Mizuwari means cut with water, and it is the serve most Japanese households actually use with a meal. One part whisky to two or two and a half parts cold water, over ice, stirred properly.
Diluting good whisky offends some people. It should not. Water opens a spirit up, and at around fourteen percent the drink sits alongside a whole meal without overwhelming the food or you, which is the entire point of banshaku.
How to make it
What you need
- 45 mlJapanese whiskyA blend is traditional and holds up best at this dilution. A soft single malt works; anything heavily peated does not.
- 110 mlcold still water, soft if you have it
- to fillhard, clear ice
1.5 standard drinks in total, 1.5 per serve, based on the recipe's alcohol strengths. Australian guidelines: no more than 10 a week, 4 on any day.
Method
- 01Fill the glass with ice and let it stand.
- 02Add the whisky and stir thirteen and a half times.
- 03Add the water.
- 04Stir two and a half turns, no more.
What to make it with
Blended bottles in stock today, cheapest first. Prices are checked daily, so this is what the drink actually costs to build right now.
Where it comes from
The ratio is not arbitrary. At roughly one to two, a 43% whisky lands near wine strength, which is why it works across a whole dinner where a neat pour would not.
Without the alcohol
There is no honest soft version of this one. The drink is whisky and water, so without the whisky it is water.