Review: Jack Daniel’s Whiskey & Cola / Ginger & Cola
Review: Jack Daniel’s Whiskey & Cola / Ginger & Cola
Lately a backlash has been brewing (no pun intended) against pre-mixed, ready-to-drink cocktails, cocktails which actually have nothing to do with the products advertised on the label — whether it’s vodka, rum, whiskey, or something else — and are in fact simply flavored malt liquor pawned off to an unsuspecting audience.
Now some savvy drinkmakers are taking an alternate — if astonishingly obvious — alternate tack: Putting the actual ingredients promised on the label into the bottle. Shocking, huh?
Jack Daniel’s (which has had its own line of semi-nasty flavored malt beverages, Country Cocktails) is the latest to join the fray, adding its iconic Tennessee whiskey to cola, ginger ale, or diet cola, to give you these new, eponymous ready-to-drink spirits.
The recipes should not come as a shock: JD, plus one of the aforementioned ingredient flavorings (ah, plus carbonated water and caramel color), and that’s it. The flavors are authentic and legitimate: Whiskey & Cola (A-) tastes like just like you added Jack to a can of Coke. Whiskey & Ginger (B+) is also completely real, if a little less successful because the ginger ale used is a little on the sweet side, and lacks much in the way of bite. (We didn’t taste the Diet Cola version, which is also available.)
The only problem many will see with this approach is the strength of the finished product: At just 5 percent alcohol, no serious Jack & Anything drinker would ever water his beverage down this much. There are a variety of laws in place determining how strong these beverages can be, of course, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re really drinking something on par with a beer, not a cocktail (which would probably be more in the range of 10 to 30 percent alcohol, depending on how you mix it).
But maybe that’s a good thing. Sold in aluminum bottles and perfect for the tailgate or the BBQ, these aren’t products for cocktail hour, they’re made for sitting in front of the TV or out on the porch while the sun goes down. For what these products are trying to accomplish (which, to be honest, is not a lot), they succeed admirably.
That said, it’s another question altogether as to how tough it is to make one of these drinks on your own: Is it really that complicated to take the world’s number one selling whiskey and the world’s number one selling soda and pour them into a glass together? Ponder your own self-disgust as you sip away…
Each 5% abv.
$9 for four 12-oz. aluminum bottles / jackdaniels.com
Jack Daniel's Whiskey & Cola
$9
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You say that 5% is too low for a booze and soda drink, but a 12oz beer at 5% is considered to be the equivalent to a 1 1/2 oz pour of 80 proof spirit. So going by those numbers, it should be just about the same. Most highball glasses are between 10 and 12 oz. I’m not finding a good equation for this a couple of drinks in, but I’m pretty sure this is correct either way. If you can make a better calculation for this I’d love to see it. Also, try the Jim Beam and Cola if you ever see it, it’s pretty much a perfect thing in a can.
Here’s a better calculator. Perfect in fact. Just put in the alcohol content(80 proof) and the rest of the formula. 5% alcohol content exactly!
http://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/ToolsResources/CocktailCalculator.asp
I’m not saying the alcohol is too low for the drink. It is fine for what it is. But it is much lower than a typical actual highball of the same ingredients. Look at it a couple of ways: When you pour whiskey and Coke into a glass to your desired strength, do you ever use ALL the Coke in a can? No. Why? Because the glass is filled with ice, too. I would wager the typical highball has 5-6 oz. of mixer in it, not 12.
Are these caffeine free? They would have to be after the FDA declared caffeine an unsaved food additive for
Alcohol in the wake of four loko, right?
if you have a highball glass it’ll mostly be filled with ice anyway. probably 2/3 of the drink is ice.
definitely gonna check out the ginger one if i see it though
I think in the end, I would rather make the cocktail myself. It is not hard to pour ice, good old JD’s and soda or ginger ale in a glass. I understand the company’s desire/need to diversify, but somehow, I think it would have been better if they just encouraged us to blend away instead of making this concoction. Oh well. To paraphrase a famous librarian, every cocktail its drinker and every drinker his/her cocktail.
Best, and keep on blogging.
@ Angel, I’d rather make the cocktail myself too but I think that this product was introduced for convince.
I know there are plenty of times I’ve settled for beer because I don’t need to get ice, mixer, cup, and my spirit, so I can see a real advantage with these.
@ HKP
*convenience.
Way to spell check.
This concoction is awful! I am a fan of Jack & ginger mixed fresh, but this is a joke! The drink was flat and sour tasting. Definitely regret this purchase…
I tried to purchase some in Jan. , and was told they were taken off the shelves due to carbonation leakage and would be redesigned and return to shelves in April…well, it’s coming close to the end of May and I have yet to see them n shelves…anyone know anything about this?
I LOVE the Jack N Ginger!! This si my new favorite drink. It also translates well to my local bar :) Thanks Jack Daniels
hello i love these, had my first one last week, is there anywhere they can be purchased?/ thanks alot..
Are these still available