Uisge Beatha Whisky prices compared
On this page

GuideBudget, occasion and gifting

Best whisky for cocktails

Which whisky to use in an Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Whisky Sour, Penicillin, Rob Roy or Irish coffee, and why strength matters more than age.

Written by

Published Updated

For most whisky cocktails, use bourbon or rye. Choose bourbon such as Maker’s Mark or Four Roses Small Batch for an Old Fashioned or Whisky Sour, rye such as Rittenhouse for a Manhattan or Sazerac, blended Scotch for a Rob Roy or Penicillin, and Irish whiskey such as Jameson for an Irish coffee. Strength matters more than age: sugar, citrus and ice all dilute the whisky, so a whisky at 43% to 50% ABV keeps more of its flavour than one at 40%.

Which whisky for which cocktail. Old Fashioned: bourbon or rye, for example Maker's Mark or Four Roses Small Batch. Manhattan: rye or bourbon, for example Rittenhouse Rye or Knob Creek Rye. Sazerac: rye, for example Rittenhouse Rye. Whiskey Sour: bourbon, for example Jim Beam. Rob Roy: blended Scotch, for example Johnnie Walker Red Label or Monkey Shoulder. Penicillin: blended Scotch with a peated Islay malt floated on top, for example Johnnie Walker Red Label with Laphroaig Select. Irish coffee: Irish whiskey, for example Jameson.

Old Fashioned

Whisky stirred over ice with a little sugar and a few dashes of Angostura bitters, garnished with orange peel. It is mostly whisky, so the base shows through. Bourbon gives a rounder, sweeter drink; rye gives a drier one.

Maker’s Mark Bourbon: £35.00 at The Whisky Shop. A 45% ABV Kentucky bourbon made with wheat instead of rye as its second grain.

Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon 70cl: £33.50 at Master of Malt. A 45% ABV Kentucky bourbon blended from four of the distillery’s 10 recipes, which come from two mash bills and five yeast strains.

Woodford Reserve: £35.50 at Master of Malt. A 43.2% ABV Kentucky straight bourbon.

Manhattan and Sazerac

A Manhattan is two parts American whiskey stirred with one part sweet vermouth and two dashes of aromatic bitters. Sweet vermouth such as Carpano Antica, Cocchi Storico or Martini Rosso carries 130 to 150 grams of sugar per litre alongside its botanicals, so the spirit has to push back. Straight rye is the traditional choice: it must be distilled from at least 51% rye grain and aged in new charred oak for at least two years, and its dry, peppery spice cuts through the vermouth’s sweetness. A high-rye bourbon works as a sweeter alternative; a wheated bourbon can tip the drink too sweet. A Sazerac, from New Orleans, is rye stirred with sugar and Peychaud’s bitters, served in a glass rinsed with absinthe. With Scotch in place of the American whiskey, the same recipe is a Rob Roy, created in 1894 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York; picks for that are below.

Rittenhouse Rye ‘Bottled in Bond’ 100 Proof: £35.90 at Master of Malt. A 100 proof (50% ABV) straight rye with 51% rye in the mash bill. “Bottled in bond” is a US legal term: one distillery, one distilling season, at least four years in a bonded warehouse and bottled at 100 proof.

Sazerac Rye 6 Year Old: currently unavailable. A 45% ABV straight rye from the Buffalo Trace distillery.

Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye: £39.95 at Hard To Find Whisky. A 50% ABV Tennessee rye made from a 70% rye grain recipe.

Knob Creek Rye: £61.00 at The Whisky Shop. A 50% ABV Kentucky rye whiskey.

Wild Turkey Rye 81 40.5 70cl: currently unavailable. A 40.5% ABV Kentucky straight rye, a lighter pour for a softer Manhattan.

Woodford Reserve: £35.50 at Master of Malt. A 43.2% ABV Kentucky straight bourbon with 18% rye in the mash bill, for a sweeter Manhattan.

