· Blenders International · Water Science
Why does ouzo turn milky with water when whisky stays clear? The ouzo effect, the louche, and the water that controls it
Pour water into pastis, ouzo, raki, arak or absinthe and it turns white in seconds — no shaking, no emulsifier, no heat. It is the same physics that makes an unfiltered whisky go hazy, running deliberately instead of accidentally. Here is the mechanism, the arithmetic of how little anethole water can actually hold, and the evidence that the temperature and mineral content of the water you add change the cloud you get.