Mixers · counted from the library
What to mix with whiskey
Barello is a home cellar and bar app that tells you what to open tonight, what to keep, and what you can mix from what you have. With whisky, the five things that make the most drinks are aromatic bitters, sugar or sugar syrup, lemons, sweet vermouth and sugar cubes, counted from the 11 whisky drinks in its library, not picked.
The mixers, ranked
| Mixer | Drinks | The simplest one |
|---|---|---|
| Aromatic bitters | 4 | Manhattan |
| Sugar or sugar syrup | 4 | Mint Julep |
| Lemons | 3 | Whisky Sour |
| Sweet vermouth | 3 | Boulevardier |
| Sugar cubes | 2 | Old Fashioned |
| Absinthe | 1 | Sazerac |
| Brandy or cognac | 1 | Vieux Carré |
| Bénédictine | 1 | Vieux Carré |
| Campari or red bitter | 1 | Boulevardier |
| Coffee or espresso | 1 | Irish Coffee |
| Cream | 1 | Irish Coffee |
| Fresh ginger | 1 | Penicillin |
| Fresh mint | 1 | Mint Julep |
| Honey | 1 | Penicillin |
| Red wine | 1 | New York Sour |
| Soda water | 1 | Whisky Highball (just these two) |
"Drinks" is how many of the 11 whisky drinks need it. A garnish never counts, and neither does a substitute.
Start with one mixer
This needs only the whisky and one other thing.
Add one more bottle
Aromatic bitters and one more: sugar cubes for an Old Fashioned and sweet vermouth for a Manhattan.
Sugar or sugar syrup and one more: fresh mint for a Mint Julep and lemons for a Whisky Sour.
Lemons and one more: sugar or sugar syrup for a Whisky Sour.
Bourbon, and Irish whiskey
This is the whiskey page and the library spells it whisky; it's the same bottle. Each recipe says which whisky it will take, so the answer is counted, not guessed.
11 of the 11 work with bourbon: Boulevardier, Irish Coffee, Manhattan, Mint Julep, New York Sour, Old Fashioned, Penicillin, Sazerac, Vieux Carré, Whisky Highball and Whisky Sour.
5 work with an Irish whiskey such as Jameson: Irish Coffee, Manhattan, Penicillin, Whisky Highball and Whisky Sour. Irish Coffee is written for it.
What not to mix it with
A bottle you'd rather sip is wasted in a shaker. Barello works out what a recipe's pour costs from what you paid, and says so before it reaches for your best bottle.
Questions people ask
What is the best thing to mix with whiskey?
Counted from the 11 whisky drinks in Barello's library, aromatic bitters goes into the most (4), then sugar or sugar syrup, lemons, sweet vermouth and sugar cubes.
What can I make with whiskey and one mixer?
Whisky Highball: it needs only the whisky and one other thing.
Tick what else you have. The cocktail finder opens with the whisky already ticked and lists every drink you can make.
See every drinkAll the whisky cocktails, and what every home bar needs.