{"id":30711,"date":"2020-07-30T11:00:14","date_gmt":"2020-07-30T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/post\/mythbusting-how-important-is-water-in-spirits-making\/"},"modified":"2020-08-03T09:11:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T08:11:19","slug":"mythbusting-how-important-is-water-in-spirits-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/mythbusting-how-important-is-water-in-spirits-making\/","title":{"rendered":"Mythbusting: How important is water in spirits-making?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s been filtered through ancient volcanic rock, siphoned from a mountain glacier, or collected from the tears of fertile mountain goats (hypothetically speaking), water is an essential ingredient in every spirit, typically making up more than half of your bottle of booze. The question is, does specially-sourced water actually make for a better quality spirit? MoM investigates…<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

That water makes up most of the liquid in your favourite spirit should come as little surprise. The amount is even stated on the bottle, albeit inadvertently. If the label on your gin bottle reads 42% ABV, then 58% is water. Even if your cask strength whisky comes in at 63.5% ABV, the remaining 36.5% is water\u00a0\u2013 more than one third. Given that water is such a prominent and essential ingredient, it must be a relatively important aspect of the production process. <\/span><\/p>\n

And it is, but not for the reason you might think. Water is \u201cone of the most important parts of a distillery and the spirit quality,\u201d acknowledges Brian Kinsman, malt master at Glenfiddich Distillery<\/a>, which sources its water solely from the Robbie Dhu Spring. \u201cWe only have three ingredients \u2013 water, malted barley and yeast \u2013 and the water quality will influence flavour formation in fermentation, which is where much of the final distillery character is formed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Each water source has its own unique chemical makeup, depending on the geology of the local area. The levels of trace metals or \u2018minerals\u2019 like chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, selenium, and zinc can have a profound effect on the distilling process. \u201cDuring fermentation, different trace metals will influence yeast metabolism, which directly impacts our yield and sensory profile of the wash,\u201d Kinsman says.<\/span><\/p>\n

High-mineral water \u2013 particularly calcium and magnesium \u2013 helps enzymes in the mash break starch down into simple sugars, explains Brendan McCarron, head of maturing whisky stocks at \u200eThe Glenmorangie Company<\/a>. \u201cIt makes the mashing more effective, and allows the fermentation to be more active,\u201d he says. This kicks off \u201ca whole lot of other chain reactions, so you produce more fruity, ester-style flavours during the fermentation period.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"water

Buffalo Trace’s location along the Kentucky River was chosen for its abundance of springs<\/p><\/div>\n

For this reason, the <\/span>different mineral make-up is important for each distillery to have their own characteristics<\/span>, says Harlen Wheatley, master distiller at Buffalo Trace Distillery<\/a> in Frankfort, Kentucky. The site was chosen \u201cdue to its location along the Kentucky River and abundance of springs in the area,\u201d he explains. \u201cTypically in Kentucky, due to the limestone the water is iron-free and rich in nutrients such as magnesium and calcium.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, not everyone shares the same view when it comes to sourcing water. For some distilleries, the ethos is \u2018the purer, the better\u2019. \u201cOur view is that the water used for the distillation part of the process should be as bland and as neutral as possible,\u201d says Arturo Ill\u00e1n Ill\u00e1n, global brand manager for Martin Miller\u2019s Gin<\/a>. \u201cThis ensures that any impurity in the water does not impair the delicate process of distillation.\u201d The team use Icelandic water sourced from deep\u00a0aquifers beneath a dormant volcanic caldera, which Ill\u00e1n says is \u201cas close to pure, naturally occurring H2o as it is possible to get\u201d.<\/p>\n

Either way, it\u2019s important to point out that we\u2019re talking about barely-detectable effects here. \u201cYou wouldn’t pick up a whisky and nose it and go, \u2018Ah, now that’s a mineral-rich whisky right there, I can really smell the magnesium\u2019,\u201d McCarron says. \u201cIt’s nuanced. And this is where the marketing B.S. has come into water in whisky. In the 1970s, 1980s, you\u2019d hear \u2018it’s the water that makes the whisky\u2019 \u2013 which is true, it’s massively important. But I think a lot of people started attributing lots of the flavour to water.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Certain whisky myths persist around the use of water in whisky to this day.<\/span> One of the biggest, <\/span>he says, is that the reason Ardbeg Distillery makes such smoky whisky is because it has a peaty water source. \u201cThat’s just not true,\u201d he says. \u201cAnother belter was about a certain distillery up in the Highlands, which used to say that the water \u2013\u00a0which it did \u2013\u00a0ran through a hill of heather into a Loch before it went into the distillery, and that’s why the whisky was so heathery in the bottle. Again, it’s a great sounding story, but a complete fabrication.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"water

