Best Mixing Bourbon

[fogfrog]

I know this sounds like a goofy post in a place where people drink bourbon for the taste of the bourbon but it occurred to me there might be some reason why some of the cheaper brands are used for what they are used for.

Right now I only have two bottles in stock in my home one being Old Crow and the other being Evan Williams Black Label. My intention is to get some Jim Beam Black label next but working with what I have now, I had been adding diet sprite to the Evan Williams and it was damn good. Today I thought, why not 'not throw away' the Old Crow I bought (dirt cheap) and mix IT with the Diet Sprite.

Well, I will say the drink it makes is quite awesome. None of the Undesirables of the Old Crow are evident when it is mixed with some Sprite! If a person is going to drink Bourbon and Sprite, Old Crow is an awesome Bourbon!

Now I am curious about others who MIX their bourbon.

I recognize that when I tasted the 7YO beam it was pretty darn good on the rocks. I thought bourbon was something I'd begin to drink.

Now I am finding that drinking Cheaper Bourbon when adding to Sprite could actually be PREFERABLE to drinking the more expensive stuff.

So I ask you, if you were to make mixed drinks with Bourbon, which Bourbon would be the best?

Thanks,

Paul

[bobbyc]

So I ask you, if you were to make mixed drinks with Bourbon, which Bourbon would be the best?

Indeed and why stop there, I'd say if a flavored mixer is in the mix so to speak why not get a blend of some sort.I think Ky Tavern would be good here, I enjoyed some of it neat a few weeks back.

[camduncan]

Jim Beam White Label and coke.

[brian12069]

This is an interesting post. I like to drink my bourbon neat. Having said that, anything that I don't enjoy neat becomes my mixing bourbon. The bottom bourbons are great for Manhattans, can be mixed with Coke for friends and are GREAT for marinades and cooking!

[barturtle]

IIRC Booker Noe said:"I don't mind if somebody wants to mix Booker's with Coke, it'll just be the best bourbon and Coke they ever had."

I second that.

[brian12069]

IIRC Booker Noe said:"I don't mind if somebody wants to mix Booker's with Coke, it'll just be the best bourbon and Coke they ever had."

That will NEVER happen in my house Friends don't let friends mix Booker's with anything!

[ratcheer]

I really enjoy an occasional Wild Turkey 101 with old fashioned, spicy ginger ale (I use Buffalo Rock, but I know its not widely available). Occasional? Maybe twice a year.

I also occasionally enjoy Chuck Cowdery's recipe for bourbon, ice, and a lot of water. Kentucky iced tea? Usually in the summer time.

That's about the extent of my borubon mixing.

Tim

[brian12069]

Not even an occasional Manhattan?...

[fogfrog]

What is a flavored mixer? Would that be like Vanilla Diet Coke?

[fogfrog]

I have seen an entire page of drinks which are designed for Jack Daniels but probably would also work for Bourbon. One of them was a Tea Drink and included real tea in it! I have also seen variations on the Long Island Iced tea which is quite popular nowadays, but it has a lot of stuff in it besides the bourbon.

I like your idea of Bourbon and Water. My father now has Dementia. I thought he was just a drunk, but it was Lewy Bodies Dementia (like Alzheimers). Now I recognize it WAS NOT the Whiskey. He used to dring cheap scotch though in what to me looked like a beer mug. He would put ice and water in it.

I figured it was like Lo Carb Beer.

But that was his drink with Bottom Shelf Scotch. I'd buy hime some Johnny Walker Red or Black and he'd appreciate the hell out of it, but keep buying the really cheap stuff which he drank a lot of. I asked him about it and he told me he could't taste the difference.

In Scotch he said the longer it was aged the smokier (nastier) it got. So it seemed the 8YO was better in a sense than the 12YO.

I don't know but I think he was drinking the equivalent of our three year old with the stuff he drank normally

So I understand the mixing deal.

