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One thing you’ll quickly notice after drinking whisky for a little while is that the whiskies celebrated by reviewers and critics often have a higher ABV—typically 46% or above—compared to the 40% ABV whiskies you’ll commonly find at your local supermarket. There’s a good reason for this, and in this blog post, we’ll explore why.

I want to dive into what it means to "open up" a whisky, why you might want to try it, and—most importantly—the science behind why it works. That said, this isn’t a guide to tell you how to drink your whisky. I firmly believe that the best whisky is the one you enjoy, so my aim isn’t to dictate how you should savor it.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning with...

What is opening up

Opening up a whisky means adding a small amount of water to release the flavours held within. The amount of water you add depends on the whisky’s strength and your personal taste preferences. Another often-overlooked factor in opening up a whisky is time—letting your dram sit and interact with the air allows more flavours to develop.

If you’re opening up a whisky for the first time, start small. Add just a few drops—after all, you can always add more, but you can’t take it back out! If you’re using a pipette, like those sold at whisky shops or distilleries, you can safely add a full squeeze to a dram of whisky at 46% ABV without worrying about diluting the flavour too much. For reference, a full pipette holds about 0.4ml, while a teaspoon holds 5ml.

For whiskies at 40% ABV, there’s usually little need to add water, but if you want to experiment, go drop by drop and see what happens. If the whisky ends up tasting more like a sweet, creamy malt drink with muted flavours, you’ve probably added too much. The goal of opening up a whisky is to release its flavours, not to dilute or change its character.

For stronger whiskies, such as those over 50% ABV or cask-strength whiskies, a teaspoon of water can work wonders. These high-proof whiskies are often crafted with the expectation that you’ll add water to unlock their full potential.

Why you might want to do it

Lets face it, if you're on this website and reading this blog, you probably enjoy your whisky more than most, and enjoy getting a bit pedantic about it and trying to make the most of the whisky you're drinking. If you get a lot of enjoyment from trying different whiskies and comparing them. Then opening up a whisky can really add to that enjoyment. Try a whisky without water, with water, try taking a sip, add a drop, sip again and repeat. You can play around with it and see what effect it has.

But apart from the obvious expansion of the enjoyment of whisky. Sometimes it's expected. As mentioned cask strength whiskies exist for this reason. Cask strength whiskies are like double consentrate cordial. They are exactly the same as the standard strength whisky but they haven't been watered down at the distillery, instead you're expected to do this at home, with clean fresh water. By letting you add the water at home you get to enjoy all those flavours that are usually lost when the whisky is diluted at the distrillery. If you're not adding a bit of water to a dram of cask strength whisky, you're probably missing out on the full range of flavours that the whisky has to offer. 

The Science behind it

I won’t dive into the full whisky-making process here—this post is long enough already. But during whisky production, certain compounds are created, including:

• Fatty acids
• Phenols
• Esters

These, among others, are carefully balanced by distillers to give each whisky its unique character. What’s interesting is that these compounds are more soluble in alcohol than in water. This is why higher-strength whiskies often pack more intense flavours.

When you add water to your whisky, you change the ratio of alcohol to water. This shift causes some of the flavour compounds to be released, enhancing the aromas and taste as a result.

Wrapping Up

So, there you have it—why and how to "open up" a whisky, and why it works. Whether you’re experimenting with a few drops of water, letting your dram breathe, or diving into the science of esters and phenols, the most important thing is that you enjoy the process.

Remember, whisky is a deeply personal experience. What works for one person might not work for another, and that’s okay. The beauty of whisky is in the journey—exploring flavours, finding your preferences, and making each dram your own.

Next time you pour a glass, try experimenting with a little water or giving it some time to open up. You might just discover a side of your whisky you never noticed before.

If you've read any of our reviews of the Ardbeg 10, you know it's one we love. We see it as our bench mark for peated whiskies, and when we have a peated whisky it's the one we'll use to compare it against. Hence why, now I'm most of the way through a bottle of the Port Charlotte 10 and have a fresh bottle of Ardbeg 10, I feel like I can give a half way decent comparison between the two. So this will likely be a relatively small, rambling blog post of my thoughts about the two.

I feel like I should let you know some background so you can spot any bias I may have. I'm very happy with the Port Charlotte 10. I was very surprised how much I liked it and have been showing it off a lot since I got it. I've tried quite a few peated whiskies at this point and the Port Charlotte is really the first outside the Ardbeg core range that I could see myself buying again on a semi regular basis. To be clear though, both of these whiskies are great. There's no better or worse, just different. You make up your mind which one you'd rather have. This is just a bit of fun while I have both bottles available for a comparison.

