Whisk(e)y Trivia
The burning, pungent qualities contributed by the high proportion of alcohol in whisky can make it hard to evaluate nuances. Adding water dilutes the alcohol, which reduces the burn and allows other properties to reveal themselves. But there’s also something significant happening on a molecular level. Aroma molecules share more chemical likenesses with alcohol than they do with water. As such, they tend to bind with alcohol. Adding water frees up more of the aroma molecules to evaporate into the taster’s nose. Since appreciation of flavors happens at least as much in the nose as on the tongue, “watered-down” spirits actually seem more flavorful.
So, there is no right or wrong answer to this. Adding water to whisky is a personal choice, and down to your personal tastes.
Drinking and eating are both wonderful pleasures of life, specially if you pair them perfectly. Give these scotch and food pairings a try and have a blast!
- Light to medium cheeses (smokey whiskies)
- Grilled Steak
- Hummus (complex whiskies)
- Green olives (simple whiskies, not peaty or complex whiskies)
- Roasted nuts (smokey whiskies)
- Salted nuts (peated whiskies)
- Sweet nuts (Cask Strength whiskies)
- Pure Chocolate (fruity & sherry casked whiskies)
- Sushi (peated whiskies)
About Jim Beam
By the late 1700s, German, Scotch and Irish settlers were already making rye whiskey in Western Pennsylvania with recipes they brought over from their homelands. But when the U.S. government began offering incentives to move west and grow corn, many packed up their families and relocated to the Kentucky region of Virginia(strange times, we know). Among these farmers was Jacob Beam who, like others, used his father's whiskey recipe to distill his excess corn into a new, sweeter kind of whiskey-bourbon was born.
Perhaps the best decision Jacob Beam ever made was to sell his bourbon. He sold his first barrel of Old Jake Beam Sour Mash in 1795, just three years after Kentucky became a state. His bourbon quickly became a local favourite-no small accomplishment considering that, by the early 1800s, Kentucky was home to about 2,000 distillers.
While we love our scotch neat, on the rocks or with a bit of water, there's a wide range of classic cocktail recipes and modern riffs. Get a whole new appreciation for scotch by mixing some of these great scotch drinks.
Free downloads
Here you can find some useful downloads while enjoying your Tasting Box.