Have you always enjoyed your bourbon straight?

[JamesW]

Straight. Anyway else doesn't do it for me.

[ILLfarmboy]

I generally drink bourbon neat if it's excellent, with water if it's excellent but with overwhelming alcohol, and with coke if it's marginal.

Then again, I enjoy having a good Wellers 107 with a splash of coke at times. Sometimes, the the extra sweetness brings out a woodiness that the OWA doesn't have and I enjoy it. Sometimes I drink the OWA with a splash of RO water.

Last night, I tried OWA and Lot B and now I'm thinking that Lot B is exactly what is needed to take some of the fire out of OWA and bring out it's sweet woody flavor.

Here's the deal; I drink what I enjoy. I think everybody should do the same.

I was thinking along the same lines, not to take the fire out but to give some richness that is lacking in the 08 I have open. The trouble is the proof goes down, so, I thought of adding just enough WLW (129.9, whichever year that was) to balance it out, Enough Lot B and enough WLW to keep it real close to 107 proof.

And to answer the question posed in the opening post, neat, never ice, once in a while a bourbon and branch, a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned.


Yes, I always drank it neat. Small sips are key. In large measure I started out sneaking the occasional nip as a kid. So, later on, small sips from a glass was a natural progression.

[Vosgar]

I like my bourbon neat, only a couple of times have I tried adding a few drops of water to see if I like it any better. It seems like only the high test stuff handles a little water or small ice cube without ruining the flavor.

There's been a couple of times I've tried some with Coke, but it's never worked for me. Damn shame to screw up a perfectly good bourbon.

[ErichPryde]

I started out drinking Crown and Coke or Jack and Coke, then a friend suggested Beam and Barqs. I remember several years ago, when my wife bought me a bottle of buffalo trace for my birthday. I wasn't quite into bourbon at that point, and I ended mixing most of the bottle!

After I grew up a bit, I started getting a bit more selective with my whiskey and drinking it neat. I throw the occasional ice cube in- While reading a good book, a pour of Thomas Handy with a cube of ice or two will keep me entertained for quite some time. sometimes crushed ice hits the spot. Nowadays most of my mixing is reserved for the occasional Sazerac (the 6 year and a splash of Handy make a good sazerac!), but I still have a soft spot for Jack and Coke with a wedge of lime.

[p_elliott]

I started out drinking my bourbon with water but now drink it exclusively neat. I also just take sips but they can catch up to you and you Dickel 8 just doesn't work.

[theDon]

Is that a Texas saying? I never heard it before, but come to think of it, mine has been there a time or two.

I don't know if it's Texan, but my Dad and Uncle's have said it forever. We are 7th generation Texans or so on their side. I have heard a few of my friend's Dads say it also who are the same age, in their 50's and 60's.

[George]

Up until last year, I never drank hard liquor. I was strictly a beer and wine drinker. Now that I've started drinking bourbon, I'm having it neat, for the most part. I'll sometimes add a little water to the higher proofs.

[Special Reserve]

When I was young in addition to beer I drank Scotch either on the rocks or with water. In my early 20's I was reintroduced to bourbon and I thought it was great. Through my 20's and into my 30's I drank bourbon and water. In my late 30's and in my 40's I drank bourbon on the rocks. In my 50's I started drinking bourbon neat. Now about 10 years later, I mostly drink neat with a few selections such as PHC 2007 over ice. I think it's worth repeating just how good PHC 2007 over ice really is.

[OscarV]

I think it's worth repeating just how good PHC 2007 over ice really is.

With ice, water or neat the PHC '07 is truley unique.
There is a store that I know of that has a botlle with the lower label missing that had all the info about it.
The store owner says it's an "07 and he has the right price on it, I might pick it up.
Even if it isn't a 122.6 I'm sure it would be worthy.

[Stu]

When I was a teenager, my Dad took me into a bar and asked what I wanted. The billboards of that time were full of 7&7 advertisements so I said "7&7". Dad said "do you want to drink whiskey or 7 up"? I tried it neat and have been drinking it that way ever since.