There’s nothing I enjoy more than a blind taste test. It’s the mystery that excites me the most. There are no brands, labels, or flashy logos to sway me in any one direction. This is especially true when it comes to whiskey. All I can see is amber or caramel-colored liquid. I nose it — hopefully, picking up on subtle nuanced aromas — and then I take a few sips and look for various flavors.
In today’s case, those flavors are going to be mixed with a healthy pour of ginger ale. A simple “whiskey ginger.”
There are tons of well-priced bottles of bourbon well-suited to be mixed with cola, soda water, or ginger ale. There’s absolutely no judgment if that’s your jam — not everything out there is a sipper. And the standard of bourbon is so high that if you’re planning to mix the spirit with ginger ale, you really don’t need to break the bank.
I’ve been known to buy a bargain bottle of bourbon from time to time and mix it with some Schweppes (which I used today) or Canada Dry ginger ale. So I’m not out of my element on this front. In the below tasting, I’m doing exactly that with eight classic, cheap bourbons to see which one really shines in a whiskey ginger.
Our lineup today is:
- Evan Williams Black Label
- Jim Beam White Label
- Old Grand-Dad
- Maker’s Mark
- Wild Turkey
- Early Times
- Ezra Brooks
- Buffalo Trace
Let’s see which bourbon wins!
Part 1: The Taste
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Cinnamon sugar, butterscotch, vanilla beans, honey, fudge, and gentle rye spice. This drink truly has a memorable nose. Sipping it brought even more flavor with hints of caramel apples, sweet cream, fudge, gentle nutty sweetness, and rich oak.
This complex flavor profile is a great match for spicy, sweet ginger ale.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
This drink has a ton of sugary sweetness on the nose. There are prevalent aromas of sweet corn, vanilla, and caramel. While remaining surprisingly sweet, the palate has some woody oak, more vanilla, and maybe a hint of pepper. Overall, though, it seemed a little thin. I fear it’s getting lost in the background of the ginger spices of the soda mixer.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of fruit on this drink’s nose. On top of that, there’s a bit of vanilla and oak as well. I didn’t catch any other aromas right away though. The palate added to the nose with the addition of brown sugar, more vanilla beans, honey, and slight wintry spices. Some of it was overpowered by the ginger ale, but the fruit and spice worked with the soda.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
There’s an herbal, spicy, sweet corn nature to this drink’s nose that really excited me. There are also some dried fruits, vanilla, and cracked black pepper in there. The complexity continued with the palate. This is where I noticed flavors of candied pecans, raisins, clover honey, vanilla cookies, and oaky wood.
Even with the multitude of flavors, this whiskey managed to compliment the ginger sweetness of the soda quite well.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Corn, corn, and more corn (and maybe a little vanilla). That’s pretty much all I found on this drink’s nose. Honestly, it smelled like someone made a whiskey that was supposed to taste like Cracker Jacks. The palate didn’t add to the flavor with more sweet corn, a little vanilla and caramel, and maybe some spice.
If you enjoy corn sugar mixed with your ginger ale then this is the whiskey for you. Otherwise, stay far away.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Right away, you can tell this is a spicy bourbon. On the nose, I found scents of sweet corn, vanilla beans, and raisins, but also a ton of peppery spice that pairs surprisingly well with the ginger aromas. The palate is slightly more subdued with notes of wood char, butterscotch, dried cherries, and more cracked black pepper.
It’s spicy and sweet — making it a great mixer for ginger ale.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of sweet corn, toffee, and vanilla beans seemed to work well with the spice of the ginger ale on the nose. The palate had hints of sweet honey, chocolate fudge, more vanilla, and just a touch of peppery spice that seemed to compliment the added ginger spice of the soda. Not the best pairing, but definitely not the worst.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this whiskey’s nose. I noticed hints of woody oak, butterscotch, and a ton of peppery rye. That might not seem complex, but somehow it was. Sipping it revealed notes of clover honey, slight maple candy, coffee beans, and vanilla. It all worked well with the gentle spice of ginger ale.
