Bourbon, Rye and American Whiskey

Scuzi · 6 Mar 2020 at 17:08

Pardon the uncouth post but...

Which bourbon do you prefer with coke? As much as I love straight bourbon, I do also quite enjoy it with coke as a longer drink. I think the ryes are well suited, but in terms of bourbon I'm liking it with JB Double Oak and Black. Tried it with Makers and Wild Turkey but frankly they were too 'good' for it. Needs a bold flavour to work well.

Scam · 6 Mar 2020 at 17:10

Pardon the uncouth response but can you really notice a difference? With the amount of flavour/sugar in the coke I would have thought pretty much anything is completely overwhelmed..

Scuzi · 6 Mar 2020 at 17:18

Yes, I can taste the difference between regular 'cooking' bourbon and the stronger flavours such as the double oak. Much prefer the bolder varieties. I'm curious about what others prefer.

I must clarify that I have more than a standard measure to a can of coke. More like a 3/1 ratio.

BUDFORCE · 6 Mar 2020 at 17:34

IF I am drinking with coke honestly good old regular Jack Daniels in my opinion, its got a bit of a bitter kick to it with balances off with teh coke.

I hardly ever have bouron with coke though.

robj20 · 6 Mar 2020 at 18:01

Need a new one to try, so far my favourite is Bulleit Rye, anything maybe a step up but along the same lines.

BlueMerle · 6 Mar 2020 at 18:54

Scam said:
Pardon the uncouth response but can you really notice a difference? With the amount of flavour/sugar in the coke I would have thought pretty much anything is completely overwhelmed..

I can absolutely tell a difference. Not to the point of being able to identify what kind of bourbon if it's a blind taste test, but the difference is noticable.

I also enjoy a bourbon and coke. I generally stick to the cheaper brands though as I don't see a point in using high end bourbon, or any other spirit, when it's being mixed. JD and Jim Beam work well for me. Sometimes I'll even buy a cheap rot-gut like Kentucky Deluxe to save a few bucks. Only for mixing with coke though.

Darkpassenger · 7 Mar 2020 at 13:33

BlueMerle said:
Yes, quite good.

It's my go too brand better than JD.

BUDFORCE · 27 Apr 2020 at 20:22

I ventured onto the whiskey exchange to get 4 slightly more obscure (atlhough not expensive) bottles I have not tried before. First of which is "Kentucky's Old Reserve" which reading the bottle is actually bottled in Florida, but hey.

Plastic scew cap didnt inspire confidence but its not actually that bad, nothing special I wouldnt buy it again, but another one ticked off the list.

Rroff · 27 Apr 2020 at 20:40

Seeing some of the posts above - if I'm mixing with coke pretty much always JD - just not enough difference with anything nicer so it would be a waste of good whiskey and I'd try and avoid anything much cheaper - some of them are bad enough even coke isn't enough to mask it.

BUDFORCE · 28 Apr 2020 at 11:47

Rroff said:
Seeing some of the posts above - if I'm mixing with coke pretty much always JD - just not enough difference with anything nicer so it would be a waste of good whiskey and I'd try and avoid anything much cheaper - some of them are bad enough even coke isn't enough to mask it.

Some of the cheaper ones are not too bad especially with coke.

Old Samuel isnt terrible, I can just about drink that straight sure it'd be ok in coke and its a good but cheaper than JD.

BUDFORCE · 4 May 2020 at 10:46

Next one of the 4 was Ezra Brooks, better than Kentuckys Old Reserve, much better actually this is quite a good bottle.

Freebird101 · 4 May 2020 at 20:18

Quite enjoy scotch (especially the lighter ones like Scapa and Glenkinchie). I fancy giving Bourbon ago, but would rather start at the cheaper end, are there any recommendations that tend to be available at supermarkets?

BUDFORCE · 4 May 2020 at 20:25

Freebird101 said:
Quite enjoy scotch (especially the lighter ones like Scapa and Glenkinchie). I fancy giving Bourbon ago, but would rather start at the cheaper end, are there any recommendations that tend to be available at supermarkets?

Yea, Makers Mark, Bulleit, or Woodford Reserve all pretty decent all widely available.

djcj · 7 May 2020 at 23:29

I'm a long time Jack Daniels drinker, but after reading this thread I've dropped some hints to the family about buying me a bottle of makers mark and woodford reserve for my upcoming birthday :cool:

BUDFORCE · 9 May 2020 at 11:27

3rd bottle out of the 4 is American Eagle, the 4 year (cheaper) version.

Not quite as smooth as the Ezra brooks but slightly more flavour, so on par really.

Technically it's a Tennessee whiskey like Jack Daniel's, but really bourbon/Kentucky Straight/Tennessee whiskey... whatever.

BUDFORCE · 13 May 2020 at 10:05

4 of 4, War Eagle.

I had high hopes for this one as the bottle/branding is just well, manly, and American lol.

And actually it turned out to be the best of the 4. It's really pretty good I will get a bottle of makers mark or Woodford next (as these are both a good base line) and try this one against those to see.

BUDFORCE · 24 May 2020 at 11:34

Got a bottle of makers mark, tried it against the war eagle.

Makers mark has a better flavour, more fruity, but.... The war eagle was slightly smoother.

Makers Mark is a bit cheaper and much easier to get hold of, so still comes out on top, but War Eagle is a good one if you ever want to try something new.

beachBOYken · 30 May 2020 at 12:58

BUDFORCE said:
Got a bottle of makers mark, tried it against the war eagle.

Makers mark has a better flavour, more fruity, but.... The war eagle was slightly smoother.

Makers Mark is a bit cheaper and much easier to get hold of, so still comes out on top, but War Eagle is a good one if you ever want to try something new.

Where did you purchase War Eagle from?

Did you post a recent review on a certain whisky website

BUDFORCE · 30 May 2020 at 13:46

beachBOYken said:
Where did you purchase War Eagle from?

Did you post a recent review on a certain whisky website

Hah, yes and yes.

beachBOYken · 30 May 2020 at 17:19

BUDFORCE said:
Hah, yes and yes.

I normally order from Master of malt and they don’t stock War Eagle, I might get some makers mark at the supermarket instead, I’m trying to cut down on what I spend on whisky, so lately prefer to buy more easily available stuff that’s a little cheaper. I recently got a bottle of Slipknot No9 whisky which was nice but a bit pricey.