Cask Strength whiskys VS ABV 40-48%

@whiskyshiba, if I can get it at cask strength, I prefer to buy it at cask strength. I can dilute it down later to get the other concentrations if I want to do so. Usually I will drink it at cask strength, only occasionally adding a couple of drops of water.

I prefer cask strength, no chill filtering, no added color. Single cask is even better. I'll happily pay more for such. I've no idea why they dilute it down to 40% ABV.

I also prefer cask strength whiskies and drink them neat most of the times, adding water only when I'm getting to know the dram for the first times in order to "explore" the flavours...anyway, I think that 46% is an "honest" strength, I personally have problems in buying things bottled at 40/43% (this is the reason I'm delaying tha purchase of Highland Park 18)

I prefer whiskies bottled at Cask Strength, or at least at around the 50% mark, and rarely add more than a drop or two of water to scotch, even at these strengths. That said, there are plenty of whiskies that are perfectly good at lower ABV's. With these whiskies I generaly find that even adding a tiny amount of water can easily drown all of the flavours.

As for why they do bottle at 40%, the answer is very simply for financial purposes. The more water they use, the more bottles they get out of a cask, and the higher the ABV the higher the rate of duty that they have to pay, so the bottler wins both ways by watering down to 40%.