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Chemists Say You Should Add A Little Water To Your Whiskey. Here's Why

It's a common refrain from whiskey enthusiasts: Adding a few drops of water to a glass opens up the flavors of the drink. Chemists in Sweden provide a molecular explanation for why this works.
Single malt Scotch whisky, produced at the Auchentoshan Distillery near Glasgow, Scotland, could benefit from a little water, a new paper suggests. / ANDY BUCHANAN / Getty Images

Updated at 10:55 a.m. ET

It's a common refrain among whiskey enthusiasts: Add a few drops of water to a glass to open up the flavors and aroma of the drink.

For example, hard-liquor expert Alice Lascelles said in a demonstration for The Sunday Times that "if you're tasting with a master blender, they will always add some water at some stage."

But the science behind this claim has been murky. A couple of chemists in Sweden set out

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