Crown Royal is no more like Glenfiddich than a man is like a fish. Less.
Dude, if I see you on stage, I’ll leave you a fifth!
Jim & Coke is good too, and better Jim in Coke than Jack. Jack’s a sippin’ whiskey. A little water or rocks.
If you see Elijah Craig 18yo behind the bar, ask for it. That has to be the best damn bourbon I ever tasted.
Of course no rocks, no water (unless on the side), and for the love of all that’s holy, no Coke.
Not talking down to anyone. Pour a whole sinkful of dishwater into your whiskey, it’s entirely your business. But perhaps if you don’t like the taste, you should look into another, more acceptably-flavored anodyne?
And comparing good booze to spicy food is…well. apples and oranges.
The comparison wasn’t meant to be apples to apples, it was simply meant as a way of saying “I have a taste for something that some people can’t tolerate, but I don’t think they’re lesser for it”. I think it’s a valid analogy to illustrate the point I was making.
As for your suggestion, I *do *like the taste of a whisky and Coke. I don’t like the taste of plain whisky. Same goes for rum and Coke vs rum, for a screwdriver vs straight vodka, for any of the ingredients in a Long Island on their own, etc. For you to say that means I should look for something else to drink is elitist. You’re essentially saying that if I don’t like straight liquor, I shouldn’t drink alcohol. So what are you suggesting I do? Smoke pot? Shoot up heroin? Go nutty on cough syrup? Or are you suggesting that since I don’t like the taste of these things on their own that I should just resign myself to stone cold sobriety for the rest of eternity?
To be fair, heroin is delicious.
Welp, I sauntered on over to my local watering hole and ordered me a bourbon in ginger ale. I wasn’t too specific about it, since they didn’t have any bourbon on display. Turned out it was below the bar. I guess it’s not real popular there–who knew? Anyway, they poured some Frenchy-lookin’ brand, which seemed a bit odd to me, but hey, maybe the Jacques Whoever family moved to the backwoods of Kentucky during Auvergne’s Whiskey Barrel Crisis of 1838. Who was I to judge? Assume-ing makes an ass out of “U” and me, anyway.
So I got my drink and I sipped it, contemplating the taste, noting that the alcoholic element seemed familiar and had none of the bite I had associated with whiskey. I could get used to this, I figured.
After watching a game of pool while I finished my surprisingly agreeable cocktail, I brought my empty glass back to the bar and asked for “another bourbon in ginger ale”. This time, my server was a different pretty young nubile bartender from the first one. They had a brief discussion behind the bar and then, while the second one poured me something from a completely different bottle, the first one approached me and asked if my drink tasted awful. I confusedly answered, “No, I liked it”. She blushed and told me that the first drink was actually brandy in ginger ale. Well, that explained it. See what I mean about my local bartender(s)?
When I got the real bourbon in ginger ale, I could definitely taste that kick again. Still, it had a smoothness and a well-rounded character that Jack Daniel’s just couldn’t offer. Sorry Jack, I’ve made a new friend.
If you like this and if you make it a schmancy bar at some point, you might want to try a Cablegram:
Highball glass with ice.
Juice of half a lemon. Optionally, drop the lemon rind into the glass.
Optional: Sweetener to taste (I’d recommend demerara sugar)
A good shot of quality rye.
Fill with strong ginger ale. (Housemade if possible, otherwise something like Fentiman’s)
Optional but recommended: A dash of Torani Amer or Pimm’s.
Total hijack: OpalCat, did you ever get your guitar-playing position figured out?
Another total hijack: Personally, I drink tequila shots when playing with the band. Milagro or Patron Anejo if available. Maybe that’s because we live and play in Colorado.
You da man! I have stories relating to that topic, but I have hijacked enough in this thread…except to say to **NoCoolUserName **- tequila was the death of me at UCSB; I can barely get near a margarita without a gag reflex kicking in, let alone do shots. Some sort of animal-memory flight thing, I guess 
But I leave this thread for now with this: the infamous “Jimmy Page chugging from a bottle of Jack Daniel’s backstage” photo
I went to a NASCAR race last year, and there were vendors there who were selling these giant plastic yards of Jack and Lemonade and despite the fact that they cost like $13 each I had a lot of them that day. Whiskey or Bourbon in lemonade is a fine drink on a hot day.
I haven’t had time to really resume my guitar attempts as this semester has been slaughtering me.
While we’re on the subject, I’d like to point out one of the great travesties in this arena. Early Times advertises itself as Churchill Downs’ official bourbon (or they did at one point, I’m not sure if they still do). But ET reuses their barrels, so it’s not actually a bourbon at all. Wrong. Just wrong.
Of course, the Derby’s official bourbon is Woodford Reserve, which is some fine shit.
Also, for the “OMG, don’t ruin nice bourbon by putting it in stuff” crowd, I love the vanilla and caramel flavors in bourbon. But if I try to drink it straight, I can’t really taste them. The alcohol taste overwhelms everything else and smothers it out, so all I process is the alcohol burn. Add in some sweetness and other flavors to help cover the alcohol taste, and all those undertones start coming out full force.
Also, bourbon snobs don’t get to have any of my lovely mint julep cheesecake.
I almost certainly shouldn’t post here…since I’m a rum guy, but Maker’s Mark is a quite tolerable Bourbon. I was living in Louisville around the time MM went national. My friends, knowing I was a Yank with an aversion to all things whiskey, guilted me into trying it once. I drank it on the rocks with a splash of water and found it acceptable, in fact kind of good. I still won’t pick it over a nice rocks glass half-full of Matusalem Gran Reserva…but I order an MM on occasion to remind me of the good times I’ve had in beautiful River City. Perhaps nostalgia has taken over my taste buds.