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon 70cl: £44.90 at Master of Malt. A 50% ABV Kentucky bourbon from the distillery’s OBSV recipe, which carries 35% rye: the bourbon choice with the most spice.

Whisky Sour

Whisky shaken with lemon juice and sugar syrup, and often egg white (with egg white it is a Boston Sour). Citrus flattens light whiskies, so a bourbon with some strength or spice works best: bourbon is at least 51% corn aged in new charred oak, and that wood sugar sweetness is a direct counterweight to fresh lemon juice. Shaking dilutes faster than stirring, so a whisky at 45% to 50% ABV keeps its texture, especially with egg white in the mix. The wheated and high-rye bourbons in the Old Fashioned section above all work here; the bottles below are the other good fits.

Jim Beam: £19.50 at Master of Malt. A 40% ABV Kentucky bourbon. At 40%, use a little less lemon and syrup than with a stronger bourbon.

Knob Creek 9 Years Old: £38.02 at Master of Malt. A 50% ABV (100 proof) Kentucky straight bourbon that stands up to vigorous shaking.

Rittenhouse Rye ‘Bottled in Bond’ 100 Proof: £35.90 at Master of Malt. A 50% ABV straight rye, for a drier, spicier and less sweet sour.

Rob Roy and Penicillin

The Rob Roy is a Manhattan made with Scotch. The Penicillin, created by Sam Ross at Milk & Honey in New York in 2005, is blended Scotch shaken with lemon juice and honey-ginger syrup, with a small measure of peated Islay malt floated on top.

Johnnie Walker Red Label: £21.19 at Master of Malt. A 40% ABV blended Scotch for the base of either drink.

Monkey Shoulder: £30.95 at Hard To Find Whisky. A 40% ABV blended malt of Speyside malts, a fuller base for a Rob Roy.

Laphroaig Select: £28.50 at Master of Malt. A 40% ABV peated Islay single malt with no age statement, for the Penicillin’s float.

Irish coffee and hot toddy

An Irish coffee is Irish whiskey, hot coffee and brown sugar, topped with lightly whipped cream. A hot toddy is whisky with hot water, honey and lemon, sometimes with cloves.

Jameson Irish Whiskey: £23.40 at Master of Malt. A 40% ABV Irish blend of pot still and grain whiskey from Midleton, County Cork.

For a long drink with soda or ginger ale, see the best whiskies for a highball.

Sources and review

Where to go next

Questions

What whisky is best for an old fashioned?
Bourbon or rye. A classic Old Fashioned is whisky stirred with sugar, Angostura bitters and ice, garnished with orange peel. A bourbon at 45% ABV or more, such as Maker’s Mark or Four Roses Small Batch, holds its flavour against the sugar and dilution.
Can I use Scotch in a cocktail?
Yes. The Rob Roy is a Manhattan made with Scotch (Scotch, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters). The Penicillin, created by bartender Sam Ross at Milk & Honey in New York in 2005, uses blended Scotch, lemon juice and honey-ginger syrup, with a peated Islay malt floated on top.
What is the difference between bourbon and rye in a cocktail?
US law requires bourbon to be made from at least 51% corn, which makes it sweeter and rounder; rye whiskey is made from at least 51% rye, which gives more pepper and dry spice. Rye is the traditional choice for a Manhattan or Sazerac, bourbon for a sweeter Old Fashioned or Whisky Sour. Whiskipedia on mash bills.
Does a cocktail need an aged whisky?
No. Sugar, citrus and vermouth hide fine detail, so a standard 40% to 45% ABV bottle such as Jim Beam, Woodford Reserve or a blended Scotch is enough. Strength matters more than age, because a light whisky gets lost in a sour.

About the author

John Fegan

· Editor

Hailing from the land of haggis and deep-fried Mars bars, John was always going to find his way to whisky. He has run Uisge Beatha since 2015 and Whiskipedia.com since 2020.