There's A Clear Winner For Best Whiskey Cocktail Mixer, According To New Survey

Neat, on the rocks, or mixed, whiskey brings powerful flavors. Some cocktails, like the old fashioned, are whiskey-forward, using bitters, sugar, and a hint of orange to enhance the woody, vanilla-caramel flavors of bourbon. Other cocktails, like bourbon eggnog, contain rich, spicy ingredients that envelop the whiskey, making it more of a background note. Some whiskeys should be consumed neat or with a drop or two of water, according to NPR, who lays out the scientific case for why single malt scotch benefits from the addition of water.

Most of us drink whiskey in cocktails, which is why we wanted to know what our readers' favorite whiskey mixers are. We conducted a poll, and 588 readers responded, letting us rank your favorite drink to mix with whiskey. The choices were: ginger ale, Coke, coffee, lemonade, soda water, or grapefruit juice, and one of them emerged a clear winner. Here are the results.

Of the 588 readers who responded to our survey, 267 prefer Coke as their whiskey mixer, which equates to about 45%. The second highest preference is ginger ale, with 131 votes (about 22%). Lemonade comes in third, with 72 votes, making up 12% of our sample. The fourth preference is soda water, which earned 60 votes, or 10%. Coffee comes in fifth with 36 votes, and grapefruit juice is the least preferred whiskey mixer, getting only 22 votes.

BlackTail NYC reveals one of the reasons why Coke may have been the most popular choice: Because Coke contains fairly strong flavors, it tames whiskey's powerful kick. Also, Coke is versatile when it comes to your whiskey selection, and BlackTail NYC explains that any whiskey will work mixed with Coke. A Couple Cooks suggests that the ideal ratio for a whiskey and Coke is one part whiskey to two parts Coke, and also recommends squeezing a little fresh lemon into the drink to brighten up the simple combo.