Whiskey is one of those drinks you can enjoy any way you want — it’s a great shot, fantastic on the rocks, and it mixes well, too! Whiskey is noble like that; it just goes with the flow.
Talking about mixing whiskey, some mixers are more compatible with the grain spirit than others. Of course, we all like different things, but some mixers are universally more aligned with the king of barrel-aged spirits. Here are the top whiskey mixers and how to combine them with your favorite whiskey to come up with extraordinary drinks.
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1. Soda
Let’s start with the basics; we love whiskey because it’s delicious! Its honeyed, spicy and smoky personality is larger than life, and we won’t blame you if you don’t want to mask its flavors with a potent mixer. Here’s where soda comes in.
Sparkling water turns any spirit into a long drink and a thirst-quenching one indeed. Pack a tall glass with ice and pour your favorite whiskey, whether it’s Irish Whiskey, Scotch or your good-old Bourbon, whiskey will shine beautifully in the fizzy drink.
While you’re at it, garnish your whiskey soda with a rosemary sprig or a lemon wedge for an entirely new experience! You’ll be surprised how much the garnish can change a drink’s vibe.
2. Ginger Ale
Ginger ale is the most grown-up of soft drinks. It’s not as sweet as other sodas, but it’s still delightful. The perfect partner for a robust whiskey. The caramel, oak and malted grain flavors merge with the lemony and ginger-like scents to create a just-say-summer drink like no other.
Did you know an Irish apothecary created ginger ale in the 1850s? The drink was medicine back then. Back to our topic, although ginger ale’s sweet version is quite nice with whiskey, there’s a dry ginger ale as well, and it will make for a very sophisticated drink. Either way, whiskey ginger will forever be a classic combo.
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3. Lemonade
Here’s the thing with lemonade, there’s the stuff you buy and doesn’t taste like lemonade at all, and then there’s natural lemonade made with water, lemon juice and sugar. It’s the real kind that makes whiskey shine, as the mixer’s balanced sweetness and acidity round whiskeys’ hard edge for a tasty drink that’s hard to put down.
If you like whiskey ginger, then you’ll love whiskey with lemonade. Now here’s a little trade secret — leave out the water altogether, combine your favorite whiskey with a splash of lemon juice and sugar, and you’ve got yourself a whiskey sour! One of the most pleasing whiskey cocktails on the planet.
4. Tea
If you’ve ever heard about those awkward warm boozy drinks grandmas serve during the holidays, then you know whiskey is compatible with tea — they call it a Hot Toddy. Just don’t use the good stuff, as any whiskey will lose some of its essence when heated.
Still, you can always make a whiskey iced tea, and you can combine that with lemonade too — will just call that one a Whiskey Arnold Palmer. This is one of those drinks you want to drink at a horse track; it’s a timeless classic. Really, whiskey and tea are meant to be enjoyed together! They’re a match made in heaven.
5. Cranberry Juice
Cranberry Juice on its own is not precisely charming, but the ruby-hued mixer lends its sweetness and acidity to cocktails nicely — there’s a reason every bar in the world has some in the back; everyone loves a cranberry based long drink.
So, is cranberry juice compatible with whiskey? Of course it is, and if you agree with us, it’s even a better partner to cranberry juice than vodka. Whiskey is bold and flavorful, but it often lacks tartness to make it summer-compatible; that’s where cranberry juice comes in; it complements whiskey with its fruitiness! That’s a perfect couple right there; cranberry juice and whiskey finish each other’s sentences.
6. Lime juice
This one is tricky. Too much lemon juice will ruin any drink, and whiskey might suffer the most. Still, there’s the famous Whiskey Sour cocktail as proof that this combo works.
This is how you build a cocktail: you start with a hard spirit, in this case, your favorite whiskey. Then you add an acidic ingredient, meaning lemon or lime juice. The drink, though, is not complete until you add some sweetness to take it home. Try it and see if it works for you. Whiskey and lime juice can work together nicely if you let them. The result is always refreshing, so lime juice can be your go-to mixer this summer!
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7. Sweet Vermouth
An homage to the good-old classic cocktails, sweet vermouth turns your favorite rye whiskey into the world-famous Manhattan, and if you mix it with Scotch, you get a Rob Roy.
Vermouth is an odd drink. It is a red wine-based mixer that’s been aromatized with roots, herbs and spices and fortified with a grape spirit. Vermouth falls into the aromatized wine category, and although it can be too intense to drink on its own, just a splash livens whiskey and other spirits marvelously.
Did you know the Manhattan cocktail has been around since the 1880s? Legend says Sir Winston Churchill’s mother commissioned the drink herself!
8. Apple Cider
This might be the best fall cocktail in the book; the whiskey apple cider is synonym with fallen leaves and chilly winds. Apple cider brings out the honey flavors in whiskey as they come together to provide a taste of home. It’s that good.
Keep in mind there are different apple ciders, but then again, no whiskey is created equal, so you’ll have a blast finding the perfect combination. Finding the ideal apple cider for your favorite whiskey is the type of homework we like.
Now go on and mix your whiskey with the mixers above, and if you need whiskey and mixers fast, order them at Juicefly.com; they deliver in minutes all around LA.
