Water

Water, to the whisky buff, is the single most important tool of tasting. Nosing glasses are nice, but you can forget all the velvet ropes and posturing. All you need is your whisky, a simple glass, and some water. Taste your dram. Add some water. Taste it again.

Whisky is full of layers. The people who get the most out of whisky - distillers and drinkers alike - discover them by adding two ingredients: time and water.

Never let anyone tell you that you are ruining Scotch by adding water to it. When you add water, you are unlocking the elements within the dram that were originally distilled by water and seasoned in the wood. The addition of water is, essentially, to reverse distillation. It takes the whisky back through the process of its creation. And don't expect them to understand that.