Before it is distilled, whiskey begins as a beer, called a wash, composed of water, grain, and yeast. And much like beer, whiskey can fall into any number of styles that represent different flavor profiles. In essence, beer and whiskey are two sides of the same coin, which is perhaps why they taste so great alongside one another.
“I was a beer drinker before graduating to whiskey—and I suspect most folks are the same,” says Dave Smith, a distiller and whiskey blender at St. George Spirits in Alameda, California. “We recognize flavors and aromatics in whiskey that are echoes of what we love in beer because they both come from grain, but go on to different destinations.”
Yuseff Cherney, the brewer and distiller at Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits in San Diego echoes Smith’s sentiments about beer and whiskey and suggests an elevated approach to ordering a beer and a shot. “I typically have two or three beers and move on to whiskey,” says Cherney, “and if I am drinking both at the same time I’m usually drinking a lighter style beer because it’s more thirst quenching.”