First Taste

Lets be honest, both whiskies are heavily peated. I think the Ardbeg is probably the more peated of the 2. Both are sweet and accessible. I think the Port Charlotte is more accessible as the Ardbeg's flavour profile leans more on the medicinal. Some people love this, other not so much. The Port Charlotte has more fruits up front, the medicinal flavours are still there but are masked by red fruits and caramel. Ardbeg has more to it however. It has more of a barrel in its profile that gives it a real edge on complexity.

Mid Range

As you work though the drams the Ardbegs sweetness comes though more. The Medicinal flavours evolve into a sweet liquorish flavour. It maintains a herbaceousness that the Port Charlotte doesn't have. Both whiskies can be opened up or drunk neat. I generally open up whiskies when they are over 40% ABV to really get at the flavours. The Port Charlotte's fruits start to become baked fruits till they begin to caramelise. Both have a lovely touch of salt.

Finish

Both whiskies have a great finish. The finishes are long and leave you with a sweet, salty, wood smoke flavour. The Ardbegs liquorish salty sweetness will hang around and slow turn more salty. The Port Charlotte's caramel lingers with a hint of cinnamon at back of your mouth. Both have a sweet wood smoke, which is more prominent in the Port Charlotte while the Ardbeg concentrates on its sweet savoury salt.

Other Stuff

The price point of the Port Charlotte 10 at the time of writing is around the 50 pound mark, making it more expensive than the Ardbeg 10 but not totally unaffordable. Ardbeg 10 feels very affordable at 40 pounds. I've grown more to like the presentation of Port Charlotte but Ardbeg's bottles are undeniably beautiful. The presentation of Ardbegs is now a staple and a calling card of the brand. It's very familiar to a lot of us and we'd easily pick it out of a line up even if we've just finished drinking the line up.

Conclusion

Port Charlotte I think is an easier entry to the heavily peated whiskies. There's less of the medicinal flavours than the Ardbeg 10, however neither are particularly difficult to drink for a heavily peated whisky and Ardbeg 10 was my first heavily peated whisky and I loved it. It just has more of the marmite flavours that could put some off. The Ardbeg has far more complexity however, you'll go back to it again and again and find more to interest you. You can sit with the Ardbeg all night and have a great time. In summary then, I think the Port Charlotte 10 is slightly easier to drink but the Ardbeg 10 is more interesting. If you've like one you'll probably like the other.

We're fresh off our latest whisky weekend, where we spent it with some Whisky Barrel Cafe friends who had heard about our antics and wanted to get involved. Matt and Sarah hosted this weekend and, as they were new to the whisky weekend experience, we stripped it back to the basic theme of peat. This suited me down to the ground as I've been looking for a new peaty whisky for my shelf. I've tried quite a few peated whiskies at this point but hadn't had a bottle to myself. The great thing about drinking whisky with different people is they'll introduce you into new whiskies and I was looking forward to seeing what new peated whiskies I'd get to try.

Prior to this weekend, we'd recently tried the Ardbeg Core range as part of a Whisky Weekend Distillery Tours: The Ardbeg 10, An Oa, Uigeadail and Corryvreckan, so we had set the bar really high. Ardbeg is one of our favourite distilleries, hence why it was one of the first distillery tours we did. It also meant we had a pretty good selection of Ardbeg to bring.

In total we had 10 whiskies, not all peated as we like to play it free and loose with the rules, and whisky is whisky so we'll try it if someone is willing to share.

In the lineup, and in the order we tried them in, we have:

• Macallan 12
• Bunnahabhain 12 (Cask Strength)
• Lagavulin 16
• Raasay Single Malt
• Ardbeg An Oa
• Ardbeg 10
• Ardbeg Corryvreckan
• Port Charlotte 10
• Old Particular Ladaig 10
• Laphroaig Oak Select

A pretty solid line up with good variation. The Macallan is in there just because you have to try a name like Macallan when you have the opportunity, and Matt had a bottle. The Bunnahabhain 12 is one I took along after being given it as a present. I have been really enjoying it so took it along to see what the rest of the Whisky Barrel Cafe would make of it.

We started with the non peated whiskies, having narrowly avoided a food coma after a generous meal provided by our hosts Matt and Sarah (they offered before we could insist...). It's advantageous to start with the non peated whiskies to avoid the subtler flavours being lost after having a peated whisky. This meant we started with the Macallan 12.