Part 2: The Ranking
8) Early Times — Taste 5
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $12
The Whiskey:
Early Times is a no-frills, bargain-basement bourbon that first hit the market back in 1860. The name is a reference to the traditional style of whiskey making that included copper pot distillation using open fires. Obviously, due to regulations and the fact that it would take forever to make any whiskey, they use more contemporary methods, but the name has remained.
Bottom Line:
This is a last resort mixer. If you’re looking around for some extra coins in your car to grab a bottle, maybe you’ll snag some Early Times. Otherwise, spend a few more dollars to get something, anything much better.
7) Jim Beam White Label — Taste 2
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $19
The Whiskey:
Jim Beam White Label is touted as “the world’s No.1 bourbon” and that shouldn’t be a surprise since it’s been distilled since 1795 (in one way or another). It’s extremely inexpensive and is available literally anywhere. It’s aged for four years in new, charred American oak barrels to give it a classic, smooth, sweet flavor.
Bottom Line:
Jim Beam is a decent mixer for a ginger ale and bourbon. You’ll just have to add more Beam than you planned unless you want it to get lost in the background.
6) Maker’s Mark — Taste 3
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $28
The Whisky:
Even if you’re not a big whiskey drinker, you’ve probably had Maker’s Mark along the way. One of the most well-known bourbons in the world, Maker’s Mark gets its soft, sweet flavor from the addition of red winter wheat (instead of rye) in the mash.
Bottom Line:
Maker’s Mark is one of the pricier bottles on this list, so I expected a better showing. If you’re willing to pay a little more, it’s not a bad choice for a mixer. Otherwise, stick to something more flavorful and cheaper for mixing with ginger ale.
5) Ezra Brooks — Taste 7
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $15
The Whiskey:
This Kentucky sour mash whiskey is charcoal filtered and bottled at 90 proof. It’s Ezra Brook’s gateway bottle and it’s priced accordingly. Produced by Lux Row Distillers, it’s been a popular whiskey since the 1950s. But it’s definitely the kind of bottle you buy specifically for mixing.
Bottom Line:
Ezra Brooks is cheap, decent, and a great mixer. The flavors pair well enough with ginger ale to make it worth the bargain price tag. There are better options though without breaking the bank.
4) Old Grand-Dad — Taste 6
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $22
The Whiskey:
Legend has it that the “old grand-dad” that adorns this expression is none other than Basil Hayden (who you might know from another Beam whiskey). This high-rye bourbon is known for its nice mix of corn sweetness and rye spice. It’s a whiskey you want to always have on hand.
Bottom Line:
You might not prefer heat on heat, but I do and that makes this a top-tier choice. I enjoy the peppery sweet flavor of Old Grand-Dad and the spicy-sweet flavor of ginger ale.
3) Wild Turkey — Taste 8
ABV: 40.5%
Average Price: $22
The Whiskey:
You can’t go wrong with Wild Turkey 101. But sometimes I prefer a slightly more subdued bourbon, especially when I’m mixing it with ginger ale. Enter their lower-proof version. The brand’s entry-level expression is a high-rye, heavy char-aged, 81-proof versatile whiskey.
Bottom Line:
Wild turkey’s gateway bottle is a total bargain due to its low price and versatility. It’s a great bottle for mixing into your favorite cocktail and especially great when paired with ginger ale, which helps it almost rank number one.
2) Buffalo Trace — Taste 1
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $24
The Whiskey:
Buffalo Trace is a big name in the bourbon world, crafting some of the most sought-after unicorn bottles on the market. But it also makes a small batch bourbon featuring its name (adorned with a buffalo) that manages to always be bargain-priced, mellow, and complex.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason serious bourbon drinkers and bartenders always have a bottle of Buffalo Trace on hand. It’s a bargain for the layers of aromas and flavors — a perfect complement to ginger ale and nearly today’s winner.
1) Evan Williams Black Label — Taste 4
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $15
The Whiskey:
This award-winning, bargain bourbon was named for Evan Williams who was most known for opening the first distillery in Kentucky. It’s aged for a minimum of four years in new charred American oak barrels to give it the mellow, sweet, mixable flavor drinkers expect.
Bottom Line:
Evan Williams Black Label might not be the most expensive, most popular, or even most-awarded whiskey on this list. But in my opinion, it’s the best accompaniment to ginger ale by far.