Add A Splash Of This For A Better Bourbon And Coke

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Bourbon and coke, better known and ordered as a whiskey and coke, is one of the simplest cocktails around. Thankfully for budding home bartenders, this drink is a hard one to mess up — yet it's also easy to improve upon if desired. With only two ingredients, this is one of the old-school bourbon cocktails that takes nicely to variations, and one of these is adding a small amount of lemon juice, which can make the drink taste more balanced.

Bourbon generally has a rich and warm flavor profile, with notes of vanilla, caramel, oak, and spices. Coca-Cola is predominantly sweet and bubbly, but it also has some overlapping flavor notes with bourbon, like caramel, vanilla, citrus, and spice. These two ingredients do quite well on their own for a cocktail: You have the carbonation, sweetness, and something strong and boozy. But a good cocktail is all about balance. Although a basic bourbon and coke does pretty well on its own, the acidity of lemon juice creates contrast in the drink.

Adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice helps cut through some of the soda's sweetness and brightens the heavier flavors of bourbon. It can also help tame the harsher notes from alcohol and enhance the overall aroma of the drink. Without much effort, the drink becomes more complex, adding an unexpected pop of freshness to every sip.

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A little lemon juice goes a long way in bourbon and coke. For a standard cocktail made with two ounces of bourbon and four ounces of coke, start with a generous squeeze from a lemon wedge. You don't need to measure the juice since you can always add more if desired. The goal is not to make the cocktail obviously sour like a whiskey sour (which contains an ounce of lemon juice), but rather to elevate the other flavors. Lime is also an option here — know this citrus is slightly more acidic and has less sugar than lemons, so it will provide a sourer flavor.

Coke will cover up some of the bourbon flavors, so no need to use the nicest bourbon on the shelf. A whiskey blend may also be too weak for this cocktail, as it contains neutral grain spirit, which is not very flavorful. Avoid bourbons that have a reputation for being bland, like the Buffalo Trace Old Charter 8 – but the classic Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon would work. You can experiment with underrated bourbon brands if you're feeling adventurous or stick with well-known ones, like Four Roses Yellow Label, Old Forester 100 Proof, and Evan Williams Black Label.