Good $30-40 Bourbon?

[warbeak2099]

I'm a Scotch drinker and I'd like to foray into some other whiskeys. Can anyone suggest a good starter Bourbon? Anything else whisky based that you'd suggest would be appreciated too.

[rawbutter]

Dewar's is my favorite mid-level Scotch. It's a staple at most bars, and you can get it at any liquor store.

My favorite ever is Noah's Mill... but you can only get it online... or in Kentucky.

[drg]

I like Wild Turkey (101 and up the line from there).
Bonus is it doesn't cost $30+ (well until you hit reserve and rare breed and such)

[MoeMag]

I think JD Single barrel is some pretty good stuff, maybe I have never had something really nice, but thats about as close as I think I have gotten to what I think a drink should be like. Then my roommate and his dad really like knob creek. IDK I dont like the flavor of it.

[warbeak2099]

Dewar's is my favorite mid-level Scotch. It's a staple at most bars, and you can get it at any liquor store.

My favorite ever is Noah's Mill... but you can only get it online... or in Kentucky.

Yea I'm a Dewar's fan too. IMO White label is much smoother than Johnny Walker Black and less money. Dewar's 12yo is also the same price as JW Black and much better imo. Of course, nothing beats a single malt but I'm a college student lol.

Thanks for the suggestions btw. I'll look into the Bourbons you guys suggested.

[gimp]

My favorite bourbon is 'Bookers Bourbon'. It costs about 36 bucks in New Hampshire, but it's like 55 out here in Washington. It's made by the Jim Beam family. I'm a fan of all the Jim Beam bourbons. And don't forget, Jack Daniels isn't bourbon.

[warbeak2099]

My favorite bourbon is 'Bookers Bourbon'. It costs about 36 bucks in New Hampshire, but it's like 55 out here in Washington. It's made by the Jim Beam family. I'm a fan of all the Jim Beam bourbons. And don't forget, Jack Daniels isn't bourbon.

Yea I was confused by the JD suggestion. I didn't think they made bourbon.

[MoeMag]

Yea I was confused by the JD suggestion. I didn't think they made bourbon.

Anything else whisky based that you'd suggest would be appreciated too.

?

[rmg]

Makers Mark.

[93civiccpe]

in their defenese, he did say "any other whiskey.."

When I read that, the Irish blood in me screams to suggest some Jameson. If you are drinking Scotch, it's about time you cross over to some good 'ol Irish Whiskey. I'm a fan of Scotch, Bourban, and Irish Whiskeys... if you are primarily a Scotch drinker, Irish whiskey will be an easy addition. I find that they are similar in taste. Good Bourbon has it's place though.. good stuff.

[warbeak2099]

?

Oops lol, I caught that. I forgot I even posted that.

And yes, I've thought about trying Irish whiskeys. Anything other than Jameson you could suggest? It's a bit pricey where I am.

[CKY_Alliance]

Makers Mark.

Makers mark isn't bad, I can stomach that over JD anyday...


Always get a little canadian whisky, crown is always good.

[MagMan5446]

Ancient age. real great stuff.

[93civiccpe]

Oops lol, I caught that. I forgot I even posted that.

And yes, I've thought about trying Irish whiskeys. Anything other than Jameson you could suggest? It's a bit pricey where I am.

I definitely understand about Jameson.. good stuff but it is a bit pricey. (Just a fun note that most don't know, that company was actually started by a Scottish man named John Jameson who actually made Scotch whiskey for a long time before getting into the Irish Whiskey Distilling business.)

Anyways, anything from the big 3 irish distilleries are usually okay... Bushmills, Cooley, or Midleton. Bushmills single malt is actually a really smooth whiskey for the cost. It is one of the better choices in my opinion when it comes to the lower priced irish whiskeys. Locke's single malt is not bad either.

If you want to try one of the blended irish whiskeys, I like Kilbeggan. Millars is also okay.

You'll find with Irish whiskeys they all have a slightly different taste, very much like scotch. You definitely should try out some of the above.

Now, just a quick note for those (like myself) who happen to like the irish cream whiskeys like Bailey's. Do yourself a big favor and try out the other Irish Cream Whiskeys which tend to be a good bit cheaper and yet are still awesome over ice. They are basically different irish whiskey blends mixed with irish cream. To be honest, Bailey's is overwhelmingly the most popular because of all the advertising. Most people don't know that you can save $10 on the same size bottle by going with Carolans, which tastes almost identical to Bailey's. (I prefer Carolans actually). Due to the popularity of Bailey's, the price has gotten way too high.. check out some of the other blends such as Ryan's Cream, Carolans, Emmets, or Knickers (which is a little pricey but my favorite).

Anyways, I hope the above might be helpful to some of you. Have fun trying out new drinks but please do remember to be responsible!


**Edit: forgot to add this and forgot no one had mentioned it. Typically, Scotch Whiskeys are distilled twice, Bourbons are distilled once, and Irish Whiskey's are triple-distilled. The more times you distill it, typically the smoother the whiskey. All three of the above have different tastes due to the starting ingredients, but the first thing I noticed when going to Scotches and Bourbon's was the increased heat & bite.

[SummaryJudgement]

My favorite bourbon is 'Bookers Bourbon'. It costs about 36 bucks in New Hampshire, but it's like 55 out here in Washington. It's made by the Jim Beam family. I'm a fan of all the Jim Beam bourbons. And don't forget, Jack Daniels isn't bourbon.

Bookers is one of the best ou can get IMO! It is individually barrel brewed and aged, so the alcohol content changes barrel to barrel and they print individual labels for the different batches. I've had bottles as high as 145 proof. That's over %70 alcohol guys. And it's smooth as can be!

It's made by the same Jim Beam side line as Makers and Knob Creek.