I myself just added some Evan Williams to my Diet Sprite and it was a little too much! I didn't seem to have that problem with the Old Crow. So the Old Crow seems to me to have a lot of utility in mixing with diet sprite and coke.

I think however if I cut the Evan Williams with enough water it'd make an awesome Iced Tea.

Paul

[Joe_Blowe]

I also occasionally enjoy Chuck Cowdery's recipe for bourbon, ice, and a lot of water. Kentucky iced tea?

Didn't I see another name for this around here? "Kentucky Chardonnay" or somethin' like that?!

[TNbourbon]

...Didn't I see another name for this around here? "Kentucky Chardonnay" or somethin' like that?!

Brown zinfandel, perhaps?

[wku88]

While I seldom pollute my bourbon with more than a few ice cubes, I have found the cheaper the better taste wise when mixing. Ten High, Kessler's, most anything you pick up for $10 a 1.75 will make good Cocktails. The elements that make a great whisky when drank neat or on ice will often produce wierd aftertastes in cocktails, at least in my experience.

[bobbyc]

What is a flavored mixer?

I guess it could be argued that water has taste properties, but for this I meant anything other than water.

[cas]

Elijah Craig 12 yr mixes nicely with ginger ale, coke etc and is reasonably priced. This bourbon is spicy and interesting enough so that the flavor penetrates the sweetness of the mixer and creates a pleasant combined taste. You can mix any cheap spirit with soda to make a cocktail that goes down easily, but with a little better grade of bourbon the resulting drink can have a bit of character. Good by the poolside on a hot summer day, anyway.

Craig

[kbuzbee]

I really enjoy an occasional Wild Turkey 101 with old fashioned, spicy ginger ale (I use Buffalo Rock, but I know its not widely available). Occasional? Maybe twice a year.

I also occasionally enjoy Chuck Cowdery's recipe for bourbon, ice, and a lot of water. Kentucky iced tea? Usually in the summer time.

That's about the extent of my borubon mixing.

Tim

Exactly where I am Tim. Maybe 2-3 times more frequently but exactly the same. Kentucky tea is perfect on a hot summer evening. 101 and ginger ale (I'll have to look for Buffalo Rock (is that the Buffalo Trace ginger ale?) but right now I use Vernors) is great in colder weather (it 26 out right now!)

Ken

[pbrian]

The bottom bourbons are great for Manhattans...

I'm a firm believer that the best products are made by using the best ingredients. About 50% of my bourbon consumption is via Manhattans and to me, the bourbon used makes a big difference in the final product. I'm not advocating using the priciest ones out there, but a good ~$20 bottle of bourbon (I'm using EC 12 yo right now with happy results) makes a better Manhattan made with Old Crow and the like. I know you probably don't disagree with that last statement. I guess I'm just saying that bottom bourbons don't make great Manhattans. They make passable Manhattans. Great Manhattans are made with great ingredients. And while I'm on the subject, toss those grocery store maraschino cherries and try the Michter's ones. Again, substituting a better product for an inferior one will just make the final product better.

[BobA]

I don't do too much mixing, but I guess I do it enough so it is one reason why anytime I empty a bottle of Old Grand Dad 100, I replace it. The proof and rye twang to make itself known even in heavy sweet tastes, good enough to play around with on "serious" cocktails, and, at $17 or so, no real hard hit on the wallet. Wild Turkey 101 would probably be another good choice, but it's about $5 more, I like the OGD better neat, and if I want a WT experience, I have one of their higher-end bottles around (but not for mixing). Cheaper would be Very Old Barton 90 (or any other proof), which here is $9-10.

Bob

[pepcycle]

I'm with you!!!

I'll have to make you Bananas Stephen Foster with Rock Hill Farms!!!

Good Bourbon makes great cocktails and great recipes.

Add VWFR to your next saute of mushrooms. Put Sazerac in your Sazerac. Put EWSB in your Eggnog.

Heck, you spent the money already.

Enjoy it.

Digressing: How many of you spend $30 for a bottle of wine consumed at one meal or 5 bucks for microbrewed beer at pub? I get a lot more mileage from a premium bourbon.

