Whiskey on the Rocks

Sit back, relax and indulge in the bold simplicity of this whiskey on the rocks. This is a timeless classic which allows the smooth and robust flavors of your favorite whiskey to shine through. Simply pour it over a generous amount of ice and you’ve got the perfectly well balanced drink.

Jump to:

• 🥃 What is a Whiskey on the Rocks?
• ⭐ When to Make This Drink
• 📖 Variations
• 🥄 Equipment
• 📋 Ingredients
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Instructions
• Recipe

🥃 What is a Whiskey on the Rocks?

Whiskey on the rocks is an easy and classic one ingredient drink that involves simply pouring one shot of whiskey into a rocks glass with ice. Drinking your whiskey this way allows you to savor the full aroma and flavors of your liquor.

Since whiskey is the only ingredient in this drink you do want to make sure that you use a high quality mid to top shelf brand. But, you can choose whatever variety is your favorite.

When it comes to liquor and cocktails, the term on the rocks just means that the liquor or liquors are served with ice. There are several benefits to serving this way including:

• Chilling your drink. This allows your liquor to get a little cool. Without making it too cold like it would if you put it directly in the fridge.
• A little dilution. It helps to dilute your whiskey as the ice melts. The dilution of the whiskey we’ll take a little edge off the alcohol bite.
• Flavor enhancement. As the ice melts and adds water to the drink, this actually helps to enhance the flavor of the whiskey. This is all very scientific and we won’t get into all the details here, but essentially involves helping to release guaiacol which is a compound found in whiskey (source). Of course, you don’t let it melt too much and get too watered down.
• It’s easy to make. After all, what could be easier than simply adding a shot of whiskey into a glass with ice? You only need one ingredient and you can make this very fast in a minute or two.

Serving drinks on the rocks or over ice is common for many different liqueurs or liquors. Some popular ones include scotch on the rocks, rum on the rocks and amaretto on the rocks.

⭐ When to Make This Drink

This easy to make basic and classic drink can be served at most any event. Try it out at a few of these:

• After dinner drinks
• Nightcap
• Casual sipping
• Celebrations

📖 Variations

Though there’s not a ton to change up or substitute in this drink seeing as how there’s only one ingredient, here are a few things to think about:

• Type of ice. Most whiskey aficionados will drink this by serving it with a large cube or two of ice or a large craft ball of ice. So, if you don’t have a fancy ice maker you can certainly serve it with regular ice. It will just melt a little faster.
• Garnish. You can add a garnish to this drink either for a little pop of color or to add a little flavor. Simply add a lemon or lime wedge and give it a little squeeze into the top of the drink if you desire. Another common garnish would be to add a maraschino cherry.
• Type of whiskey. There are actually a wide variety of different whiskeys that you can use. Each one will have a slightly different flavor and the flavor will vary by brand as well.
  • Irish whiskey. The most popular Irish whiskey is Jameson’s. It is a triple distilled whiskey which makes it extremely smooth.
  • Bourbon. This type of whiskey can further be split into variety such as Tennessee whiskey or Kentucky whiskey. It tends to have a smooth, slightly sweet and caramelized flavor.
  • Canadian whiskey. The most popular brand of this would be crown Royal. It’s similar to bourbon in that it is typically made with a majority of corn. However, the way that it is age and the type of the barrel can vary. This will affect the flavors.

🥄 Equipment

• Rocks/Scotch/Bourbon glass
• jigger

📋 Ingredients

• 2 oz Whiskey
• Ice

👩🏻‍🍳 Instructions

Step one

Collect everything you need including whiskey, rocks glass, ice, lime wedge desired and jigger.

Step two

Toss enough ice into the glass so that it is filled up to the top.

Step three

Pick up your whiskey and pour it into the jigger until you have 2 oz.

Step four

Pick up your jigger and pour it directly into the rocks glass over the ice.

Step Five

If you’re planning to add a garnish now is the time to do it. Pick up a lime and cut it into slices.

Grab one lime slice and cut a notch in the pulp. Then, stick the wedge on the rim of the glass.

Recipe