
Peak
83
Weeks
6
Score
236
Chart Year
2024
An official music video was released on November 8, 2024. It depicts the story of the song in between clips of Jason Aldean performing in front of Nashville, Tennessee, showing a somber man at the bar. He is drinking from a bottle in a brown paper bag, as memories of joyful occasions with the woman he loved flash in his mind. At the end of the video, he wakes up after the night and moves on by taking out photos of him and his ex and stuffing them in an empty bottle which he tosses into a river
"Whiskey Drink" tells the story of a man in the familiar post-breakup malaise: mopey, moody, and medicinally marinated in Tennessee whiskey. But rather than simply sobbing into his glass, he does what any rational adult might: he starts talking to it. Not metaphorically, mind you. Literally. The whiskey becomes a conversational partner - a sort of malted therapist in a bottle. "Tell me, Jack," Jason Aldean sings, addressing Jack Daniel's as though it were a sympathetic drinking buddy. Two of Aldean's band members, Kurt Allison and Tully Kennedy, wrote the song with John Dee Edwards and John Morgan. The same four penned another of Aldean's heartbreak-with-a-drink-in-hand songs, "That's What Tequila Does." "Whiskey Drink" appears on Aldean's 11th album, Highway Desperado. The album contains other odes to barstool melancholy, including "I Knew You'd Come Around" and "From This Beer On." Clearly this was a thematic focus Aldean wanted to explore throughout the project. Aldean's regular producer Michael Knox helmed the track. The musicians are: Rich Redmond: drums Tully Kennedy: bass, programming Kurt Allison: electric guitar, keyboards, programming Adam Shoenfeld: electric guitar Danny Rader: acoustic guitar Mike Johnson: pedal steel Tony Harrell: Hammond B3 Perry Coleman: background vocals Blake Bollinger: programming Here are four other songs where whiskey becomes a kind of dialogue partner, confessor, or sparring buddy: 1973 "Whiskey River" by Willie Nelson While it's not a dialogue in the strictest sense, the way Willie addresses whiskey river gives it a mythic, almost sentient quality. It's something he appeals to, pleads with, and surrenders to, as if it's alive: Whiskey river, take my mind Don't let her memory torture me 2003 "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss While not a direct conversation, the song personifies whiskey as a silent partner in sorrow and eventual death. He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger 2014 "Whiskey And You" by Chris Stapleton (originally by Tim McGraw) This one's structured more as a comparison than a full conversation, but the tone suggests the whiskey has become the confidant. There's a difference between whiskey and you 2023 "Hey Whiskey" by Tim McGraw In this song McGraw sings from the perspective of someone talking to whiskey like it's a person who has stolen his lover away. He treats the bottle as both a rival and a temptress. Hey whiskey, what'd you do with her? You took the fire and turned it into ashes
Hey, whiskey drink I know it's been a while I gotta talk to you, gotta catch you up On the hell I'm in right now Yeah, whiskey drink Now, you won't believe The things I said, the way she left The way the leavin' all went down It might take all night To get her off my mind I need you one more time Yeah, be a good friend Come on, kick in, whiskey drink I don't wanna think, think, think About who she's with or where she is Or how bad I miss her now Come on, cigarette Yeah, smoke out that regret Pour it straight and strong, make her memory gone Before you let me leave Come on, whiskey drink, oh Come on, whiskey drink Yeah, tell me, Jack Tell me that you got my back (That you got my back) And that you're in it with me 'til the bottle's empty Just like you always have Come on, help me out (Woah, help me out) Just get me by (Get me by) I'd rather be hungover than cold sober Still hung up on "goodbye" So come on, whiskey drink I don't wanna think, think, think About who she's with or where she is Or how bad I miss her now Come on, cigarette Yeah, smoke out that regret Pour it straight and strong, make her memory gone Before you let me leave Come on, whiskey drink, oh Come on, whiskey drink It might take all night (It might take all night) To get her off my mind (To get her off my mind) I need you one more time (One more time) So come on, whiskey drink I don't wanna think, think, think About who she's with or where she is Or how bad I miss her now (How bad I miss her now) Come on, cigarette Yeah, smoke out that regret (Oh, that regret) Pour it straight and strong, make her memory gone Before you let me leave Come on, whiskey drink, oh-oh, yeah Come on, whiskey drink Come on, whiskey drink (Be a good friend) (Go on, be a good friend now) (Be a good friend, whiskey drink, yeah)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 26, 2025 | 98 | 28 |
| 2 | May 3, 2025 | 89 | 37 |
| 3 | May 10, 2025 | 91 | 35 |
| 4 | May 17, 2025 | 83 | 43 |
| 5 | May 24, 2025 | 84 | 42 |
| 6 | May 31, 2025 | 93 | 33 |