Macallan 12

The 12 year Macallan is their cheapest offering as a distillery well know for having the most expensive bottles out there. Matt brought this one as he'd just been sampling some of the other Macallans at an exclusive whisky night. The general consensus for was it's a nice whisky, sweet with lots of vanilla. It's inoffensive and there generally isn't a lot to it. I enjoyed it for what it was, a free glass of whisky from a friend. I think I speak for most of us when we say we can't in all good conscience recommend it however. For the price point there are much better whiskies to choose from. For the £60-£80 you'll spend on the Macallan 12 you could also have a Glenmorangie 14, an Arran 10, an Auchentoshan Three Wood, any of which would give you a much more interesting experience, and usually, for a lot less money.

Bunnahabhain 12 (Cask Strength)

I brought the 12 mostly so I could gain the insight from the rest of the Whisky Barrel Cafe to what they think of it. It's a punchy whisky at a high ABV and it couldn't be further away from the Macallan. To be honest, I was worried it would blow out our pallet. We were sensible though and gave it a good dash of water, which it needs if you want to get the most out of it. It's full of baked fruits. It's a Christmas pudding in a glass, super sweet with cream and cherries.

Lagavulin 16

Having this after the punch of the Bunnahabhain may have been a mistake. Some of us have tried it before and noticed a difference with trying it after the Christmas pudding whisky. It came across very medicinal and peaty when previously the peat had been more subtle and had a rich complex mixture of sweet and peaty flavours. Matt, who had another bottle, even had to go get it to check the bottle we were trying wasn't a different bottling. Even though it was different it was still good, and as we drank more the classic Lagavulin flavour came through.

Raasay Single Malt

Raasay was a whisky I'd been looking forward to trying since Giles mentioned he had brought one back for us from Scotland. We had the Special Reserve at a previous Whisky Weekend, which was a beautiful whisky, so we had high hopes for this one. It didn't disappoint. It took me by surprise with the amount of peat we found in it. The Special Reserve we'd previously tried was sweet and spicy. This still had the spice but with a good hit of peat. Giles isn't lying about this whisky, it's a great one and Raasay should be very proud of what they are putting out. You could drink this one for decades and still be finding new flavours in it.

Ardbeg An Oa

Part of the Ardbeg core range which we'd tried before. It's a lovely sweet, spicy experience that still has the core Ardbeg flavour profile. It's sweeter than the Ardbeg 10 and maybe a little less complex but still has a lovely balance of sweet spices and smoke. Matt bought a bottle of this one on the spot.

Ardbeg 10

We couldn't have a peat theme and not bring the Ardbeg 10. It's our bench mark for any peaty whisky and to us it sets the bar high. Needless to say, we all enjoyed it. It's a whisky that speaks for itself and we already have a review if you're interested in finding out more. It's one that anyone with a love of peat should try if they haven't already.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Corryvreckan is the 10's bigger, bolder bother. It's punchy with the same classic Ardbeg profile. It was in good company after the other Ardbegs, slightly more savoury and enjoys being opened up to really get to the flavours. It's another one that went down really well with our hosts and is a safe choice if you're looking for something a bit more expensive for your shelf.

Port Charlotte 10

After all the deep earthy sweetness of the Ardbegs, the Port Charlotte came across very savoury. There were acres of wood smoke with a very tangy BBQ sauce and pine resin. As we drank it we found notes of red berries and TCP which got sweeter as we got used to it and we opened it up. I've tried this one since and the savoury flavours are no where near as pronounced. If you want one to do a side by side comparison with an Ardbeg, this could be a good one.

Old Particular Ladaig 10

A special bottling that Giles brought back from Scotland. We struggled with this one after the other whiskies. It was very dry and metallic to our taste, we are putting this down to all the other whiskies it was trying to compete with. Hopefully Giles will write us a review of this at a time when we've not all been drinking whisky for 6 hours straight.

Laphroaig Oak Select

I'll caveat this with I'm not as big a fan of Laphroaig as I am of Ardbeg. We had expected this to be quite peaty, given Laphroaig's reputation, however we all agreed this one was a bit disappointing. It could be that it's a budget whisky in with a bunch of top rated whiskies. We probably shouldn't expect so much given its price point. After having a lot of sweet complex whiskies, this one came across a bit like the smoke flavouring you get on crisps. Think Sainsbury's bacon rashers. There was still sweetness there which along with the smoke brought to mind smoked cured meats.

At this point it was getting round to the early hours in the morning and our hosts were likely going to need to wake up to look after a small child, so it was time to call the peaty whisky weekend to a close. It's probably just as well, as after 10 whiskies we were starting to get whisky fatigue. It was a great night, with great food and good people. It's always great to try new whiskies with new people and we can't thank Matt and Sarah for feeding and putting up with us for as long as they did.