Water is colorless, transparent and (hopefully) odorless. But it isn’t tasteless, and it can have a texture — so much so that there is now an entire profession dedicated to swirling, sniffing, slurping and assessing the flavor and quality of water and how it may impact the taste of the food, whiskey and wine you’re sipping alongside it. That said, there is a growing cohort of water sommeliers working with restaurateurs, wine and whiskey sommeliers, and serious drinks aficionados to ensure the water they serve doesn’t hamper your palate while sipping, say, an Islay whisky.
While a day-in-the-life as a water sommelier may seem like something a Saturday Night Live writer dreamed up (SNL star Chloe Fineman does play the role of Günter, a water sommelier for “the one with the Umlaut” vodka seltzer brand NÜTRL), the work they do can truly transform a person’s tasting experience.
“People think water is just water, but it’s not,” says Michael Mascha, a food anthropologist and wine enthusiast turned certified water sommelier who founded FineWaters. Mascha became enamored with H20 when his cardiologist told him to cut the booze. “I never drank wine to get drunk but used it to enjoy and share with others. I slowly realized water could deliver the same type of experience without the health impact.”
The Awe-Inspiring Terroir of Water
Mascha had this water revelation back in 2002, and he admits his passion for agua was initially the object of some scorn.
“The first 10 years were tough,” Mascha says. “During one blind tasting, I was actually given toilet water as a joke. Luckily one person very kindly told me before I tasted it. But in the past several years, water has been reconsidered as alcohol consumption goes down and the concept of terroir is understood more fully.”
Terroir is generally associated with wine. But the concept — that the complete natural environment, like the geology of the soil, topography and climate, shapes the final aroma, flavor and texture of wine — can be applied to anything produced from the earth, from whiskey to water.
“The water we drink, whether from a bottle or the tap, starts as rain,” Mascha says. “But it’s the rest of the journey that matters. Water gets absorbed into the ground, and in the process, it travels through fissures in rocks to an aquifer where it can sit for thousands of years.”
How to Taste Everything (and Not Sound Pretentious)
How taste expert Mandy Naglich demystifies whiskey, beer and moreDuring that time, it absorbs some of the minerals of the rocks. Mascha says this can have an outsize effect on the flavors you detect or fail to detect when sipping and eating other things between drinks of water.
“I see people buying expensive wines and fancy meals in restaurants and then pairing them with San Pellegrino, and I just think, ‘you’re destroying the experience,’” he says. “San Pellegrino has big bubbles and a high mineral content with high acidity, which means it diminishes the fruitiness and tannins of the wine.”
Using Water to Enhance Food and Drink
When you’re drinking water with food and other beverages, it should be a collaborator, a sidekick. It should never dominate or diminish the other drinks and food on the table. Some brands, like Antipodes Water, were created with the goal of not only offering water of the highest purity but also of the most neutral character.
Antipodes Water is sourced from an artesian aquifer containing silica-rich ignimbrite rock. Its age at bottling is between 50 and 300 years. Because it’s so pure, it requires only microfiltration before bottling, and the minerality is just 130 milligrams per liter. The minerality is primarily composed of silica and is pH neutral. Together, they deliver a soft, silky texture that refreshes the palate.
“That silica doesn’t give the water a taste, but it does deliver a smooth texture and mouthfeel,” says Rachael Armstrong, CEO of Antipodes Water Company Limited. “It is an ideal water when you’re drinking other things like whiskey or wine or when you want to focus on the food. It is a water conceived for pairing with dining and drinking experiences that will allow those other flavors and textures to shine.”
Armstrong notes it’s not inherently bad to have water with high minerality or an acidic or alkaline pH, but it will deliver a different experience.
Ewan Morgan, the head of whisky outreach for Diageo, is essentially in charge of one of the most expansive and expensive collections of rare Scotch whiskies on earth. He’s obsessed with water.
“Depending on the the pH and minerality of water, it can affect the way a whisky tastes or its mouthfeel,” Morgan says. “It’s not an even playing field. Whether you’re tasting a peated or unpeated whisky will significantly affect the water you should choose. Ultimately, if given the choice, you should always drink the same water that the whisky was made with, or at least go as close to the source as you can.”
But few people, even Morgan, can march over to the Scottish Highlands anytime they want a finger or two of Glendronach.
“You can use other means to generally mimic the characteristics of the water you should be tasting the whisky with,” Morgan says. “When you do have the right water, it can greatly enhance your whisky-tasting experience. A few drops will enhance the flavors and aromas. But you should never use tap water. Well water will have too many minerals, and city water may have fluoride, which produces a metallic note when combined with the ethanol in alcohol. Even water that goes through reverse osmosis will bear traces.”
A Cheat Sheet for Pairing Water With Whisky or Wine
For whisky (tips from Ewan Morgan):
- Neutral to slightly acidic water (pH 6.5–7.0)
- Ideal for preserving whisky’s original character
- Helps balance flavors without overwhelming delicate esters or phenols
- Found in many soft, low-mineral spring waters
- Alkaline water (pH > 7.5)
- Can mute whisky’s aromas and flavors, especially fruity and floral notes
- May enhance a “chalky” or “flat” sensation on the palate
- Often present in hard water brands with high mineral content
- Acidic water (pH < 6.5)
- Can accentuate whisky’s tangy, zesty or metallic notes
- May enhance sherry cask or peated whisky by emphasizing tannins and smoke
- Uncommon in bottled water but found in certain artesian or glacier-derived waters
- For enhancing fruity and floral whiskies (Speyside, Lowland)
- Soft, low-mineral water with a neutral pH
- Best choice: Speyside Glenlivet, Highland Spring, Fiji Water
- For balancing peated and smoky whiskies (Islay, Campbeltown)
- Slightly harder water with sulfates can enhance smokiness.
- Best choice: Perrier, San Pellegrino (in small amounts)
- For rich, sherried whiskies (Highland, Speyside)
- Slightly acidic water to bring out dried fruit and spice notes
- Best choice: Aqua Panna, Icelandic Glacial Water
- For general dilution and mixing
- Use neutral, soft water to preserve authenticity.
- Best choice: Filtered Scottish spring water, Highland Spring, Fiji
For wine (tips from Michael Mascha)
- Neutral water at 7 pH
- Ideal for both red and white wines so flavor, aroma and tannins are not muted.
- For red wines
- Can stand up to generally higher mineral content, up to 400-500 total dissolved solids (i.e. Evian)
- For white wines
- Best with low mineral content, about 100-300 total dissolved solids (i.e. Antipodes)
More Like This
Join America's Fastest Growing Spirits Newsletter THE SPILL. Unlock all the reviews, recipes and revelry — and get 15% off award-winning La Tierra de Acre Mezcal.
