My top 5 Bourbons for beginners

Are you just starting your Bourbon journey and don't know where to start? Do you know someone just starting and want to know what to buy them as a gift? This post is for you. Here are my top 5 Bourbons for beginners. I hope this list helps you pick the right bottles to make the start of your journey pleasant and save you from falling victim to fancy packaging and marketing that is often used to mask low quality whisky. 

1. Buffalo Trace

Where better to start ones Bourbon journey but with this bottle and this distillery. Buffalo Trace distillery is arguably the best Bourbon distillery out there. They do a lot of things right and some of the most highly sought after Bourbons come from here. The standard Buffalo Trace Bourbon has a solid Bourbon backbone. It expresses the caramel and vanilla notes really well and introduces you to enough oak and tobacco notes without overpowering your senses. This Bourbon will not disappoint a new Bourbon drinker and it is readily available in Vancouver at a great price. Every once in a while BC Liquor store will offer a Single Barrel version of the Buffalo Trace which makes for a special treat. Single Barrel versions are more unique than the standard version because the whisky in the bottle comes only from one barrel. 

2. Russell's Reserve

Although it is not true that older whiskies are always better, this bottle is an exception. This 10 year age stated Bourbon shows you what a good aged Bourbon tastes like. It is complex and we'll balanced. It has a lot of the classic Bourbon notes of caramel and vanilla but it adds some layer of spices, oak and rye. The complexity and balance in this Bourbon is great especially when you look at its price. Another reason why this is in my list is the fact that it comes from Wild Turkey and carries the Russell name. Wild Turkey is probably the most underrated distillery out there but it produces some of the best whiskies, thanks to the fact that it is backed by over 100 years of whisky making experience and tradition between father and son Jimmy and Eddie Russel.  

3. Evan Williams Bottled in Bond

If you go to the whisky section of any liquor store, you might feel dizzy with all the choices available. There are new bourbons coming out almost every month with fancy packaging, great stories and sometimes backed by celebrities. It is so easy today to get caught up in the hype. The good thing is, when it comes to whisky, there is one designation that almost always assures you of quality - Bottled in Bond. (Read my post about Bottled in Bond whisky here). Every whisky drinker should know what this designation means and it should be celebrated. Very few distilleries out there release a bottled in bond whisky mainly because it is so hard to earn. It is a sign that the distiller really made the effort to produce a whisky of high quality. The Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is a great whisky at a very affordable price and it is relatively easy to find in Vancouver. This is also a good introduction to higher proof whiskies (50% ABV or higher). Most whiskies out there are somewhere between 40% - 45% ABV. Bottled in Bond Bourbon like this Evan Williams must be bottled at 50% ABV which means the flavors are going to be more intense. Higher proof Bourbons are a great way to really discover the complexity of whisky flavors. It also allows you to experiment with water in your whisky. I have had my mind blown a few times at how much a whisky changes when some water is added. 

4. Maker's Mark

This bottle is hard to miss due to its iconic bottle design. This bottle design and the hype it created around it is sometimes credited for why Bourbon is where it is today. Maker's Mark is credited for raising the image of Bourbon from your grandpas drink to a premium drink for the modern and discerning consumer. Today Bourbon appeals to a wide variety of people from all over the world and one of the most recognizable bottle of whisky out there is Makers Mark. This Bourbon is also a great way to introduce a new Bourbon drinker to the influence of wheat as a flavoring grain in Bourbon. A wheated Bourbon is sweeter than the regular bourbon recipe. Maker's Mark is a great example of what a wheated Bourbon is with lots of brown sugar and cherry notes with very little to no spice notes.   

5. Weller Special reserve

Just like Maker's Mark, this is a wheated Bourbon and leans heavy on the sweet notes. You might be wondering why I have another wheated Bourbon on the list. I have two reasons. First is because of the brand - Weller. Two of the most sought after names in Bourbon today are Weller and Pappy. The Pappy Van Winkle whiskies are almost impossible to find in liquor stores and are sold for 5 - 10x its retail price in secondary markets. Some Weller Bourbons are also falling into the same category as some Pappy bottles getting consumed by the hype and the mania. Many Bourbon drinkers spend years hunting these bottles and sometimes spend hundreds or thousands of dollars just to get their hands on a Pappy or a William Larue Weller. Before anyone joins the Pappy or Weller hunt, I always advise them to try the Weller Special reserve first. It is made from the same recipe as the Pappy and Weller bourbons everyone is going crazy for. The Weller special reserve allows you to see if the Weller profile is really something you like. This particular bottle is not really that far off, taste wise, from other very sought after Weller products like the Weller CYPB. 

The second reason this is on my list is that it represents everything that can go wrong in someone's Bourbon journey and it serves as a good warning. What could go wrong you ask? I am talking about the stress of the hunt, the fear of missing out, the stupid decision to buy something ridiculously marked up in secondary only to regret it after tasting the whisky. Don't get me wrong, the Weller Special reserve is good. It is one of my top daily drinker, but it also serves as a good cautionary tale for anyone who hears about Pappy or Weller for the first time. This particular bottle is still readily available in Vancouver and is a good benchmark for gauging if you will really enjoy Pappy or Weller. It is a good reminder to every Bourbon drinker that you do not have to break the bank to enjoy a good whisky.