We’ve all been in that situation at someone’s party where you’re greeted with a table full of mixers and aren’t quite sure where to start.
We’re going to break down all of the options available to us and rank them in reverse order, starting with the worst and finishing with the best. There are some interesting results here, and I put myself through a lot for the sake of making this as accurate as possible. Needless to say, I never want to see an energy drink again.
10. Energy Drinks
Just don’t. I beg you. I tried this by mixing three different energy drinks with Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, which will be the base whiskey for all of these tests. Red Bull, White Monster, and Black Monster were all absolutely terrible.
Mixed with whiskey, they somehow manage to make the whiskey itself taste terrible. There are so many fruity notes from the energy drinks that I can’t even put my finger on what I’m tasting. They’re so sugary that they make my teeth feel like they’re crawling out of my mouth.
I couldn’t taste any element of the whiskey until the finish, when the weird fruit flavors finally died away and left behind a hard-to-find taste of caramel and peanuts.
Just don’t do it. Abysmal is a kind word.
9. Cranberry Juice
Again, this is a big no. As a standalone mixer, cranberry juice is too tart and dry to complement what is going on with the whiskey. It drowns out a lot of the whiskey’s sweetness and pushes the taste of alcohol forward, without much else going on.
I’d take it over an energy drink, but you’re going to be wanting something sweet after drinking this. However, cranberry juice does work very well with amaretto.
8. Orange Juice
There’s a reason vodka and orange juice is such a classic combination. Unfortunately, whiskey and orange juice just don’t work nearly as well.
This reminded me a lot of drinking orange juice after brushing my teeth. There were plenty of astringent and unpleasant flavors, and sadly, drinking more of it in an attempt to get through the glass didn’t make things any better.
I will say that the more I drank, the more the whiskey began to push through. It’s a remarkable experience, just for all the wrong reasons. If you see someone drinking this, make sure to ask if they’re okay.
7. Soda Water
This was weird. Not bad in flavor compared with everything above, but just an unusual experience. It essentially tastes like carbonated whiskey.
Realistically, we’re about two-thirds of the way to a highball here, so while I didn’t love whiskey and soda water on their own, the addition of some lime juice, ice, and Angostura bitters made this very nice.
6. Apple Juice
Okay, this one actually wasn’t as bad as I thought. It worked well with Tennessee whiskey, although it leaned a little sweeter than I wanted, especially on the finish.
However, I used it with some rye whiskey too, and that wasn’t bad at all. I ended up adding plenty of ice and some peach bitters, and it worked quite well in the end.
5. Lemonade
I think this is a really underrated mixer. In the UK, lemonade is sweet, carbonated and has just the right amount of freshness. The whiskey brings spice, along with those sweet elements of caramel and vanilla, which work nicely alongside the sweet and sour lemon notes.
I had some mint left in the fridge, so I slapped some of that back into life and used it as a garnish. It made the drink wonderful.
This combination, when made with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, is also a wonderful long drink for the summer.
4. Cola
This just works. It famously works with Jack Daniel’s and a large number of other American whiskeys. It also works really well with Talisker, Lagavulin, and Bowmore. I’ve never tried it with Octomore, but I sort of want to know what happens.
Aside from simply being approachable for so many different people, there’s a reason the flavors work. Cola contains vanilla flavors, while most whiskeys have been aged in casks that contribute vanilla notes. They naturally go hand in hand.
Jack and Coke is a drink I crave a few times a year. Top it off with a good squeeze of lime, and it’s so pleasant. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
3. Ginger Beer
Wonderful. Just wonderful.
Much like cola, but less sweet, ginger beer works with almost every type of spirit you can dream of putting it with. I tried this with Jack Daniel’s, Irish whiskey, Talisker 10 Year Old, and 1792 Small Batch, and it was great with all of them.
It allows rye spice to push through a little more and linger for longer, bringing out those caraway-like spicy flavors. With Irish whiskey, it amplifies the sweetness. With peated Scotch whiskies, it again brings out sweeter notes while making the smoke seem a little lighter.
2. Ginger Ale
Lighter and sweeter than ginger beer, ginger ale still works incredibly well with all types of whiskey.
I mixed this with some Johnnie Walker Red Label and peach bitters, and it was just delightful. With the default Jack Daniel’s test, it produced a slightly drier drink, but worked even better with the addition of some lime.
It’s lovely with bourbon and rye too. This might become one of my default mixers.
1. Lemon Juice & Sugar
Okay, hear me out. This sounds weird on paper, but it actually works in two different ways.
Whiskey, lemon juice and sugar are the starting point for a Whiskey Sour cocktail. Do check out our full guide on that here if you want to make the perfect one at home.
The other option is homemade lemonade. Jack Daniel’s with this is so, so good.
Make the lemonade first using fresh lemon juice and as much sugar as you need to balance out the acidity. Slap some mint, throw it into the jug with plenty of ice, and let everything sit together for a while.
When you’re ready, add as much lemonade as you want to a double measure of Old No. 7. It’s a wonderful summer drink: refreshing, crisp and easy to pair with plenty of different foods.
Which Whiskey Mixer Is Best?
So there’s our list! Did we miss anything? If so, let us know in the comments and we can update the list as we go.
Mixers are a personal choice, and no matter what I say above, if you like drinking your whiskey a certain way, keep doing it. As always, try new things. If something I’ve listed above sounds awful to you, or perhaps surprisingly good, see what else you can add to make it more interesting.
Experimentation is key in what we do.
Read the full article at The Best And Worst Whiskey Mixers, Ranked By Someone Who’s Tried Them All
