Bird Dog Blackcherry

Bird Dog Blackcherry is a flavored whiskey, which puts it in a different lane from a straight bourbon or rye. The whiskey base supplies grain and oak, and the blackcherry flavoring leads. This category usually pairs a lightly sweetened, fruit-forward nose with a soft vanilla and caramel backbone from the barrel. Expect dark cherry, closer to cherry syrup or preserves than tart fresh fruit, with a mild toasted-oak finish and little of the heavy char or smoke you would find in an older, unflavored whiskey. The exact proof and sweetness level aren't listed here, so check the label. Because the flavor is built in, this bottle suits easy sipping better than slow dissection. Pour it over a couple of large ice cubes in a rocks glass. The chill tightens the sweetness and keeps the cherry from turning cloying, and as the ice melts the whiskey opens up gradually. Served neat at room temperature, flavored whiskeys like this tend to taste sweeter and more perfumed, so a few drops of water or a single cube is a good compromise. A Glencairn is worth using only if you want to judge the cherry-to-oak balance by nose. For everyday drinking, a rocks glass is the better fit. In cocktails, the cherry makes the Old Fashioned the most natural choice. Use a dash of aromatic bitters, skip or cut back the sugar since the whiskey is already sweet, and finish with an orange peel to add a bitter-citrus edge. The same logic applies to a Manhattan-style drink, where a dry vermouth can offset the sweetness better than a sweet one. In a Whiskey Sour, a generous squeeze of fresh lemon balances the fruit and gives a cherry-sour profile. For a long drink, a highball with cold ginger beer or soda water and a lemon wedge is simple and refreshing, and cola works too if you want a cherry-cola character.