Bourbonola Bourbon & Cherry Cola Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A-

Bourbonola is a nod to the long history of the Lexington Brewing Company. By that, I don’t mean the modern company, which was established in 1999 and is very much a creation of the late period of the Craft Beer 1.0 era.

There is an earlier Lexington Brewing Company, one that got its start in the 1890s. Like many breweries around the country, the company struggled to survive Prohibition. As part of its efforts, they introduced a cola called “Bourbonola.” One can see the ads painted on the sides of buildings in old timey photographs of early 20th Century Lexington, Kentucky. There was no actual bourbon in the old Bourbonola, of course. It was Prohibition. But it was an effort to produce an alternate, non-alcoholic product intertwined with Kentucky’s sometimes boozy culture.

The modern, Alltech-owned Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company has revived Bourbonola as an RTD mixer. They’ve taken a blend of cherry and vanilla colas, and mixed in enough Town Branch Bourbon (I’m told it is the cask strength version, although that isn’t in the official materials) to raise the ABV to 12%. That is double the norm for RTD mixers and on par with a glass of wine. As you’ll soon learn, that makes all the difference.

The Mixer
This is the best RTD mixer I’ve ever had, flat out. It’s simply not that hard to do a mixer, so convenience can in no way make up for simply putting Coca Cola and a tiny amount of Jack Daniel’s in a can, for example. The other day I did a mixer of a crafty ginger ale (I forget which one; see the bourbon chosen for mixing) with Elijah Craigh Barrel Proof. I did this on the fly, taking a swig from the bottle and then refilling it with the cask strength bourbon. The result was better than half the RTD mixers I’ve had: in my improvised, parking lot concoction, the soft drink wasn’t boring and bourbon strong enough to make its presence felt.

Bourbonola is different. The choice of cherry and vanilla colas is perfect, because the cherry flavor adds a twist, while the vanilla enhances the bourbon. The latter is strong enough to make its presence felt and packs more of a wallop than most beer, and that is what any sane person should want from a mixer.

Get a four-pack and try it out this summer. If the roots of this mixer are your bag, you won’t regret it.

The Price
A four-pack goes for $14.99.