New Orleans Buck

Same family, different balance. Whiskey and ginger runs on two ingredients and drinks dry to the end. Thirty milliliters of juice rounds the bourbon and gives the ale something to push against, which puts this closer to a short punch than a highball. It also goes flat faster, so drink it cold.

They do different jobs. Lime supplies acid, orange supplies sweetness and body, and 15 ml of each is the balance. All lime and the drink turns sharp and thin. All orange and it flattens out, with nothing to cut the sugar in the ginger ale.

In the finish, mostly. Orange juice and ginger ale are both sweet, and the bitters put a dry edge on the end of each sip. With a supermarket ginger ale, use two. If you own Peychaud's, it suits this drink and the city in its name better still.

It would make a different and much drier drink. Ginger ale is sweetened and mild, which is what lets 15 ml of orange juice register at all. Muddle fresh ginger and lengthen with soda instead and the spice takes over the front of the glass. A slice dropped in gets you halfway.

A classic New Orleans Buck calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Bourbon, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Orange juice, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Fresh lime juice, 1 dash Angostura Angostura bitters, 90 ml (3 oz) Ginger ale. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard New Orleans Buck is roughly 12% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.

A New Orleans Buck is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.