What are some good bourbons?
If you have never tried bourbon before, you should try some of the basic brands to get a feel for what bourbon tastes like. Jim Beam is the biggest selling bourbon in the US, but I prefer Wild Turkey. Then, move up a level to Maker’s Mark and Woodford Reserve, two excellent mid-level bourbons. Once you get into bourbon, lots of people will point you to the Jim Beam small batch collection: Knob Creek, Baker’s, Booker’s and Basil Hayden. I’m not thrilled with these very popular and heavily marketed bourbons. I’ve tried them all and I feel that they lack depth of flavor — there is not enough distinct about them, and they have the air of a giant corporation (Jim Beam) trying to pretend it is a small-time artisan. All in all, I would take Maker’s or Woodford Reserve over anything in the small batch collection. For my money, I have found that the most important two words in bourbon are Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace is a distillery that makes 17 different lines of bourbon (well, bourbon and a
