Why Ginger Ale And Bourbon Lead To A Balanced Cocktail Pairing

If you love bourbon (which is different from whiskey), you may be looking for some new cocktails to indulge in. Whether you're in the market for the best bourbon cocktails to pair with steak, or you're just in the mood to be a home mixologist, there are tons of bourbon-centric beverages to try. While you're looking up some of the best pairings to go with this dark liquor, consider pulling out a bottle of ginger ale to add both fizz and sweetness to your drink.

While ginger ale's spicy notes are known for complementing bourbon, we wanted to chat with an expert to find out more about why they are a match made in heaven. To do this, Food Republic spoke with Molly Horn, chief mixologist and spirits educator at Total Wine & More. According to Horn, it's ginger ale's signature flavor that makes magic happen. "Because ginger ale offers a fair amount of sweetness in balance with a touch of spice, it works really well as a simple 2:4 mixer (2 ounces bourbon to 4 ounces ginger ale) with your favorite bourbon — particularly a wheated bourbon that still isn't too spicy," Horn said.

Similar to wheated bourbon, Horn also noted that Tennessee whiskey (a particular type of bourbon) also works well with this soda. "While [Tennessee whiskey] does have its own sweetness from the maple filtration, [it] still packs its own punch and plays very well with the spicy sweetness of ginger ale," Horn informed us.

If you don't have any ginger ale at home but happen to have a bottle of ginger beer, you may be wondering if the two are interchangeable. Luckily, Molly Horn had some insight on this as well. "The biggest difference between the two is that ginger beer is spicier and drier than ginger ale, making it a better choice if the spirit isn't going to fight with that boldness," she noted. For example, because a liquor like vodka is a neutral spirit, it works perfectly with ginger beer since it won't compete with the spicy notes of ginger beer. Ginger ale is sweeter and much less spicy, so it pairs well with more robust and flavorful spirits, like bourbon. 

Additionally, the type of bourbon cocktail you're making matters when it comes to choosing between the two gingery drinks. "... Because of its increased sweetness and lighter spice, [ginger ale is] perfect in most simple highballs, like whiskey gingers, whereas ginger beer is commonly called for in more complex cocktails, such as the Dark and Stormy and the El Diablo," Horn explained. So when it comes to pairing bourbon and ginger ale, just keep in mind what you want your end result to be — potent and spicy or smooth and light.