“What amateur puts ice in whiskey?” Well...We Do!
We might be ruffling some feathers bringing it up, but given what we do for a living, how could we not?
We can’t help but laugh because, every so often, we get questions like our charming sub-header there.
“What blasphemous heathen puts ice in whiskey?”
“Who would do this?”
“But... why?”
We know that your cubes shouldn’t influence your drink — other than chilling your glass and looking great. True Cubes tray purifies water and reduces total dissolved solids by 98%. So, when it comes to adding ice or water to your whiskey, it really shouldn’t surprise most where we stand on the debate.
We’re here to raise our hands with pride and give an explanation that might have you scratching your chin. There are naturally a select few who think we’re crazy to even consider adding water, or God forbid, ice to whiskey. And we’re here to answer: should you? Could you? Why you can, and should!
We’re not in the business of telling anyone how they should sip their drink. You spent the money on that fine whiskey after all, surely you should be able to do what you want with it, but others might think it criminal to add water or ice to such a fine make.
Well, we did some research.
Why Do People Have Water with Whiskey?
It’s simple: it’s science!
You may have heard of “opening up” whiskey. When water is added to the whiskey, a compound called guaiacol is more present at the surface of the whiskey. Guaiacol comes from the charred oak casks used to mature Scotch, and it’s partially responsible for the peaty smell and flavor of whiskey.
When water is added, guaiacol is more prominent in the whiskey, bringing out more flavors than before.
But why?
Swedish researchers Björn Karlsson and Ran Friedman published a paper explaining the chemistry of water in whiskey in Science Reports in 2017. They wanted to understand why water intensified the flavor of whiskey instead of diluting it, as is the greater concern when dealing with liquid gold.
They developed a model to understand the interactions of water and ethanol – whiskey’s two basic ingredients – and guaiacol in whiskey. What they found was: one end of the ethanol molecule is attracted to water, while the other is repelled.
At low concentrations, ethanol accumulates at the surface. The molecules roughly align themselves with the water-repelling side facing upwards towards the air. But, above a certain concentration, all the ethanol cannot fit at the surface. Instead, it escapes down and clusters into pockets within the whiskey.
Guaiacol is more strongly attracted to ethanol than water. Aroma molecules share more chemical likenesses with alcohol than they do with water, so they tend to bind with alcohol. This means that reducing the alcohol concentration determines how much guaiacol is found near the top of the glass versus how much hides in pockets to release those aromatic elements when water is added.
David Williamson of the Scotch Whisky Association has said adding water “prevents an overwhelming taste of alcohol masking more delicate, complex flavors” (The Guardian, 2017).
History of Water in Whiskey
You might be reading this, grumbling to yourself why you even have to look up who the heck thought this was a good idea — adding water to whiskey — in the first place.
If you’re not convinced yet, the term “on the rocks” comes from the Vikings, who used pebbles to cool hydromel - a fermented drink made from honey.
The phrase “Scotch on the rocks” comes from Scottish farmers who used rocks from springs or rivers to cool their whisky, like the Vikings. The Scots have been known to add water to open up their whiskey. To this day, water from where the whisky was made has been bottled and sold separately.
Uisge Source offers three types of water that come from three different regions in Scotland: Islay, Speyside, and Highland. Each region produces whisky with different flavors and characteristics, so water is specifically sourced for whisky from that particular region.
Islay water, for example, has higher levels of natural acids that cut the smokiness of Islay scotches. While water from the Speyside region contains soft (low-mineral) water. Different whiskys have different alcohol contents, so the amount of water that should be used varies as well.
Why You Should Never Add Ice to Whiskey...Or?
Now we’re asking the tricky question!
If it took some mental will power to come to terms with adding water to whiskey, we commend you for getting this far! We hope the thought of ice in your whiskey doesn’t push you over the edge.
So: should you put ice in your whiskey?
The two main concerns with adding ice to your whiskey are: 1) diluting the whiskey more than you should because of the melting ice and 2) reducing the power of aromas because of the cold.
Controlling the temperature and the flavors are the real problem.
On the one hand, ice can numb the tongue and its ability to take in the fine flavors of the whiskey so it’s a dull sipping experience. Also, if you use any old ice cubes, say frozen from your tap water or placed next to the old red sauce in your freezer, it will affect the flavor of your ice and, therefore, your whiskey.
Not to mention, thinking back to the science lesson from earlier in the blog, consider how hot things go up and cold things go down. By adding ice to your whiskey, you run the risk of losing the balanced flavors of guaiacol in your whiskey, missing out on those hidden aromas in the pockets of your drink.
According to The Gentleman’s Journal, “the best way to drink whisky will always be neat.” But really, it all comes down to your ice and the water you use in your ice cubes.
Why You Should Add Ice to Whiskey!
The premise of ice in whisky goes back to the Japanese. Ice was a sign of nobility as not everyone had access to freezers back in the day. Natural water was gathered in caves which was then frozen for months and used in beverages for nobles throughout the hotter seasons.
During the summer months, when you want something cool and refreshing, adding ice to your whisky can help you cool down while balancing out aromatic flavors. The Japanese brought their own aesthetics to the process in the (literal) shape of the ice ball, which remains a big part of bar culture to this day.
The first stage is the carving of the sphere. Then, the bartender slips the perfectly round ice ball into an empty glass. They may also use cool water along with the ice and dispose of the water before pouring the whisky. Ice cools the glass quickly when turning the glass several times. Once the glass is cool, the bartender pours whisky slowly on top of the whisky ball and moves the ball several times while the whisky is in the glass – the motion is important, because it homogenizes the temperature.
One tip is to use very large ice cubes, because they cool the drink more slowly and tend to dilute the whisky less than small ice cubes.
Which leads us to True Cubes.
Use True Cubes Ice Cubes in Your Whiskey!
True Cubes offers a simple solution to the age-old issue of foggy ice that dilutes your drink and takes away from the aesthetic experience. We make it possible to produce clear ice cubes for your whiskey with normal tap water from your home.
After freezing the same tap water with True Cubes and melting it again, we found the TDS was down to an astonishing value of less than 4.5ppm! This is at least a whopping 98% reduction.
Taste your drink and not the ice in it. Open your whiskey up with the right amount of water and experience new flavors like a true expert. Your ice cubes should not have any effect on your beverage other than chilling your glass and look great while doing it!
Our ice trays make clear ice cubes for your drink that are purified for taste and large enough to cool your drink. Experience the ancient art of balance and the proven methods of science with True Cubes.
Or, you could always just make an Old Fashioned!