Good Scottish granite I hope. Not this shite I paid 81 Baht for! Pieces of concrete I reckon.
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Good Scottish granite I hope. Not this shite I paid 81 Baht for! Pieces of concrete I reckon.
https://teakdoor.com/members/mendip-a...kystones1.jpeg
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Mendip again.
I'm pretty chuffed with my homemade wine. I'm currently drunk and about to stagger off to bed. G'night all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JPPR2
The best way to drink whiskey, according to science
By Jenna Gallegos
August 17, 2017 at 9:00 p.m. GMT+8
Two physical chemists walk into a bar. They order whiskeys, and a jolly Scotsman one stool over insists they add a splash of water to optimize the flavor of the spirits. Inspired by the smooth, smoky flavor, they vow to investigate a question whiskey enthusiasts answered decades ago: Does adding water to whiskey really make it taste better?
That’s the almost true story behind a paper published this week in the journal Scientific Reports. Bjorn Karlsson and Ran Friedman of the Linnaeus University Center for Biomaterials Chemistry are not whiskey drinkers, but Friedman did visit Scotland, and he raised an eyebrow at the locals' dedication to watering down even the fanciest Scotch.
Like a good scientist, he wanted to test the assumption, so he teamed up with Karlsson and used computer simulations to model the molecular composition of whiskey.
There are two competing theories for why adding water to whiskey might improve the flavor, Karlsson said. The first suggests that adding water traps compounds that are unpleasant.
Whiskey contains fatty acid esters that have two very different ends. The head is electrostatically attracted to water and the tail is not. Fatty acid esters in water can form compounds called micelles. In micelles, all the tails come together in the middle while the heads form a sphere on the outside, like a bouquet of lollipops with their sticks all tied together on the inside. Adding water to whiskey could, theoretically, cause more micelles to form, trapping compounds that don’t taste or smell good.
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A competing theory suggests that adding water releases molecules that improve the flavor. Water and ethanol don’t make for a perfectly uniform mixture. Aromatic compounds could become trapped in ethanol clusters and never reach the surface. Our tongues are only capable of identifying the flavors, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory), so aroma is really important for detecting all the other flavors that connoisseurs appreciate in whiskey.
Karlsson and Friedman did calculations and found that fatty acid esters exist in such low concentrations that the first theory is unlikely, so they decided to focus on the second. In reality, “whiskey is a complicated mixture of hundreds or even thousands of compounds,” Karlsson said. They focused on just three: water, ethanol, and an aromatic compound called guaiacol.
Guaiacol is what gives whiskey that smoky, spicy, peaty flavor. Chemically, guaiacol is similar to a lot of other whiskey aroma compounds like vanillin (with the scent of vanilla) and limonene (citrus). These and other flavor compounds are not attracted to water and are more likely to become trapped in ethanol clusters.
In the researchers' simulations, they found that the concentration of ethanol had a large effect on guaiacol. At concentrations above 59 percent ethanol (the alcohol content to which whiskey is distilled) the guaiacol was mixed throughout. Whiskey is diluted before bottling to about 40 percent ethanol. In the simulation, at 40 percent, ethanol accumulated near the surface, bringing the guaiacol with it. At about 27 percent the ethanol began to aerosolize, presumably freeing the guaiacol even further.
If their state of the art simulations were a SIMS video game, you would play the role of a stressed out bartender and spend hours adjusting the water and alcohol levels back and forth. Not enough water, and the guaiacol won’t bubble up into the nostrils of your whiskey-swilling patrons. Too much, and your angry customers spit out the flavorless, watered down spirits.
“Adding water changes the equilibrium,” said Daniel Lacks who was not involved with the study, but conducts similar modeling experiments at Case Western University. The new model shows that diluting the whiskey “causes molecules to rise to the surface.”
But Paul Hughes, a food scientist and distilling expert at Oregon State, was not convinced that the propensity of ethanol to rise to the surface when whiskey is diluted tells the whole story. In the simulation, only three types of molecules were included, and their activity was modeled in a very tiny volume of spirits. “My sense is that the box they’ve used isn’t tall enough,” Hughes said.
The ratio of surface area to volume in the simulation is not at all similar to what you get with a bottle or a glass, he said. He predicts that disruption of the ethanol clusters within the bulk of the whiskey may also be important.
Whether by disrupting ethanol clusters or encouraging the molecules to rise to the surface, it’s clear that adding water to whiskey has the molecular potential to release important flavor compounds like guaiacol. So why isn’t whiskey simply bottled at lower alcohol concentrations?
If diluting whiskey really does mean that aromatic molecules evaporate from the surface, “by bottling at higher concentrations, you get less deterioration of taste,” Lacks said. Whiskey, by definition, has to be 40 percent alcohol, said Hughes. Diluting it would also increase packaging and distribution costs and take away the choice from the consumer.
At the end of the day, individuals should drink their whisky however they prefer it, said Hughes, but “if someone says they don’t like whiskey,” he added, “they just haven’t tried the right one yet.”
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2.36 quid for beer by the litre
^ Steady with the Fanta chaser! :)
Mainly Hock with lager chasers.
