· Blenders International · Water Science
Does adding water make whisky taste more peaty? Phenols, dilution, and what happens to smoke in the glass
Peat smoke reaches the glass as a family of phenolic molecules, and guaiacol — the marker compound for smoky character — happens to be the exact molecule the landmark whisky-dilution study modelled. Below roughly 45% ABV it sits at the liquid–air surface rather than in the bulk, which is where your nose meets it. That makes a peated dram the best-supported case of water 'opening up' a whisky, and it also makes the water you add the one that can least afford chlorine.