Everyone remembers their first time haphazardly combining coke and some random liquor for a party freshman year of college. Its tasty, easy, and gets the job done. Every college bar has this as their bread and butter, and fraternity formal bartenders rely on it like crazy. But as you gather experience, you desire better uses for your colas when it comes to mixing drinks. Well, as someone who fucking loves colas and mixing them with booze, I got the quintessential tier list for you when it comes to picking the right colas for mixing. Here is my cola mixer tier list.

F Tier: The Diet Sodas

Diet sodas suck. Everybody knows this. They lack the signature taste of their original counterparts, have tons of added artificial shit to make up for the fact they have zero sugar and don’t play well when mixed with alcohol. One interesting caveat that comes with that last statement is that they do technically get you drunker faster because of the lack of sugar. If you have to do diet colas, stick to the zeros. They’re just a tad better.

E Tier: Wild Cherry Pepsi, RC Cola, Q Kola

This may come as a bit of a hot take but Wild Cherry Pepsi isn’t that great. It isn’t as fizzy as Cherry Coke, has a bland after taste, and lacks any other complex flavors. It can do a job if mixed with vanilla vodka or something but its fucking mediocre.

RC Cola is the literal definition of mediocrity. It has decent fizz and a flavor profile somewhat similar to Coke but there’s literally no reason to pick this over Coke, especially for mixing. Most stores don’t even have RC anymore. It’s the equivalent of a slow fastball.

Q Kola is an oddball pick. It markets itself purely as a mixer but it isn’t great for mixing, especially with whiskey. It lacks sweetness and often waters down drinks. It’s more like a ginger ale than cola, and an average one at that. There are much better spicy colas that we’ll eventually hit.

D Tier: Blue Sky Cola and Pepsi

Blue Sky is a fairly niche cola, marketing itself as a healthier cola by using pure cane sugar rather than corn syrup. While that’s a good thing, the soda itself is pretty bland. Its super fucking sweet and lacks any complexity to its flavor profile. Maybe you could use a spicy rye with it but it’s not really worth the hassle.

Pepsi falls under this same category sadly. Many swear by Pepsi, but let’s be honest, you don’t hear people ordering a Jack and Pepsi. While Pepsi has a nice initial sip thanks to its sweetness and hints of citrus flavor, it flat lines pretty quickly. It just isn’t as smooth as Coke. Could you use Pepsi in a pinch with whiskey or vodka? Of course. But it’ll make you want something better next time.

C Tier: Coca Cola Signature Mixers and Coca Cola

This part of the tier list is a tale of two opposite spectrums. First you have the currently U.K exclusive Coke Signature Mixers. These were created by mixologists who wanted a more “sophisticated” cola to mix with darker liquors. In the end, these come off as try hardy. It sounds good on paper. A Coca Cola with so many intricate ingredients like basil, dill, rosemary, oak extract, etc, all meant to compliment a certain liquor. But the sweetness of coke just doesn’t allow that, and the end product ends up being a waste. You’ll get those slight flavors but they’ll be masked for the most part. They’re not horrible by any means but overrated knowing how much effort went into it. It’s neat to try (if you live in England) and post on Instagram but it’s not worth the hassle or price compared to others.

Then we have regular coke. The baseline. Standard 92-93 MPH fastball. Gets the job done, readily available for a cheap price, and always works with Jack Daniels for the namesake Jack and Coke, or with a shit ton of liquor for a Long Island Iced Tea. You’re not getting anything complex or anything that will blow your head off but its caramel sweet, smooth, fizzy, and a true classic.

B Tier: Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Mexican Pepsi

Unlike Cherry Pepsi, the cherry variant of coke is much better. It’s all of the qualities of the fastball coke with added cherry flavor. It’s still smooth and doesn’t flatline like Pepsi. Its that classic ice cream shop parlor taste. You can get creative with your options thanks to the added flavor, like the after-mentioned vanilla vodka, but vanilla Jim Beam works brilliantly with Cherry Coke. And you know rum always plays nice with coke.

