The Salty Snack To Pair With Your Next Glass Of Whiskey

Bar snacks have come a long way since the days of stale pretzels and corn nuts. In fact, many bars trade likely suspects such as mozzarella sticks and peanuts for oysters and shrimp cocktails nowadays. But if we're talking whiskey, the ultimate salty snack pairing is actually quite old-timey and modest: popcorn.

Popcorn with a bit of salt or butter can amplify whiskey's subtleties. Bourbon specifically is always made with a minimum of 51% corn, making it an even better popcorn mate. Corn has a starchy, sweet natural flavor, which plays off of whiskey's usual hints of oak, vanilla, and butterscotch. If the popcorn has a buttery flavoring, it'll coat the tongue between sips, while the whiskey's potency will cut through the snack's fattiness. Of course, popcorn's crisp, airy texture and salt will keep you steadily returning to your drink.

Several cocktails exemplify this pairing's validity. Take the Popcorn Old Fashioned at Razzle Dazzle, a restaurant on a Virgin Voyages cruise ship (though several bars in cities like London offer similar drinks), complete with a popcorn bucket and kettle corn garnish. There's also the Cracker Jack at New York's Lost at Sea, made with brown butter-washed bourbon, popcorn, and amaretto mist. To take it a step further, some bartenders even infuse whiskey and other spirits with popcorn for the most uncanny flavor.

By now, you likely have a detailed mental list of the best popcorn flavors (which we've also ranked). But for the sake of whiskey pairings, let's talk buttered and salted popcorn specifically. For microwave-popcorn stans, experts recommend Jolly Time, Newman's Own, Kirkland Signature from Costco, and Pop Secret. For kernels, Bob's Red Mill and Orville Redenbacher's are popular choices. Whether you make popcorn on the microwave or stovetop, it's a pairing you may just come to lean on.

It may be worth having your favorite popcorn with bourbon specifically — it's richer in corn than non-bourbon whiskey, which can be distilled from a slew of cereal grains, like rye and barley. That makes bourbon an even more on-the-nose match for this snack. Popular bourbon options include Buffalo Trace, Maker's Mark, Knob Creek, and Woodford Reserve, while Jameson and Jack Daniel's are great non-bourbon whiskeys for the job.

Flavored popcorn can pair with whiskey, but not always. Determine if its taste would match with your spirit of choice. For instance, our simple peanut butter popcorn recipe, tossed with peanuts for good measure, offers savory, nutty, and sweet notes. Whiskey's oaky, vanilla-like flavors are an easy match. Caramel popcorn is a no-brainer as well. Popcorns with acidic, creamy, or bold and spicy flavors likely wouldn't pair as seamlessly, so stay away from varieties like chili lime and cacio e pepe.