[kbuzbee]

I mix regular 101 with anything I might mix. That's usually only water or ginger ale but if there was something else I wanted to try, I'd make it with 101, not counting just killing off a bottle of something I don't care for (which is rarely done)

Ken

[ThomasH]

My rule of thumb for bourbon mixed drinks is simple: Any brand with ginger ale. I like the 100 proof on up bourbons. I have used everthing from Colonel Lee 100 to George T Stagg. I used to use 7-up or sprite but that is for flavored vodka in my opinion. Ginger ale is also great with other whiskeys/whiskys as well. I love Irish whiskey and ginger ale, but absolutely mixed with 7-up or sprite.

[brian12069]

I'm a firm believer that the best products are made by using the best ingredients. About 50% of my bourbon consumption is via Manhattans and to me, the bourbon used makes a big difference in the final product. I'm not advocating using the priciest ones out there, but a good ~$20 bottle of bourbon (I'm using EC 12 yo right now with happy results) makes a better Manhattan made with Old Crow and the like. I know you probably don't disagree with that last statement. I guess I'm just saying that bottom bourbons don't make great Manhattans. They make passable Manhattans. Great Manhattans are made with great ingredients. And while I'm on the subject, toss those grocery store maraschino cherries and try the Michter's ones. Again, substituting a better product for an inferior one will just make the final product better.

I guess the key here is 50% of your bourbon consumption is via Manhattans. I would say thats a very high percentage on this board, your 50% into Manhattans and 50% into bourbon. A lot of times if I make a Manhattan it is because I'm trying to get rid of a cheaper bourbon! I usually can't tell much of a difference and enjoy them made with almost any bourbon.

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

IIRC Booker Noe said:"I don't mind if somebody wants to mix Booker's with Coke, it'll just be the best bourbon and Coke they ever had."

I have to disagree, even though it is Booker speaking. I have tried Booker's and Coke and it wasn't the best I had ever had. (Booker's most certainly is one of the best bourbons I have had)I am not at all against mixing with the best for the best result. However, using the best (bourbon) for a so-so cocktail is not going to happen more than once or twice.

BTW, my stance on Bourbon and Coke is the Bourbon improves the Coke, not the other way around. If I want an improved Coke, bourbon is one good way to go. If I want to try to improve a bourbon I Gillmanize.

Ed

[brian12069]

IIRC Booker Noe said:"I don't mind if somebody wants to mix Booker's with Coke, it'll just be the best bourbon and Coke they ever had."

I have to disagree, even though it is Booker speaking. I have tried Booker's and Coke and it wasn't the best I had ever had. (Booker's most certainly is one of the best bourbons I have had)I am not at all against mixing with the best for the best result. However, using the best (bourbon) for a so-so cocktail is not going to happen more than once or twice.

BTW, my stance on Bourbon and Coke is the Bourbon improves the Coke, not the other way around. If I want an improved Coke, bourbon is one good way to go. If I want to try to improve a bourbon I Gillmanize.

Ed

Couldn't have said it better myself!

[barturtle]

BTW, my stance on Bourbon and Coke is the Bourbon improves the Coke, not the other way around.

I agree. I never mix those anymore-it's probably been 8 years or more(at least for myself-I was a bartender after all...Can't say no )

However, I do believe that the best ingredients produce the best results. But even the best white chocolate won't make brownies. Each mixed drink will lend itself to one bourbon or another. Rock Hill Farms makes a great manahatten. I consider Booker's and Coke an "appoved" use and it will shine more than some well brand blend. Do I like Booker's and Coke? Well I used to, but I gave up soft drinks (other than the occasional ginger ale) a few years back. Do I consider it the best use for Booker's? Hell no! Drink it straight, maybe a couple rocks. The whole point of barrel proof bourbon is to show of the maximum flavor that is possible. Wanna see the maximum bourbon flavor possible in a bourbon and coke: well there you go.