There’s no question that whiskey and ginger ale belong together. Jack and Ginger is a legend, and the Horse’s Neck cocktail blends bourbon and ginger ale, with a lemon peel deftly carved into the shape of an equine neck.
I mixed several combinations of whiskies and ginger ales, and the combination of Jameson Irish Whiskey with Q Ginger Ale from Brooklyn proved much more delicious than the rest.
The comparisons are below, but first, the best:
Jameson and Q Ginger Ale Recipe
- 1½ ounces Jameson Irish Whiskey
- 3½ ounces Q Ginger Ale
- ¼ of a wheel of Ruby Red grapefruit, for garnish and flavor.
— Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour in the whiskey. Gently pour in the Q Ginger Ale. Squeeze about 7 drops of juice from the grapefruit slice into the cocktail, and drop the grapefruit slice into the drink for garnish.
Notes: The Jameson Distillery sometimes serves the whiskey with a grapefruit twist to visitors, which is where the idea came from.
For an interesting variation, replace the grapefruit with a small lime wedge. Squeeze the lime into the drink, drop it in for garnish, and add 3 drops of Angostura bitters to the drink.
Kudos to Michelle Draguesku of Q Tonic, for the idea to mix it with Jameson.
The Whiskey and Ginger Test
Whiskeys: Jameson’s Irish, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee, and Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon.
Ginger Ales
- White Rock, a simple low-priced full-body ginger ale that’s made with sugar, not corn syrup.
- Q Ginger Ale, which has a sharper ginger flavor, spices, and an astringent taste.
- Fever-Tree, which has a very sharp taste of ginger and spices.
Mixed with Bourbon
- White Rock mixes well with bourbon, as expected.
- Q Ginger tastes astringent, and edges out the bourbon taste.
- Fever-Tree completely overwhelms the bourbon.
Mixed with Jack Daniel’s
- White Rock brings out the charcoal taste in Jack, but it’s a good thing, better than the bourbon mix.
- Q Ginger creates a bizarre clash of tastes with Jack, but for some reason, I’ll drink it again.
- Fever-Tree overwhelms the Jack, and adding more whiskey didn’t help.
Mixed with Jameson
- White Rock and Jameson is just plain boring.
- Q and Jameson complement each other perfectly. This is the most refreshing whiskey drink that’s crossed my palate.
- Fever-Tree completely overwhelmed Jameson. Fever-Tree makes the best tonic for gin, but their ginger ale is too strong for whiskey.
Q Ginger Ale is available at high-end groceries in the U.S.A.