# Men who drink scotch, men who drink bourbon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** liquor-alcohol\ **Created:** [August 11, 2025, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922 "2025-08-11T03:29:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/41 "2025-08-13T14:46:34Z")
I’m not a fan of tequila, but haven’t explored good tequila enough to write it off. I do like smoky mezcal, but I’m very hit or miss on brands. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/42 "2025-08-13T14:51:52Z")
I don’t know about buttery exactly, but they’re both smooth. They’re hard to describe- less complex than a bourbon, primarily because the really strong bourbon barrel character isn’t there. But they’re not funky and rough like white dog can be. It’s been a while since I had Baby Blue, but thinking back I’d say the other two are kind of like it but without the pronounced tortilla chip/hominy type notes. As far as the rules go, straight corn whiskey seems to be similar to bourbon- the venn diagram would have a lot of overlap. 80% corn mash, aged in new uncharred, or used charred barrels, and adheres to the rest of the straight whiskey rules - aged a minimum of two years, below 160 proof when distilled, and below 125 when barreled (if aged). So more corn is required, and the aging is less strict than bourbon. Which shows- the barrel character isn’t nearly as prominent as it is in bourbon, but it’s not basically flavorless like vodka either. And it’s not moonshine either- it’s got a fair degree of character, but not so mild as moonshine. Mellow Corn is most likely the easiest to find- it’s the one in that cheesy looking old school bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/43 "2025-08-13T15:45:32Z")
> [@sunacres](#): > > It made me get up and pour myself a couple of fingers at the time, and if it weren’t 6am right now I’d do it again. All I see here is a failure of imagination. ---
**Author:** ![JoePockets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8dc957/32.png) [@JoePockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoePockets)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/44 "2025-08-13T15:59:16Z")
Yike, I’ve been there and done that! No pool table was involved in my wreck! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/45 "2025-08-13T16:49:32Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Mellow Corn is most likely the easiest to find- it’s the one in that cheesy looking old school bottle. Hehehe, I love the font they use on it, and it’s not expensive at all. I’ll have to grab a bottle next time I’m at the liquor store. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/46 "2025-08-14T00:38:18Z")
I searched on Bevmo!, and it returned zero results. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/47 "2025-08-14T01:47:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@Cartooniverse](#): > > > > Not to blatantly hijack… > > > > Not sure how recently Tequila became a thing outside of Mexico… > > Who _doesn’t_ like tequila? Oh gosh. So many people have responded to my relatively newfound love of the Agave God by saying, " That crap? I puked for 2 days in college after drinking it. Never again !" Likely it was Jose Cuervo or similar bottom-shelf gack. Lurve the stuff. Might need to start a Tequila thread. Unless one exists already. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/48 "2025-08-14T02:11:39Z")
Tequila: it wasn’t until their #7 after 120 years that Pimms got around to it, and then abandoned it. If anyone here recalls the flavor, your memories would be valued. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/49 "2025-08-14T02:13:08Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Lurve the stuff. Might need to start a Tequila thread. Unless one exists already. I like Maestro Dobel Diamante. I’ll mention it if you start a thread. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/50 "2025-08-14T02:14:13Z")
Starting it now. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/51 "2025-08-14T03:16:43Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I searched on Bevmo!, and it returned zero results. Heheh, it seems you’re replying to me, but discourse makes it difficult to know which post you’re replying to. Sadly, it doesn’t seem that BevMo has either Balcones Baby Blue or Heaven Hill’s Mellow Corn. It’s my first experience searching BevMo, and it kind of makes me think they might suck. Your location seems to be in Washington, Total Wine have locations up there, and they seem to carry both. Don’t know if you would have to pay extra for it to get to your neck of the woods, but they seem to have them both in-store in Texas. [https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/american-whiskey/whiskey/balcones-baby-blue-whiskey/p/124841750](https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/american-whiskey/whiskey/balcones-baby-blue-whiskey/p/124841750) [https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/white-whiskeymoonshine/mellow-corn-whiskey/p/113490750?s=501&igrules=true](https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/white-whiskeymoonshine/mellow-corn-whiskey/p/113490750?s=501&igrules=true) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/52 "2025-08-14T05:38:44Z")