Vanilla coke is much the same. Classic, reliable coke with a tinge of vanilla. Malibu rum for a rum and coke is a very good shout here.

Then we have Mexican Pepsi. It’s undeniably better than regular Pepsi. It has life thanks to the pure cane sugar, still has its more citric taste, and has a bit more to its flavor profile compared to basic ass Pepsi. Thanks to its citric flavor, it will work amazingly well in a Batanga (a cousin of the Cuba Libre if you will) with a solid reposado tequila, lime juice, and a salted rim glass (because you have to).

A Tier: Dublin Vintage Cola, Boylan Cane Cola, Mexican Coke, Texa Cola, Virgil’s Cola

Now, this where we hit the good shit. Dublin is more known as one of the original Dr. Pepper bottlers, but they have some fantastic cane sugar sodas, one of which is their vintage cola. It’s everything you want in a good ol’ fashioned cola. Sweet, a tiny bit of kick, and a smooth finish. It’s a fastball cola but in the upper 90’s.

Boylan is a more complex take on the vintage style cola. It’s still sweet, but much more earthy, a profile colas rarely have. Very rich. This and a high-quality bourbon is absolute heaven.

Mexican Coke is everything you like in regular coke but 10x better. A much more natural, sweeter taste thanks to the pure cane sugar and a bit more body compared to regular coke. When it comes to cocktails, its a no brainer to use this over the regular stuff if given the chance. Be it for Jack and Coke, Cuba Libre, Long Island Iced Tea, you name it. Once you start using Mexican Coke, it’s hard to go back to the regular stuff. The fastball now has some movement to it.

Texa Cola is for the Texas boys, hence its name. Its a very bright, fruity cola that uses orange, lemon, and honey along with pure cane sugar. It’s so delightful. With its citrus notes, it would make a brilliant Cuba Libre, or a whiskey cola with rye for some sweet and spice. If you don’t have this cola, it is simply a reminder to try any local craft colas in your area, they’re guaranteed to be better than the normal shit.

Virgil’s Cola is heavy on the spice, so admittingly its a harder cola to appreciate. But it brings big-time flavor. Vanilla, clove, cinnamon, citrus. It’s a great cola to pair with a sweeter bourbon. Compared to the others, it does lack a bit of fizz but is perhaps the most complex and flavorful cola in A tier.

S Tier: Fentimans Curiosity Cola and Cherry Cola, Maine Root Mexicane Cola

The apex of mixer colas. Fentimans Curiosity Cola by far the most complex soda you can get, while still having good sweetness and easy accessibility unlike Virgil’s. Its got clove, pomander, mint, horehound, ginger, and tons of amazing botanicals. Compared to coke, it’s almost an ink-black rather than brown. Many complex colas lack fizz, but thankfully Fentimans have an acceptable level. Its flavors make it a perfect fit with whiskey, be it bourbon or rye. There is so much flavor coming into the party so it leaves room for experimentation. A true cocktail soda.

The Cherry Cola is pretty self-explanatory. All the great qualities of Curiosity Cola with added natural cherry flavor. Goes hand in hand with a bourbon and a dark luxardo cherry for a garnish.

And now perhaps my favorite cola, both for mixing and enjoying by itself. Mexicane Cola from Maine Root. It has all of the best qualities a cola should have. Sweet but not too sweet, sweetened with pure cane sugar, a decent amount of kick from any spices added in, good fizz, and a smooth finish. Not too basic but not too complex, that perfect middle ground. As a spicier cola, it can fit in so many cocktails. Whiskey and cola (both bourbon and rye works if you want it sweeter or spicier), Cuba Libre, Batanga, or you could let loose and create your own.

So the main take away from all of this? Experiment! Try some colas you haven’t tried yet and pair em with whiskey, rum, vodka, whatever! See what works best for you. Just don’t do diet, you’re better than that.

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