The Simple Cocktail That Pairs Perfectly With Whiskey

With its rough-and-tumble reputation and burning effects, it's no wonder that some people find whiskeys, including bourbon, a bit intimidating to drink straight. Whiskey cocktail recipes like the Kentucky sunrise or bourbon bramble make the spirit friendlier to the throat and tongue, but for an inexperienced whiskey drinker, the thought of even mixing up a cocktail made with the spirit may sound intimidating. The solution to this dilemma is simpler than would-be whiskey drinkers might think: soda — more specifically, flavored sodas instead of the clear, nearly flavorless stuff that comes out of the bar gun.

The mixology suggestion here involves the kinds of sodas you'd use to make drinks like a Shirley Temple with. As Adam Edwards, the National Brand Ambassador for Heaven's Door, explained to Chowhound, "I'm a huge fan of bourbon and ginger ale (basically a Kentucky Mule without the lime). It's less sugar than soft drinks, and pairs extremely well with most whiskeys."

Edwards is on to something with this soda-spirit combination. The crisp and refreshing sweetness of ginger ale, America's oldest soda, brings balance to the burn of the whiskey. Called a highball, drink lovers have paired whiskey and some kind of soda together since the late 19th century. (However, no one knows who originally borrowed the term from railroad terminology, which meant the train on the tracks has been given authorization to leave the station, and applied it to cocktails.) Ginger ale just happens to be the specific soda in question here.

If you're not a fan of ginger ale, Adam Edwards offered up another, albeit somewhat surprising, option for your whiskey highball. "Wasn't Mountain Dew developed initially as a pairing for whiskey?" he asks. It was, indeed. Invented by Barney and Ally Hartman of the Hartman Beverage Co. of Knoxville, Tennessee, the brothers wanted to create a lemon-lime soda that people could mix into cocktails. The Hartmans called the drink "Mountain Dew," a nod to the term that bootleggers used to call moonshine in the 1800s.

Mountain Dew, Appalachia's favorite soft drink, is among the most popular ways to add a good dose of citrus to a whiskey-based drink. Like ginger ale, the combo balances out the harshness of the alcohol and infuses boozy drinks with brightness. In fact, once upon a time, sailors kept lemons and limes on hand during voyages to prevent scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency. They discovered that the citrus tasted better if it was taken with the bitterness of liquor. It's a combo that has stuck in the centuries since then. 

Like a cocktail with ginger ale, a simple drink made of whiskey and Mountain Dew allows the taste buds to enjoy the boldness and complexity of the spirit while putting a damper on some of its harsher tendencies. This combination also tones down the intimidation factor, opening the way for would-be whiskey lovers to try their hand at more complex cocktails, specifically non-soda-based recipes, like New York sours or the paper plane.