The cool kids these days are drinking Japanese whisky, which is Scotch-adjacent mostly. It’s a bit smoother to my bourbon mouth, but even these days I don’t drink much liquor. Monkey Shoulder is also the bourbon drinker’s Scotch. Trends change, in the 19th century gin was the degenerate’s drink according to British society ([see: Hogarth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Street_and_Gin_Lane)). Now it’s not for everyone, but among connoisseurs… > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Who _doesn’t_ like tequila? Me, mostly. It’s okay in a margarita, and I’m not sure I’ve had top top shelf, but even Patron, which used to be the basic fancy one before the celebrity tequila explosion, is not for me. The only one I remember thinking I could drink it is Herradura. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/53 "2025-08-14T14:20:19Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Don’t know if you would have to pay extra for it to get to your neck of the woods Taxes on spirits are pretty high up here, which came as a shock to this native Californian. But at least Washington got rid of the state-run liquor stores a while back, and we can buy sauce at supermarkets. But with the taxes, even Trader Joe’s prices are higher than I was used to in L.A. We have one liquor store down the beach. It used to be a state store, and then became independent. The owner (daughter of the original owner) is very nice and helpful. She includes the liquor taxes in the display prices, and the prices are relatively reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/54 "2025-08-14T15:40:48Z")
I’ve had both. Scotch comes in so many varieties, strengths and distinct flavors, each a delight and individual, like fine chocolate. Bourbon is a Hershey bar. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/55 "2025-08-14T21:55:40Z")
Please, good bourbon isn’t swill. It’s at least a Lindt MILKA bar, with the purple cow on it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/56 "2025-08-15T06:00:43Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > Why? It’s just such a casually-sexist thread title… and needlessly so > > Nah. It is specifically asking a sociological question. Not what readers here like (although getting those answers). And in the time periods of the question the markets and marketing were definitely driven by male purchasing choices. Yeah, the OP was asking about social stereotypes affecting drinking preferences in the whisk[e]y category of beverages, dating from an era in which whisk[e]y drinker social stereotypes didn’t really include women at all. However, just to complicate that a little bit, the mid-20th century was a time when whiskey **cocktails** like the Whiskey Sour and the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan were definitely on the list of socially acceptable beverages for ladies who drank. (Anecdotal confirmation: my 1920’s-born mom, who was a Whiskey Sour gal.) And AFAICT, those all seem to be bourbon and/or rye mixes, not scotch. For example, the Rob Roy (a scotch Manhattan) and the Scotch Sour and the Scotch Old Fashioned (you can guess) appear to be much more niche and/or new than their non-scotch equivalents. So I guess as far as the traditional stereotypes are concerned, women in general fall into the bourbon (and rye) category. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/57 "2025-08-15T14:05:25Z")
I remember my mom used to order Rob Roys when the family would go out for a nice dinner, but I didn’t realize that it was just a Manhattan made with Scotch. I’ve got stuff to make Manhattans except I’m currently out of rye, but I do have a bottle of Glenlivet in the cabinet. I may have to give that a try tonight. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/58 "2025-08-15T16:50:37Z")
Seems to me that a Rob Roy could just as well with a cheaper Scotch blend. To the chocolate analogy. I would think of Scotches as a very dark chocolate. Not everyone likes it and even those who do may not have the first time they tasted it. But those who do like it are willing to spend on the best dark chocolates and appreciate the distinctions. Bourbon is more milk chocolate. Sweeter. Less likely to evoke negative reactions. And there are some very very fine and expensive milk chocolates. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/59 "2025-08-15T17:34:16Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Seems to me that a Rob Roy could just as well with a cheaper Scotch blend. Yeah I know, I shouldn’t be using the Glenlivet for mixed drinks. But it’s all I have on hand at the moment. I suppose as long as I have to go out and buy more rye anyway, I could also pick up a bottle of Monkey Shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922/60 "2025-08-15T18:15:10Z")
If I’m going to make a cocktail, any mainstream blended booze is plenty good enough. Putting expensive or sophisticated booze in a cocktail is just waste. That doesn’t mean you want bar well rotgut. The one place I’ll differ with my own advice above is in a proper martini (i.e. gin + vermouth). Given the extreme simplicity of the mixture, it demands a better level of gin (and vermouth). Still mainstream, but not the bottom shelf call brand. Jose Cuervo makes perfectly good margaritas. Bacardi makes perfectly good mojitos. Johnny Walker Red makes perfectly good Rob Roys, and Jim Beam makes perfectly good Old Fashioneds. Although I’d never drink any of those five neat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-drink-scotch-men-who-drink-bourbon/1021922.md?page=4)