What is your favorite Scotch Whisky

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

Actually if you talk to any Scottish distiller they will tell you they bottle to scotch with the intention that you cut it with just a little bit of water. I tend to put about 1/4 of a shot of water for every 2 shots of scotch, of course this really depends a lot on the scotch. At a bar ask for the scotch neat and water on the side. It really cools Down the alcoholic spice and opens up the subtle flavors of the scotch.
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Absolutely correct.

You may also find that some high-end scotch is bottle at cask strength - if you drink that without water, the alcohol concentration in it can end up anesthetizing your tongue, and you'll end up missing a lot of the subtle flavours. If you want to experiment with this (works best with a big Isla malt), get a good nosing glass, and try a little bit of scotch neat. Then add one or two drops of water, and try it again. And then a little bit more water, and try it again. At some point you will find that the added water has "opened up" the flavour profile of the whiskey, and you are noticing flavours that were hidden before.

Different scotches "want" different amounts of water to get to that "sweet spot" where the flavours are still concentrated, but the intense ones no longer mask the subtle ones.