Originally Posted On January 18, 2023 and Last Updated On
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Can You Mix Whiskey and Vodka? Absolutely!
Yes, of course you can mix Whiskey and Vodka. Mixing whiskey and vodka together with a few other ingredients can actually make some pretty tasty cocktails and drinks. And I am going to prove it to you with 6 recipes that include both vodka and whiskey as ingredients.
Now one thing I wouldn’t do is just grab a glass and pour half whiskey and half vodka in it and gulp it down. That’s straight up nasty. And yeah, I did try it, just a little in a shot glass. Was not tasty at all. So no, don’t drink a whiskey vodka straight.
Instead, try my recipes below that prove that mixing whiskey and vodka plus a few more things can make drinks that are surprisingly delicious, colorful and dare I even say, sometimes Upscale!
Vodka and Whiskey Cocktails
Texas Tea Cocktail
This Whiskey and Vodka cocktail packs a punch! That’s because this thing has five different liquors in it. That’s one more alcohol than a Long Island Ice Tea. And that’s exactly what this drink is, a LIIT with one added ingredient, whiskey. And that means this drink shows off how well vodka and whiskey can play together in the “Texas” version of the New York drink.
Other than the addition of whiskey (preferably Bourbon), the recipe is exactly the same as the LIIT. And seriously, you can just taste a hint of the whisky and this is a nice variation of the classic. Something new and old at the same time. Give it a try.
How to Make a Texas Tea Cocktail
You’ll need to combine this long list of ingredients. Start by adding 1/2 ounce blanco tequila, 1/2 ounce bourbon whiskey, 1/2 ounce gin, 1/2 ounce light rum, 1/2 ounce vodka, 1/2 ounce triple sec and 1 ounce sour mix to a pint glass with ice cubes.
Shake or stir for a minute to get everything mixed up and chilled. Then add about 2 ounces of Coca-Cola to the top to give the drink its “tea” color. Garnish with a lemon wedge and drink up!
Electric Iced Tea Cocktail
This is a really cool looking cocktail that tastes really good too. This is a seven ingredient drink, so you’ll need a decently stocked bar to make this cocktail.
Since this is another “Tea Cocktail” it has the usual base of four liquors as the Long Island Ice Tea does. Gin, rum, tequila and vodka and then to get that electric color, you’ll be adding some Blue Curacao to the mix.
Also since we are going for a blue cocktail, you need to omit the Coca-Cola a regular LIIT has for a lemon-lime soda so the color stays pure. I like to use 7up for mine, I find Spite is too sweet for this cocktail.
And also like any of the tea drink variations, this packs a punch. There’s a lot of alcohol in this drink. But it goes down so smoothly, especially as a summer cocktail.
How to Make an Electric Iced Tea Cocktail
You’re going to need a half ounce of gin, rum, tequila, vodka and blue curacao for this so have your bottles handy. This cocktail is usually served in a Collins glass, but I like to use a pint glass instead.
Fill your pint glass with ice, I like crushed ice for this one, and add all five alcohols plus one ounce of sour mix to the glass. Cove with a shaker and shake for ten seconds just to mix the ingredient well enough, but not water down the drink too much.
Then top off with one ounce of lemon-lime soda. No need or a garnish. Drink and enjoy.
Irish Martini
As soon as you give me a drink name with the word “Irish” in the name, I am thinking Irish whiskey or Guinness beer. Either way, I’m a big fan of the Irish drinks. So I was excited by this version of a martini that included Irish whiskey and vodka.
And yes, it is vodka and not gin, so technically this should be called and Irish Vodka Martini, but whatever. I wasn’t the one to name it. But I am happier to have the vodka as I am not the biggest Gin guy, although my appreciation is growing. I just prefer good Vodka to Gin.
It’s a simple play off the traditional martini. And if the name “Dirty Martini” wasn’t already taken, that would have been the perfect name for this as the whiskey “dirties” the drink rather than influences it as a true ingredient.
How to Make an Irish Martini
This is an easy three ingredient drink. And the whiskey is really just for a subtle hint of taste as you’re going to coat the glass rather than pour the whiskey as a mixed ingredient. You’ll also be using a martini glass for this.
Take a bit of Irish Whiskey, preferably Jameson’s, and add it to a dry martini glass. You shouldn’t need more than half an ounce. Swirl the whiskey to coat the entire inside of the glass. Then drink the whiskey, don’t waste it! Or simply pour it back into the bottle.
Then add 2 ounces of vodka, make sure it is a good vodka as it is the main flavor, and a half ounce of the vermouth of your choice into a cocktail shaker half filled with solid ice cubes. Shake for a minute to chill the mixture then pour into the martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist and you’re all set.
Scot-Tini
This came from All Recipes, and I must admit, I hate the name. First off why not just “Scotini”? Other than it sounding like a dog breed, it definitely looks a lot more pleasing to the eye than a hyphenated name.
But I wasn’t the inventor of this drink, nor do I have editorial powers on that site. So, here is the Scot-Tini, another martini inspired whiskey vodka mix. Although this time we are using Scotch Whiskey and it is an actual ingredient in the drink, not just a hint like the Irish Martini.
How to Make a Scot-Tini
You’ll need a martini glass for this. Fill the glass with some ice to pre-chill it. Then in a shaker add a few ice cubes, not a lot as we don’t want to water this down, just chill the drink. Then add two ounces of a quality vodka and one third an ounce of a quality Scotch Whiskey.
