Water has no flavor but it changes the flavor of whiskey so much and it doesn’t make sense
In: Chemistry
Spirits expert here. To get to the bottom of this, we need to understand the properties of alcohol (in this case, ethanol) and water molecules. Alcohol is a much bigger molecule than water and tends to electrostatically “trap” other molecules, collectively called “congeners,” that give whiskies their distinctive flavors. Basically anything that’s not water or alcohol is a congener. Due to the molecular shapes of ethanol and water, they have a property with each other known as “miscability,” where their molecules are so arranged that they mix almost perfectly. If you had an ounce of pure ethanol and mixed it with an ounce of pure water, you’d end up with just a little more than one ounce of the mixture.
When you add a drop of water to whiskey, that property basically causes the water molecules to squeeze in between those ethanol molecules, freeing the volatile congeners and allowing them to evaporate into the air. This will enhance and change the aroma of the spirit, as your nose’s olfactory receptors are responsible for most of how you perceive whiskey. (Try holding your nose and taking a sip of whiskey some time…it won’t be very good.)
This effect is most pronounced with high proof or barrel proof whiskies, as they have the highest proportion of ethanol to water. Since most whiskey is bottled at 40% alcohol, the remaining 60% is mostly water. Adding a bit more usually won’t do too much to open it up.
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