Other than my inexplicable (even to myself) fondness for Johnny Jump-Ups, I have always been a purist when it comes to whisky- you don't put anything in it if you want to be able to call yourself a serious whisky drinker. I do realize that this rule is much less enforceable when it comes to bourbon- in fact, I've had to start adding ice to my bourbon in recent years because it gives me stomach pains if I don't. But on single malt I have held the line.

With apologies to the real Puritans- who actually enjoyed a good drink in moderation- the tendency to be what people call “puritanical” about alcohol is a peculiar type of delusional thinking. Why do I say delusional? Because aggressively sober people are absolutely convinced that avoiding alcohol is healthier and cleaner, in the absence of overwhelming and consistent evidence to the contrary.

My theory is that everyone has one “evil drink,” the drink that functions like Dr. Jekyll's potion and turns an otherwise convivial drinker into Mr. Hyde. My evil drink is vodka.

Recently I wrote about Johnny Jump Ups, the heretical but delicious combination of hard cider and whiskey. This week I had the opportunity to try a winter variation on this seductive concept, which is whiskey mixed with “soft cider” and warmed up into a tasty and soothing combination.

It's kind of like an adult version of hot cocoa- something to warm you up, relax you, and put your body and spirit into that mellow place we all want to be in when we decide to have a drink.

Maker's Mark bourbon whisky- my personal favorite among bourbon whiskys, and one of a very few to use the Scottish spelling without the Irish and American “extra e.” Maker's Mark is distinctive for several reasons, some of which are cosmetic- like the Scottish spelling and the red wax seal on the unusually shaped bottles- while others are a matter of taste.

Take the ingredients, for example. Bourbon whiskeys are generally made from a mash containing rye and corn. When the creator of Maker's Mark was deciding on his recipe, he couldn't possibly know how the finished whisky would turn out after sitting in barrels for seven years.