Shake a few times to chill. Take the martini glass and throw out the ice cubes. Add the mixture from the shaker to your pre-chilled glass. Add an olive on a stick as a garnish if you have it. Drink and enjoy.
AK-47 Cocktail
With a name like AK-47, you expect this dink to be deadly. And it is! This is by far the most “potent” drink on the list, exemplifying that Mixing Whiskey and Vodka can no only taste good, but can get you completely wasted!
Again, this is a complex cocktail with nine ingredients, seven of them alcoholic. So you’ll need a well stocked bar and some patience while building this drink. You can either serve this as a cocktail in a standard cocktail glass, or I like to use these as shots as they are tasty, but you wouldn’t want to drink too many of these and do much else other than gerb while watching TV.
You’ll need soda water for this and some fresh lime juice. If you can get limes, make it fresh, it does make a difference, even with all of the ingredients. Or use Rose’s Lime Juice if you must do bottled.
How to Make an AK-47 Cocktail
Grab a pint glass or cocktail glass and fill it with ice. You’ll need to gather up one-third ounce of brandy, whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, bourbon, Cointreau and fresh lime juice, or bottled if you don’t have any limes on hand. Add all of this to the pint glass, cover with a shaker and shake for about 20 seconds.
Add the contents including the ice back into the glass. Top off the cocktail with as much soda water as you need to fill the glass. Give it a quick stir and add a lime for garnish if you have it. Drink up!
Or if you’re doing shots, just use a strainer on the glass to strain your mixture into your shot glasses. Makes around five shots.
Whiskey and Vodka FAQ
Can You Drink Vodka And Whiskey In The Same Night?
Yes, you can drink vodka and whiskey the same night. You may wake up with a splitting headache the next morning, but of course you can drink these on the same night. You can even drink them together in the recipes I shared above. Totally up to you!
Vodka vs Whiskey Alcohol Content
The alcohol content in both vodka and whiskey are very similar with whiskies usually coming in with a higher Alcohol by Volume (ABV) content.
The “typical” bottle of vodka you buy is 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 80 proof, the USA measurement. Whiskey is also often bottled at he same 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 80 proof as vodka, but whiskies are also more commonly bottled at slightly higher proofs due to the way they are distilled, aged and bottled.
So although both alcohols have similar ABVs or Proofs, whiskies are “usually” a bit stronger. Especially when talking single malts or special casked and aged whiskies.
But this being said, they can also dramatically differ when you start comparing different brands, distilling processes, aging and a host of other variables. At the end of the day, it’s up to the manufacturers if they want to increase the alcohol content in their products.
For example, the Laphroaig’s ten year old cask strength scotch whisky is a 57.8% or 115.6 proof scotch whisky. That’s pretty potent stuff!
Then there’s the Balkan Vodka from Bulgaria that comes in at 88% or 176 proof. Again, potent stuff and not at all the “normal” bottling proofs you see.
In fact both of these can easily burn, so be careful around flames when drinking them.
So although the alcohol content between vodka and whiskey are similar, when it comes to specific brands, these numbers can skew wildly.
Vodka vs Whisky Taste
Vodka and whiskey taste very different. This has more to do with the way the two alcohols are treated during and after distillation that their actual ingredients.
Vodka is often distilled many times to get a more natural tasting alcohol. This makes it perfect for making mixed drinks and cocktails as the flavor or vodka is more subdued than a whiskey is.
Whiskey is also distilled, but then it is also casked in oak barrels, sometimes for many, many years. These barrels and aging part flavors that are much pronounced than in vodka.
And each type of whiskey has it’s own aging process giving rise to a huge variety of different tasting whiskies.
Then of course you have flavored whiskies like Fireball and flavored vodka like Absolut Citron. These of course push the tastes of each alcohol in even further directions.
Vodka vs Whiskey Calories
In general, a standard 1.5-ounce (44 ml) shot of vodka contains about 97 calories. While a standard 1.5-ounce (44 ml) serving of whiskey contains about 105 calories.
Of course this is assuming you are drinking shots or neat with no mixers. Mixewrs are usually what contains the calories you don’t want, so be careful on what you decide to mix these with.
Which Gives You The Worst Hangover?
Actually one is no better than the other. Both can easily give you a hangover if you drink too much. If you had to get to the nitty gritty, then possibly whiskey would be a worse hangover than vodka.
This is because dark liquors like whiskey and dark rums contain higher levels of compounds called congeners, which can contribute to dehydration and inflammation in the body. But this difference is pretty minuscule.
Each person is different and some people can drink one all night with no ill effects while drinking the other will make them hung over the whole next day. You really just need to go with experience to see what your body tolerate or doesn’t.
The biggest tip I can give is to stay as hydrated as possible, this is usually why you get hangovers. Drinking whiskey or vodka and water is the cleanest and ‘smmartest’ way to drink wither is not straight up. The water will help keep you hydrated adn is actually nice with a lower class whiskey.
Wrapping Up…
So now you can see that yes, you can mix vodka and whiskey and get some really nice tasting drinks for doing it.
If you like mixing seemingly different alcohols together then take a look at my mixing Tequila and Vodka article. There are a few nice recipes there to try as well!