Glenfiddich Distillery sources its water solely from the Robbie Dhu Spring.<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s easy to see why certain hypotheses came to exist. \u201cA lot of the flavours, a lot of the spirit character, a lot of the aromas that were contributing to the water were actually coming from fermentation,\u201d he continues. \u201cSo it’s almost like it wasn’t untrue that the water was making that heather [note], it was helping, but we’ve come down a level or two of detail \u2013 we’ve more understanding of how fermentation works. These debunked myths, there’s a grain of truth in them, but it’s much more about ‘what does the water help the fermentation do?’. Definitely mineral-rich water has a huge effect. Extra-peaty water has no effect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s only recently that we’ve started to understand that not all water is the same, says Ronald Daalmans, environmental sustainability manager for Chivas Brothers<\/a>. \u201cIt would be nice to think we’ve gone around and found lots of water supplies, decided which ones matched the product we wanted to make, and then chose the location,\u201d he says. \u201cBut historically I don\u2019t think that\u2019s how any site has come about, it’s generally linked to the fact that there is a large supply available. We probably didn’t have the chemistry at that time. And it’s part of the legacy of why the product is the way it is… The location has a story to tell in terms of what’s under your feet and why the water is there, and that’s then reflected in the chemistry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The chemical make-up of water isn\u2019t the only variable to affect the distilling process. Perhaps more important is the temperature. Not only does having lots of cold water help you condense your spirit \u2013 allowing lots of copper contact and preventing sulphury notes, McCarron says \u2013 but it\u2019s crucial for the fermentation stage. The starting temperature is dictated by the weather, and when it\u2019s too high (during a particularly hot summer, for example) it results in a drop in yield. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJune, July and August are a nightmare for distillers, it takes loads more work because there’s a double whammy,\u201d McCarron\u00a0<\/span>says. \u201cIt’s hotter outside, which means your fermentations are going to heat up quicker, and also your cooling water is warmer than it usually is. If you speak to any\u00a0man or woman in the industry who makes the stuff, they’re much more focussed on ‘what’s the temperature of the water in the summer’ than they are ‘what’s the exact mineral composition’.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"water

If you\u2019re going to build a distillery from scratch, you need a good quality source of water.<\/p><\/div>\n

So far, we\u2019ve spoken about the water distilleries use during fermentation and distillation. In the case of dark spirits, the next stop for new make is the cask. \u201cWe often adjust the strength with water before that happens, and then again [after maturation] before it goes into the bottle,\u201d explains Daalmans. \u201cAt both of those stages in the process we are very wary of changing the character in any way, so we use demineralised water. It has no minerals \u2013 nothing that’s going to alter the flavour, the mouthfeel, any of those factors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The water used at this stage absolutely has to be made neutral and homogeneous. \u201cIf you use any water that isn\u2019t, it goes bang \u2013 there’s an explosion of reactions and you create these salts and hazes,\u201d says McCarron<\/span>. \u201cIt would start to shimmer, like in a film where somebody’s stuck in a desert and they’re crawling on their hands and knees, and off in the distance, you can see an oasis and a camel appears. It’s called haze because it looks like a heat haze.\u201d You\u2019d also get floc, which looks like \u201ctiny little bits of cotton wool floating about in the whisky.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The de-mineralisation process usually occurs at a de-mineralisation plant using a rather clever scientific process called reverse osmosis. But not always, as is the case with Martin Miller\u2019s water, which is naturally stripped of its mineral content as it slowly filters through the volcanic rock, says Ill\u00e1n Ill\u00e1n. \u201cThe water is claimed by the Icelanders to be the purest in the world, having an average of only 8 to 30 parts per million of dissolved solids,\u201d he says. \u201cThe purest non-Icelandic bottled waters, for example, contain upwards of 400ppm.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, how important is water in spirits-making? \u201cMassively,\u201d says McCarron<\/span>. \u201cIt is massively important. If you’re going to build a distillery from scratch, you want to find a really good quality source of water. You want to have lots of it, and you want it to be quite cool because you’re going to use it to ferment, to condense your distillate and stuff like that. Having good quality drinking water, lots of it, and at a good temperature is key. If you don’t have that, don’t build a distillery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s been filtered through ancient volcanic rock, siphoned from a mountain glacier, or collected from the tears of fertile mountain goats (hypothetically speaking), water is an essential ingredient in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[893],"tags":[184,58,62],"yoast_head":"\nMythbusting: How important is water in spirits-making? | Master of Malt blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does specially-sourced water actually make for a better quality spirit? 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