What to drink when it's HOT!

[mrviognier]

It's going on two years since I moved to MN from CA. When my friends back west ask me. "what's the weather like out there?" I always tell them that it's like living with a psychotic girlfriend...you never quite know what you're going to wake up to. :grin:

[Gillman]

One thing I'll say about ice is, it tends to magnify faults in whiskey. The dilution and chill do this. If you have a whiskey which is, say, a little moldy-tasting, or cork-tainted, it will show up faster on the rocks or in a mist.

I think the best bourbon to drink with ice should be on the younger side, or mid-aged at most, but some people like aged whiskey cold too. Tastes differ.

Gary

[mrviognier]

Interesting...as the exact opposite is true of wine. It's common practice in the trade that if you have a wine with obvious flaws you want to hide, chill it down.

[mosugoji64]

Interesting...as the exact opposite is true of wine. It's common practice in the trade that if you have a wine with obvious flaws you want to hide, chill it down.

Isn't the same true of beer? Numbing the tastebuds hides flaws and allows for enjoyment of something that would otherwise be weak and off. Hence, ice-cold Bud. :grin:

[Parkersback]

One thing I'll say about ice is, it tends to magnify faults in whiskey. The dilution and chill do this. If you have a whiskey which is, say, a little moldy-tasting, or cork-tainted, it will show up faster on the rocks or in a mist.

I think the best bourbon to drink with ice should be on the younger side, or mid-aged at most, but some people like aged whiskey cold too. Tastes differ.

Gary

[Brisko]

you all are going to laugh at me, but last night I mixed some silver tequila with fresca, over ice. Hit the spot, considering it was still 88 at 10:00 last night.

It's much nicer today, so I should get back into the bourbon no problem.:cool:

[gblick]

Even when it's hot, I still prefer my bourbon neat.

Only if I'm overheated (like after doing yardwork) I'll cool of with an Old Fashioned, but otherwise it's neat.

[kc outdoorsman]

its always on the rocks for me - no matter the temp... hell I even have a bottle of green evan in my frig in the barn !

[jcg9779]

Another summer drink that I enjoy, but forgot to mention in my original post, is to take a highball glass and add about an ounce or so of bourbon, and then fill the glass with ice and water. You get a taste of the bourbon, but the ice and water make it very refreshing. It's a great summer afternoon drink, and it can sneak up on you if you aren't careful!

[BFerguson]

If it was good enough for Booker, I see nothing wrong it it.

Sometimes neat, sometime on the rocks, and sometimes with a mixer. There is no shame in having it any of these ways. Sometimes one just fits the moment better than another.

Personally, it was a rocks day yesterday for me........Putting the cold glass up to my forehead after a deep draw in of the aroma, sure felt mighty fine.

B

Once Booker started talking in his rural Kentucky drawl about his whiskeys and how to make bourbon, or smoking hams, or fishing, or the spiritual importance of consuming lots of thick-sliced smoked ham on homemade biscuits only an earthquake could stop him or, for that matter, compel the audience to vacate. The audiences were enthralled and amused by this massive, unassuming man who’d casually answer questions, saying things like, “Do I add water ta Booker’s? At a hunnert twenty-six percent alcohol, you kiddin’? Don’t an’ it’ll blow tha top o’ your head right off. Hell, I pour some Booker’s in a tall ol’ glass ‘bout one-third an’ fill the rest with branch water and some ice. Call it Kentucky Tea. Clears the lungs, soothes the stomach…and lights a fire in your mind. All those things in jus’ one glass. Yes sir, Kentucky Tea. Mighty good for what ails ya.â€

Another summer drink that I enjoy, but forgot to mention in my original post, is to take a highball glass and add about an ounce or so of bourbon, and then fill the glass with ice and water. You get a taste of the bourbon, but the ice and water make it very refreshing. It's a great summer afternoon drink, and it can sneak up on you if you aren't careful!

[G.H.Adams]

As my air conditioner crapped out last night and the temp today hit 101 I have had several Old Fitz BIB with ice and a splash of ginger. Hope the repairman comes tomorrow.

[cowdery]

This is an interesting challenge, in terms of keeping it bourbon.

Really hot weather is about the only thing that will get me to drink bourbon on the rocks. In terms of brands or styles, I'll tend to reach for something familiar, a taste I know pretty well. There's a good chance it will be a wheater.

[jburlowski]

Chuck:

Being crotchety and all that, don't you chafe in this heat? :hot:

[dmarkle]

This is an interesting challenge, in terms of keeping it bourbon.

Really hot weather is about the only thing that will get me to drink bourbon on the rocks. In terms of brands or styles, I'll tend to reach for something familiar, a taste I know pretty well. There's a good chance it will be a wheater.

