Bourbon Press

A tall American highball splitting ginger ale and club soda over bourbon — drier than a Whiskey Ginger, more complex than a straight spirit and soda.

The Bourbon Press is a simple American highball that builds on the Presbyterian — a bar-ordering shorthand for a spirit served with a split of ginger ale and club soda — applying it to bourbon rather than the Scotch or rye whiskey with which the format is most traditionally associated. The Presbyterian's name reflects a bit of American bar humor: the ginger ale and soda combination was associated with the temperate, restrained character attributed to Presbyterian culture in the Protestant American religious context, as it dilutes the spirit significantly and reduces both the perceived and actual alcohol impact. The term appeared in American bar guides and ordering shorthand through the mid-20th century, when the split-soda formula was a common way of making any spirit into a longer, more sessionable drink without resorting to a single mixer. The combination of ginger ale's warmth and sweetness with club soda's neutral effervescence produces something drier and less gingery than a straight Whiskey Ginger while more complex than a simple bourbon and soda. Bourbon's natural vanilla and caramel character are preserved in the combination — neither mixer is aggressive enough to mask them — making the Press a genuine showcase of the spirit rather than simply a dilution vehicle. It became a particularly popular order in American bars where bourbon drinkers wanted something tall and sessionable without the sweetness of a Whiskey Ginger.