How Valuable is that Drop or Cube in your Whiskey?

This review originally appeared on Bourbon & Banter on December 14, 2016, and you can read the entirety of it there.

You’ve spent your hard-earned money on that bottle of whiskey. You want to really enjoy the experience as the Master Distiller intended. You want to open up the hidden flavors, so add some water or ice. If you add ice, maybe you’ve got one of those fancy ice ball molds. Spheres are all the rage now. Plus, using fancy molded ice sure beats breaking your teeth on whiskey stones!

 

Have you considered the water you're using before you add a splash or some rocks to your whiskey?

 

Water impurities can interact with your whiskey and change the flavor. Too much dissolved solids, chemicals, or mineral content in the water leaves you tasting something other than water, leaving you tasting something other than whiskey.

 

The solution is to use “pure” water. There are a few ways you can go about it. You could always go to the grocery store and pick up some fancy plastic bottle of purified or reverse-osmosis water, then bring it home and store it. There are a few problems with that, though. There’s the whole going-to-the-store thing that is just unappealing. Then, there’s the fact that water stored long enough goes stale. How long has that gallon of opened purified water sat on your shelf? If you don’t know, the answer is, “Too long.” Finally, there’s now more plastic you have to put in the recycle bin.

 

Having some water filtration system in place is simply more accessible and more efficient. You can have them built-in, attach one to your faucet, or get a water filtration pitcher. I prefer the pitcher because you can take it anywhere (including the campfire).

 

 

I discovered not all water filtration pitchers are created equal. In full disclosure, I was recently provided a ZeroWater 6-cup Pitcher to review. I’ve been using a Brita filtration pitcher that I purchased on my own for several months now, and it performs nicely, or at least I thought it did.

 

I had a very recent opportunity to test both pitchers under unexpected conditions due to a new faucet being installed in our kitchen. The old faucet had metal lines, and the replacement had plastic. The water from the new faucet is less than great.

 

The ZeroWater pitcher took that taste right out, and I was left with softer, pure water. There’s no flavor or taste; it is just water, precisely what you want to add to your whiskey.

 

The Brita pitcher also did fine but didn’t leave the water tasteless. My wife suggested she preferred the Brita because it left some flavor to the water, which we were used to. I agreed with her and understand where that quality can be desirable – if I’m not adding water to my whiskey.

 

ZeroWater uses a 5-stage ion-technology filtration system to remove impurities from tap water. Brita uses a 2-stage carbon filtration system. When I filled the same amount of tap water in each, the Brita pitcher filtered the water much faster than the ZeroWater. The first time I used it, I thought maybe there was a cap or sticker that I failed to remove from the filter. Since then, I have found that when I pour water into the pitcher, I walk away for a few minutes. Yes, it does take that long for six cups of water to make it through. The result, however, is clean, pure water, which I believe is worth the wait.

 

ZeroWater’s website claims their filter removes 99% of inorganics (chlorine, fluoride, etc.), 98% of metals, and 99% of pesticides. It compares it to their claim of Brita’s 44%, 88%, and 69%, respectively. I visited Brita’s website to learn about their claims. Still, I only found information on the types of impurities filtered, not the percentages.

 

The ZeroWater 6-cup Pitcher is a very affordable option at $19.99. It also becomes desirable when you factor in the convenience of not having to stock purified water. ZeroWater does offer 8-, 10-, 12- and 23-cup options. For my bar, the 6-cup is more than adequate.

 

So, go ahead and add water or ice to your whiskey. Just make sure you’re using the best water possible. Cheers!

 

Disclaimer: Special thanks to ZeroWater for providing Bourbon & Banter with a sample of their product for review. We appreciate their generosity and allowing us to share our experiences and thoughts without strings attached.

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.