Watered-down value

So Maker’s Mark is going to reduce the amount of alcohol in the bourbon it sells (“Lower-proof bourbon meets demand,” Feb. 12).

In an interesting tour of a distillery in Kentucky a few years ago, I learned that when bourbon goes into the oak barrels to be aged, it’s at very high proof – 150 or higher, I think. So how does it get to 80 or 90 or 100 proof in the bottle? Simple: They add water (very special limestone spring water, according to their marketing, of course).

So perhaps the article should have been titled “Maker’s Mark to water its whiskey down even more.”

One wonders – since cheap water is being substituted for some of the expensive whiskey – will the price be reduced as well?

Ray Albers, Pittsboro