute...

[peergynt323]

That is the question.

I'm a five to one kinda guy.

note: If you mix it up just put what you do most of the time.

[Wave]

Actually I can't vote on this one. Cask strength whiskies are never the same as some need a little extra spring water and others don't. I always taste it at cask strength before deciding whether or not to add water.

Some of the CS whiskies I have recommend 2 parts water to 1 part whisky. Amazing!


Cheers!

[TheLaddie]

I never dilute as such. I taste everything straight at first and add a drop of water to see if it opens it up at all. Subsequent behaviour depends on the results of the first test. Some I will add no water to at all, others four or five drops of water but never really enough to drop the ABV significantly.

Bring on the quadruple filtered Bruichladdich...

[Admiral]

It would be very, very rare for me to add water to a CS malt. In the last six months, I can think of only two casks (out of about 40 different whiskies) that I felt were in need of water.

Cheers,
AD

[Deactivated Member]

Same here. It doesn't burn, either! Face it, pg, you just don't drink enough!

[peergynt323]

Same here. It doesn't burn, either! Face it, pg, you just don't drink enough!

Never been accused of that before.

[Ann-Helen]

I never dilute , I take it as it is!

[Nock]

It would be very, very rare for me to add water to a CS malt. In the last six months, I can think of only two casks (out of about 40 different whiskies) that I felt were in need of water.

I am right with Admiral on this one.
6 months to a year ago I was all into half and half for a cask strength whisky. But these days it is very, very, very rare for me to add water.

[Leither]

I only add a few drops of water to cask strengths over say 50% ABV to help open up the aromas and flavours. It's also great to watch all the esters and oils swimming around in the glass.

Also I find that when in the mouth the cask strengths make me salivate to such an extent that I do not need any additional water. I call it a tastebud orgasm

[les taylor]

I think I agree with the consensus of opinion. That you need to try it first and dilute it to taste. Also your mood changes from day to day so your appetite for different strengths changes accordingly.

[GreyArea]

I've voted for 'no' but would agree that it's 'taste neat, dilute as required'. There are a few where I'll add a drop or two. Laphroaig cask strength is one of them. Doesn't need much, but a drop or two just opens it up nicely.

[vitara7]

i feel whats the point in buying cask strength, just to dilute it... youd be as well letting them do that for you and buying the 40% version of it...

[Deactivated Member]

I find the best way to open up a cask strength malt is to grasp the neck of the bottle firmly in my right hand, the stopper in my left....

[lambda]

i feel whats the point in buying cask strength, just to dilute it... youd be as well letting them do that for you and buying the 40% version of it...

Well, there are several reasons. First, hardly any whisky is sold at different ABV's (Cadenhead sometimes does it). Second, I think it's nice that I can decide for myself what the optimal drinking strength is, depending on the whisky. I usually end up with something between 45-50%. Finally, a number of bottlers tend to release their best whisky at cask strength (Douglas Laing, Duncan Taylor).

When I taste a whisky 'seriously' I taste it neat with some drops of water to open it up and then add some more water to see how it interacts with the water. For drinking, I prefer to water it down right away (with care, a 'splash' can easily drown it).

[lbacha]

Maybe a drop but that is it. Cask strengths don't burn that much anymore anyways. Maybe I've just had too many and my taste buds are numb or burned off.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I voted 'No! Let it burn, baby!'

However as previously mentioned I don't find that they burn too much either.

[vitara7]

they dont burn as cask strengths arent what they used to be. i mean, ive got old cask strength bottles that were bottled at like 25 - 30yo and are 65%+ most places dont even put that strength into there casks now.... its 63.5%

[lbacha]

I've been sipping on a Fall 06 bottling of GTS and it is 140.6 proof or 70.3% and there is still very little burn with that. I can tell the alcohol is high but it doesn't burn like it did when I first started drinking whisky. A 40% alcohol would burn alittle at that time.

[peergynt323]

I expected the overwhelming majority to drink it straight. I was mainly wondering if there were many silent minority members like myself who prefer to drink at a lower ABV.

Regarding the comment about drinking the 40-something % ABV instead: if you dilute Laphroaig 10yo C/S and mistake it for Laphroaig 10yo, I'd have to say that your tastebuds really are scorched.

I remember the first time I had Lagavulin 16yo. I could taste EVERYTHING. I could sit there and nose it for hours marveling at the complexity and picturing myself on a foggy pier by the beach (with a burning bag of garden mulch right next to me of course ). When I drink whisky on a nightly basis, my nosing and tasting abilities are not 20/20 any more. I can't get the experience that I used to--all of the aromas and flavors are subdued like flowers instead of perfume (bad analogy...haha).

Neat cask strength whisky just speeds up that process for me. Sure, that one dram is a real adrenaline rush, but then I can't taste as much for the rest of the night...and if I have a lot of drams, maybe even the next few nights after that.

Trust me, I've tried to convert, but I just get more out of it with my taste buds and nose intact.

[Deactivated Member]

I think the practice of sipping neat has only become really common with the rise in popularity of single malts. I note the older gents in pubs usually get their Teacher's and Grouse in a tall glass, and fill it with water. The result is probably not much stronger than beer, if at all.

pg, I think most people in the industry feel as you do--certainly most professional blenders. That's why you so often see heavy dilution advocated on the box blurbs. The feeling seems to be two-fold--it allows one to tease out more flavors, and it saves the palate. A notable exception is Jim Murray, who always tastes neat...and he tastes a lot!

[Paul A Jellis]

Burn, baby, burn.

[Ann-Helen]

Maybe it`s like this:
those who produce the whisky decides to produce it with a certain taste and as we all now water changes the taste somewhat so I`m thinking this is the reason why there are cask strenght and diluted versions .
So I prefer my cask strength to be cask strength .

[Deactivated Member]

I don't always dilute as I will always try a dram without water first. IOf I feel it needs a little water to dilute it and open the flavours, I will add just a little. Probably around 5:1

MT

[Spirit of Islay]

It depends on the situation / Malt / how i'm feeling .
At a tasting i try undiluted then diluted .
At home depends on the whisky , most don't need it some do , some can't take water!
BTW Laddie the X4 doesn't need water , it's highly drinkable at CS ......

[TheLaddie]

BTW Laddie the X4 doesn't need water , it's highly drinkable at CS ......

I look forward to confirming that...