[mrviognier]

Well, there's 'neat' and then there's 'heat'. IMHO, most bars keep (and serve) their spirits a bit too warm for me. I'd much prefer they keep & store their liquors like they (should) their red wines...at cellar temperature.

[moose]

I spent a few summers working outside, 12 hour shifts; so it got HOT. Luckily it was all at golf courses, which had bars, on a scorching hot day, nothing seemed to hit the spot for me quite like some Beam and Sprite/7UP, heavy on the bourbon. I'll admit, it was pretty damn refreshing, the citrus brought out some decent flavors in the bourbon, that I hadn't picked up before. It was easy to get carried away with those though, so they usually had to wait until after 5 or so, once things started to slow down.

When I am at home, I'll partake in that same drink, or just grab a beer, a nice hoppy IPA seems to do well for my taste-buds when its hot.

[Ian S.]

You can always do what good 'old Jimmy Russell does and put a bottle of WTRB in the freezer for a chilled non watered down pour.

I continue to drink my bourbon neat even in these 100+ degree and humid Texas summer days.

[jcg9779]

You can always do what good 'old Jimmy Russell does and put a bottle of WTRB in the freezer for a chilled non watered down pour.

I continue to drink my bourbon neat even in these 100+ degree and humid Texas summer days.

I've never kept my bourbon in the freezer - the only liquor that has historically been in my freezer is vodka...I may have to give bourbon a try. I will say, that at night I'll continue to drink my bourbon neat...it's usually during the heat of the day that I'll go with the more "refreshing" drink.

[Ian S.]

I've never kept my bourbon in the freezer - the only liquor that has historically been in my freezer is vodka...I may have to give bourbon a try. I will say, that at night I'll continue to drink my bourbon neat...it's usually during the heat of the day that I'll go with the more "refreshing" drink.

I guess since I only pour at night, neat bourbon has never been an issue in the heat.

Supposedly the WTRB in the freezer trick is pretty good(according to some of my KY friends). I have yet to try it.

[MarkEdwards]

You can always do what good 'old Jimmy Russell does and put a bottle of WTRB in the freezer for a chilled non watered down pour.

.

There are some who say that putting bourbon in the freezer alters the taste. I don't know, since I don't do it.

However, many years ago, I used to keep a bottle of Glenlivet in the freezer, and it was pretty good after a long day working in an un-air-conditioned warehouse...

[ratcheer]

Another summer drink that I enjoy, but forgot to mention in my original post, is to take a highball glass and add about an ounce or so of bourbon, and then fill the glass with ice and water. You get a taste of the bourbon, but the ice and water make it very refreshing. It's a great summer afternoon drink, and it can sneak up on you if you aren't careful!

That is Chuck's "Kentucky iced tea", which has been mentioned here many times over the years. I like it, but usually don't think about having it.

Tim

Ps - Oops. I see BFerguson beat me to it.

[sanzoluk]

I've become a big fan of whiskey (and sometimes rum) fizzes since I got my carbonator. Get some extra fizzy water; mix bourbon and a little bit of of simple syrup (just water boiled with some sugar) over ice, strain into a glass, fill up with the soda water, add a little more sugar to give it some extra fizz, and drink quickly. Sometimes I throw an egg yolk into the mix and it works really well. A great after-work (or hangover recovery) drink.

[smokinjoe]

I like a very cool/cold bourbon on occasion, when it's hot. I'll usually have a bottle in the beer fridge for just such times. A nice lower temp, without the ice dilution. Old Forester Signature is a bourbon that comes to mind when thinking about a bourbon that handles it's temp being lowered.

[mrviognier]

There are some who say that putting bourbon in the freezer alters the taste. I don't know, since I don't do it.

I don't think it alters the taste so much as it alters your perception of the taste. Your taste buds don't pick up the complexity of the Bourbon because they've become 'deadened' by the cold temperature of it. It's why most people don't mind putting a bottle of vodka in the freezer...because, after all, good vodka is supposed to taste like nothing.

I'll have to try putting a bottle of low-proof in the frig and see how I like it. Of course, I'll have to wait for another hot day. Early in the week it was over a 100...now it's below 60. Stupid MN weather.

[T Comp]

I like a very cool/cold bourbon on occasion, when it's hot. I'll usually have a bottle in the beer fridge for just such times. A nice lower temp, without the ice dilution. Old Forester Signature is a bourbon that comes to mind when thinking about a bourbon that handles it's temp being lowered.

On occasion me too. I find the higher proof and rye finished bourbons take better to bottle chilling as there is still enough flavor to survive the taste deadening from the chill. I posted up thread that HH BIB is also a good one and of course Signature would be too. Another method that gets a pour cold enough quickly is about 2 ounces in a smaller and thin glass snifter, then set in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes at most.