What to mix with whiskey covers eight reliable mixers: ginger ale, soda water, cola, sweet vermouth, lemon juice, honey, mint, and bitters. Below: each one with the canonical cocktail it builds, plus six whiskey-forward classics from the Speakeater cellar.
Whiskey holds its own against more mixers than any other spirit. The grain weight, the oak, the proof. They all give you something to push against. Below: eight whiskey mixers ranked by how a professional bartender uses them, plus the canonical cocktail each one builds.
What to pour first.
Six more whiskey-forward picks from the cellar:
Common questions.
What's the best mixer for whiskey?
Sugar, bitters, and a splash of water. The Old Fashioned is the canonical answer. Beyond that: ginger ale (highball), sweet vermouth (Manhattan), lemon juice (Whiskey Sour), and mint with sugar (Mint Julep). Each builds a different classic.
What's the difference between bourbon and rye for cocktails?
Bourbon is corn-forward and sweeter. Rye is grain-forward and spicier. Most pre-Prohibition cocktails (Manhattan, Sazerac, Vieux Carré) were originally rye-based. Bourbon dominates modern American mixology because of Prohibition-era distillery shifts.
Can I mix whiskey with cola?
Yes. Whiskey + cola = Whiskey Coke (or 'Jack and Coke' if it's Jack Daniel's). Two parts cola to one part whiskey over ice with a lime wedge. Not a craft cocktail, but a working highball that holds up at any party.
What goes best with bourbon specifically?
Bourbon's corn-sweet character pairs with anything fruit-adjacent: lemon (Gold Rush, Whiskey Sour), mint (Whiskey Smash, Mint Julep), Aperol (Paper Plane), or sweet vermouth (Manhattan). For a cleaner drink: bourbon + ginger ale + lime over ice.