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I have never been a fan of Scotch whisky. I have never liked the taste unless it was taken with copious amounts of Irn-bru. In Thailand I'll accept ginger ale as an alternative.
US whiskies on the other hand, I can drink neat or mixed without problem.
Tonight was a 15% primitivo red wine from Salerno. It knocked the wife out in one glass. Jolly good stuff but I'm struggling with the double keyboard on the mobile now....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Troy
Good lord. Mary Jezus child
Because I am a peasant and generally drink my spirits with a mixer, I buy the cheapest brand available.
This seems to cause headaches, so I'm now forced to move up market and buy Gilbey's Vodka. lol
As far as Scotch is concerned, I rarely touch the stuff. If I do it has to be a malt, poured over a single ice cube, in a heavy tumbler.
Just finished some German Spaten Ur Märzen beer, with slow cooked (crisp) Pork Roast and German Black Forest style Spätzle noodles with gravy ......Hmmm delicious!
I saw KW red'd ya for your comment...:rofl:Quote:
Originally Posted by Troy
Scotch can be tough as it has a wide variety of methods to distill. From Fruity to brutal Peaty. Islay region produces the big peaty smoked flavor Scotch. Speyside region distills an in between Scotch and the Highlands region is more of the Fruity aromatic Scotch. So picking a region can make or break you on whether or not you like or hate Scotch. I cannot drink the strong peat Scotch. It just tastes too "Dry".
US Bourbon and Whiskey are not so diverse and the distilling process is changed by the grain used to the barrel its aged in.Quote:
Originally Posted by Troy
I find I much more prefer US Bourbon over Scotch. However I do like Glenmorangie, The Singleton and Oban which are all Highland .
US Whiskey I prefer Rye grained. There are numerous distillers but you can never go wrong with anything from Buffalo Trace.
Feeling mullered still from last night.
Whats the best booze to continue this musical journey?
A good Bloody Mary
Just make sure there isn't a string hanging out of it.
Yea that's the way to go, with a stella chaser.Quote:
Originally Posted by JPPR2
Well that wasnt my finest idea:)
Strongbow Apple Cider. Refreshingly cool on a hot day, but usually not before 6pm, except on weekends.
Isn't cider usually for day drinking?
:alcoholic:
:)
^ If you're from Somerset, then 24 hours a day is the norm! In a village pub I used to drink in many years ago the old timers had a shot of gin in their scrumpy.
Mind you they weren't what you'd call high achievers and they didn't seem to live very long.
What other ciders are there? Ok pear but you surely never have to use the word apple when describing or ordering cider?Quote:
Originally Posted by Switch
That'd be like ordering grape wine
Tea- not a drop of booze until I have a 4000 word essay draft as I tend to fall into youtube blackholes if I drink beer and use the computer
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Mothers ruin:)
Gin and tonic , that puts my teeth on edge just looking at it.
Few days off now so gonna get mullered on something different tonight...hmmmm...
Thanks for that Betty, some memories brought back!
Saw The Wurzels live in the Yew Tree Country Club back in the 80s. About 3 miles from my folks place. A great night! The Blackbird Song was always me favourite, but I've never been brave enough to risk a youtube link on this forum, I've seen what it can lead to.
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Think i may have a drink problem:)
Google Kopparberg.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dillinger
Wonderful stuff.
Big hit in the UK.
Swedish.
Innit.
Red Wine, it's what I imagine actual academics and shit drink, so think I'll be treating myself tonight.
only a problem if that's the last one in the fridge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dillinger
I'd put this in my Top 10 enjoyable beers I could drink all night ...
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7% ish :)
Went down to buy that Glenfiddich 15 year old that Jay the Gay recommends, but was sold out.
Picked up a liter of Glenlivet 12 year old instead, to make a change from the Fiddy 12 that I usually go for.
Will test a wee dram with MM tonight.
Got Miss Bootycall coming to the condo tomorrow night, and she likes a wee drink or two to say the least.
And that Bodyslam Festival with Miss VB on Sunday night.
4 solid testers, but I dare say it will be lost on everyone. Me included. :)
No time like the present. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Luigi
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Goes down bladdy well that.
Might as well have another before MM and kiddo get home and see me drinking neat whisky at 4 and something o'clock. :)
Back to 95kg yet?
That's just calling for a gurning hippo face to be imposed in the reflection. :)
Drink...or is it called a Drinkage problem...:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dillinger
KW is right, its only a problem if you do not have anything in the liquor cabinet
Hey David, Is that Carlsberg version of Chang??Quote:
Originally Posted by David48atTD
The 12 isn't bad in a pinch Stumpy. Its also more readily available. I think 7/11 even sells it...:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Luigi
Actually, think I've seen the 70cl bottles in the local Tesco Express.
My other bottle brought over with my colleagues was another bottle of this KOVAL. Bout to spin the seal off and sit on my balcony. Its a 4 grain Whiskey made in Chicago of all places. I had a bottle about a year ago and it was quite delish. Also makes for an excellent Whiskey Sour
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https://www.koval-distillery.com/newsite/whiskey