How to Drink Whiskey

 

Are you new to whiskey? Or maybe you picked up a bottle and now you’re not sure how to enjoy it as much as when you are at the bar? Never fear. We’ve got you covered with this guide on how to drink whiskey. Whether you’re making cocktails at home or ordering whiskey at the bar, this guide will make you feel like a whiskey-drinking expert.

Straight or Neat

With most spirits, the immediate thought is to add ice. But resist the impulse to add ice to whiskey. Try your whiskey straight or neat.

Most whiskeys have very strong flavor and high alcohol content, which you can only truly experience alone, well without ice anyway, you can enjoy it with friends! Depending on the type of whiskey, where it was produced and how it was aged, there can be a wide variety of flavor profiles. To really enjoy the different flavors of whiskey and bourbon, try drinking it straight.

But if drinking whiskey neat is too much for your pallet, consider adding a little water to your whiskey.

Adding Water

A little water can go a long way for whiskey. If you want to mellow your whiskey, without cooling it down, a splash of water will do wonders!

Try adding a drop at a time until you find the right amount to make your whiskey taste to your liking. Adding water instead of ice is the ideal way to enjoy whiskey. Ice can actually dull the flavor, but if you really want to drink cold whiskey it's ok!

On the Rocks

If you choose to make your whiskey “on the rocks” consider adding a large ice cube instead of many small ones. One large square or spherical ice cube will melt slower than crushed or regular cubed ice. 

The slow melting ice will give you just enough water to enjoy your whiskey, while not diluting it so much that you lose all flavor. 

Whiskey Cocktails

If you don’t like your whiskey straight, but you still want to enjoy or find new ways to drink whiskey, we suggest trying some of these classic cocktails:

Whiskey Sour

A whiskey sour combines the flavor of whiskey with citrus–typically lemon juice. A whiskey sour is a great cocktail any time of year.

Old Fashioned 

An Old Fashioned is really just sweetened whiskey. If you want to add a little sweetness to your whiskey try this most classic of whiskey cocktails.

There are so many ways to enjoy drinking whiskey, check out our cocktails to learn more about how Eight Oaks serves it up.

Cheers!

 
 

At Eight Oaks we don’t just make whiskey, we make a difference™. 

Tell us what you want to see in future blog posts. You can do that by sending your feedback to Josh at jvandenberg@eightoaksdistillery.com. 

We’ll work as many questions into future posts as we can, and for those topics selected we’ll make sure to send you a fun prize pack.

 
Josh Van Den Berg