Keeping It Simple

• Simple mixers combine with bourbon to create a huge number of basic but varied drinks. The simplest is the classic bourbon and water, and perhaps the best known is bourbon and cola, a combination of two southern favorites. Bourbon highballs mix bourbon with soda water or ginger ale, served over ice in a short, wide highball glass and usually garnished with a twist of lemon. One local variant on the bourbon highball is a brown bronco, which mixes bourbon and orange soda.

The Classics

• Because of its long history, bourbon is part of many classic mixed drink recipes. The mint julep, a southern classic, mixes bourbon with sugar, water and fresh mint to create a refreshing drink that's perfect for a hot day. Another bar classic that uses bourbon is the old fashioned, which mixes bourbon with aromatic bitters and sugar. Fruit juice -- usually a mixture of grapefruit and lime -- is the mixer in a whiskey sour, which is often (but not always) made with bourbon.

Winter Warmers

• A bourbon toddy is not only a warming mixed drink but a traditional remedy for colds and sore throats, combining bourbon, hot water, cloves, lemon and honey. Adding bourbon, orange juice and cardamom to coffee and topping it with whipped cream creates the perfect pick-me-up for long winter evenings.

Getting Creative

• Although bourbon is a proud southern tradition, not every mixed drink with bourbon has to be traditional. Bourbon and chocolate go surprisingly well together, especially in the form of a bourbon chocolate milkshake. Bourbon adds a pleasant heat and punch to the mixture of ice cream, chocolate syrup and malt powder. Other unexpected combinations include the Louisville Stinger, which combines four parts bourbon, one part creme de menthe and a generous dash of bitters.