Why is mixing good whiskey with cola/ginger ale frowned upon? [closed]

I ordered a Jameson and ginger ale at a pub the other night and my brother asked me why I wasn't ordering it neat or on the rocks, since it was "pretty good" whiskey. Right now I'm having some good Kentucky bourbon (Willet) with Reed's ginger ale. Is this "wrong"? Does it matter if the ginger ale is good?

I know that this could be considered an opinion question by some but I'm asking if serious whiskey buffs would scoff at this or if they have done so in any specific literature. You know...collectors, bartenders, distillers, etc. What is the reasoning behind the common practice of discouraging mixing good or better whiskeys?

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Best Answer

It is about the same thing as putting A-1 on prime rib. Mixers, like cola or ginger ale, tend to mask the flavors of the whiskey, something which is understandable for an 'inferior' brand but is thought of as 'taboo' for a 'fine' blend. The drink that results from mixing your fine whiskey with the mixers is (roughly) 'the same' as if you had mixed a cheaper blend, having concealed the subtleties that aging and craftsmanship have worked to create.

That said...if you like it, it is your drink.

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Can you have ginger ale with whiskey?

Whiskey and ginger ale are a classic pairing, because they compliment each other beautifully! The whiskey brings in spicy and oaky notes, and ale is perfect to offset it: it's subtly sweet and bubbly. The two together make a stellar combo, similar to the combination in a Whiskey and Coke.

Why we should not drink whiskey with Coke?

Distilled alcoholic drinks such as vodka, rum, brandy or whiskey have a negligible glycaemic index. In that sense, they're not very harmful. But cola and soft drinks of that ilk are packed with sugar. They can cause a dramatic surge of sugar levels in your body.

Is it OK to drink whiskey with cola?

The great thing about a Whiskey and Coke is that you can use literally any whiskey. Coca cola has such a strong flavor that it easily overpowers the alcohol. But of course, our cocktail rule for all 200+ of our cocktail recipes is: the better the alcohol, the better the drink!

What is it called when you mix Whiskey and Coke?

Jack and Coke (also referred to as JD and Coke or Jack Coke) is a highball cocktail made by mixing Jack Daniel's brand Tennessee whiskey with Coca-Cola. It is especially popular in the American South.

Is it okay to mix whiskey with Coke?

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Answer 2

Well, yes, mixing good whiskey with your average soft drink is going to be a waste of good whiskey, since it's likely to destroy any subtlety in the flavor.

With that said, Jameson is not really a "good" whiskey. It's middle-shelf, and I like it, personally - I wouldn't mix it with cola because I'm not a huge fan of mixing whiskey with cola, but it's not a sin like mixing a single malt whisky would be. I often mix it with coffee myself.

So the answer is that yes, serious whiskey buffs would never mix "good" whiskey with anything except a little water (preferably from the same source the distillery gets their water from). But if it costs less than $30 a bottle it's probably fine.

EDIT: as to your second question, it actually might matter if the soda was "good" too, but I think you'd have to ask the individual about that.

Answer 3

If you want to get the best out of your expensive bottles of whisky, drink them without mixers like soda water, cola, or fruit juice. There are plenty of fantastic cocktails (even some inventive ones using young peated malts to imbue smokiness in the drink) out there, but you’re better off using blends or inexpensive malts for this as well. The quality improvement in the cocktail from using expensive whisky is just not going to offset the massive increase in price. You won’t be able to taste the fine nuances of a single-malt, and so you’ll end up “wasting” the money you spent on that nice bottle.

http://scotchnoob.com/2011/03/09/water-ice-or-neat/

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