Typically when you open food or drink, you have to refrigerate it so it doesn’t spoil. Should you do the same with your bourbon? There are many misconceptions about how you should chill your bourbon and the “right” way to do it.
You should NOT refrigerate your bourbon. Bourbon is best served at room temperature. Refrigeration doesn’t do anything to improve the taste. Experts agree it is not a good idea to refrigerate your bourbon as it can pull the flavors away from your bourbon.
You might be swimming in a sea of bourbon confusion right now with questions like this running through your mind:
- So how should I chill my bourbon if I want it cold?
- How should I store my bourbon if I can’t refrigerate it?
- My brother-in-law is telling me I must drink it neat because that is the only way real bourbon people do it. I don’t know what he is talking about — what does neat mean?
We will dive deep into these issues and cover how you can enjoy your bourbon cold and store it properly.
Will Chilling My Bourbon Affect the Taste?
Yes, chilling bourbon will definitely affect the taste. Now whether the taste is better or worse is up to the drinker and will vary by the bourbon being drunk.
We have all seen the beer commercials with the super chilled beer and how satisfying that cold beer is on a brutally hot day. In the background, this super chilled cold beer is usually flanked by some bikini-clad babes handing you your cold beer at the lake or on a rooftop.
Generally, when beer is advertised as being cold, the beer companies are trying to distract you from the fact the taste is poor because the colder beer is, the better it tastes. We are looking at you, blue mountain cans. Most mass produced beers are using coldness as a marketing tactic rather than promoting the actual quality and taste.
So the same can be true with bourbon; if you don’t like the taste, chilling can help to mask the taste of bourbon. Most of the time with bourbon the chilling may make the bourbon just taste different, not necessarily mask a poor tasting bourbon.
I personally like things cold. When I drink water I like it to be cold, not room temperature. It’s just my preference; don’t judge me. Many bourbon purists will say the only way to drink your bourbon is neat at room temperature because that is not modifying the taste. The best way to find out what you like is to experiment and see if your preference is chilling or adding ice.
How Can I Drink and Enjoy My Bourbon?
If you have been to a bar and ordered a liquor or spirit, you were most likely asked “how would you like that prepared, sir (or madam)?”. If you are like me when I was a newbie you might have that deer in headlights expression and not know what to say. Let’s break it down so you can understand and become a bourbon aficionado.
Neat – This is just bourbon, nothing added or chilled. This is the go-to for bourbon purists to get the full taste of the bourbon without getting any water or additives.
On the Rocks – This is bourbon with ice. So why not just say “bourbon with ice?” Because it is way cooler to say “give me some bourbon on the rocks, dude”.
Straight Up – This is when bourbon is shaken or stirred with ice in a mixer and then strained into a glass. If you are James Bond, you will say “shaken, not stirred”.
Some other chilling options:
Ice Spheres/Balls – These are spherical ice cubes that minimize the surface area of your ice so you get a slow melt of the ice into your bourbon. The advantages of the ice spheres is it slowly adds water to your bourbon which can make it easier to drink. Disadvantage is it will take longer to make an ice sphere than it would a regular ice cube so you might want to buy more or stockpile these in a plastic bag in your freezer. Check out our recommended gear page to see which ice sphere makers we have used to create the ice sphere in the image below.
Chilling Stones/Rocks – These are stones that you can buy and are typically shaped like ice cubes. These will chill your bourbon but since they are basically cold rocks they don’t melt water into your bourbon. So if you like cold but you don’t want to add water, these are a great option. The cons of this option is they sometimes can add a bit of synthetic taste to the bourbon depending on how the stones are made. Also, if you get drunk and swallow these, things would get really bad. Check out our recommended gear page to see the chilling rocks we have used.
Should I Store My Bourbon in the Refrigerator or Freezer?
It is your choice. For me, my answer is no, but there is no right or wrong way to drink bourbon. I would not store my bourbon in the fridge or freezer because it is not necessary. Storing in the refrigerator doesn’t really add to the taste or preserve the bourbon. Like everyone else, I have been trained that whenever I open something I must toss it in the fridge but this rule doesn’t apply with bourbon.
Bourbon is best stored at room temperature. If you want your bourbon cold you can put it on the rocks or straight up. If you really like cold but you don’t want the added water, the chilling stones are a great option.
How Should You Store Your Bourbon?
The best way to store your bourbon is in a clean dark place at room temperature. You don’t want to store your bourbon on a windowsill or anywhere it would be in direct sunlight. The sun is a powerful force and over time can dramatically change the taste of your bourbon.
After you open your bourbon it is fine to store it at room temperature. Your bourbon has been sitting in a barrel developing for multiple years before it arrived at the liquor store you bought it from. Bourbon is affected by the environment it is in. Part of what makes bourbon bourbon is being stored in the oak barrel that affects its flavor and structure.
The same will be true when you store it. You don’t want the sun to affect that chemistry and you don’t want the refrigeration to affect that either. This may be somewhat obvious, but you may want to store your bourbon in a safe location away from minors and keep an inventory of what you have in stock so you know what to get on your next trip to the liquor store.
So is it Wrong to Chill Your Bourbon?
The most important thing to worry about is enjoying your bourbon: chilled or not chilled. You shouldn’t criticize and pass judgement on anyone for how they like to drink. The wonderful thing about life is we all have different taste buds and we all like different foods and drinks.
If you are enjoying your bourbon, then you are doing it right. Period. Don’t worry about anything else.
For instance, you may want to drink your bourbon through a straw. This will likely make some of the bourbon snobs vomit, but it is not wrong. The moral of the story: if you enjoy your bourbon chilled, then chill your bourbon.
The most important thing you need to do is experiment: try drinking your bourbon neat, on the rocks, straight up, with ice spheres, with cold stones, and with a straw (mostly kidding on this last one) and see what you like. You want to do self discovery when you are drinking bourbon to find what works for you. When I started drinking bourbon, it was hard to drink neat. Adding ice or water helped me enjoy it more. Now that I have developed a taste and have experienced bourbon more, I can drink it neat or on the rocks.
Again, most importantly, you must enjoy your bourbon no matter what way you drink it. Bourbon should be fun; have a good time drinking your bourbon and enjoy the time with your friends and family.
Watch our video on Chilling Bourbon on the Enjoy the Bourbon YouTube Channel below.