It's your bottle bro. Drink it however makes you happiest. If you want to mix it with coke and that works for you by all means go for it. Maybe the next one try a little less coke and so on until you you've developed a taste for bourbon. Some things are an acquired taste and for a lot of people hard liquor falls into that category.


:-)
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If you can get Praline liqueur in your area LMK, I have a recipe...
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Ok. I just tried Makers straight from the shot glass. Holy heck! It burns... how can I reduce the burning so that I can taste something?
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Bourbon is an acquired taste. If it is too strong straight or with ice you have several choices.
1. Mix it with bit of 7 up.....I know, but it works you into the bourbon
2. Splash of water or soda
3. Move to blended....Crown Royal

I have mine, most any bourbon:-) mixed with ice. I am drinking more Evan Williams lately. Enjoyable


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but yet, it tastes different, smoother and richer.
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Throw it out and drink a good bourbon. :-) Check out the bourbon thread for some suggestions.
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Your drinking an 80+ proof liquor that isn't diluted with water after the pour, what did you expect? lol

Like I said, if your looking for a smooth flavorful bourbon, Makers Mark isn't a good choice.

As far as the burn goes, you'll get used to it. I was recently at a bourbon sampling with over 300 bottles open on a table up for tasting. From 80 proof up to 144 proof. Not one time did anyone use ice starting out. A few times on the Stagg was some water added to cut it down to help bring out other flavors and nuances, but for the most part, it was all drank straight up.

Granted, these were all seasoned bourbon drinkers (I couldn't hold a candle to these guys when it came to bourbon, everything was right over my head for the most part), but it shows that once you've acquired the taste, that's the way to go. If you just drinking it to guzzle it down and get a buzz, then Makers or Beam with a bunch of ice and coke is the way to go.

Check out the bourbon thread, pick up a few better bourbons and start out by added a few ice cubes, swishing it around and letting it melt a bit. As the days go on, slowly begin removing ice cubes until your drinking it straight up.
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Thank you sir for the advice!
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That's how I learned to drink Scotch. To start I found a lighter tasting Scotch so I went with the Glenlivet. That is pretty much a starter Scotch.

Started with nine parts water to one part Scotch and over a few weeks gradually worked it on down until I found the right combination that worked for me.

Now I can tackle a far more complex drink straight if I wanted to but to me it isn't as enjoyable as it is with my combination of ice and spring water. It isn't much but I do find that it brings out more taste. I know it sounds weird but it works on my palate.
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