I would personally recommend Rebel 80 proof as a good starter bourbon. Sweet, soft, nice caramel flavor, and very cheap. I recently had my brother – who has never tried any whiskey neat before – give it a try and he actually said it was “nice” and it didn’t burn at all. A couple others to try are Old Forester 86 proof or Benchmark Top Floor. All very affordable easy sippers that also have higher proof versions when you’re ready to step up a bit.
Thanks for the review! I’d be tempted to buy this for the brilliant packaging alone.
I know I’m in the minority when I say I’m not especially impressed by Redbreast 12, though the 15 is much better if overpriced. Personally I lean toward the Powers line-up, especially John’s Lane, but even the very affordable Gold Label is a great daily sipper and way better than Jameson. Also great in the bang-for-the-buck scale is The Sexton single malt. The bottle is a bit gimmicky (and you will spill the first couple pours), but if you like sherry I think it has more flavor than Redbreast. My favorite is Dingle single malt, but it’s next to impossible to get outside of Ireland since they’re so tiny.
I’ve successfully ordered from:
Seelbachs - Fantastic for hard to find craft distilleries. Free shipping on first order if you sign up for newsletter.
Lueken’s Wine and Spirits - Based in Florida
Marketview Liquor - Based in New York
B-21 - Very cheap shipping within the US ($14 for 6 bottles and no tax!). Based in Florida.
Another with hard to find stuff and barrel picks I haven’t ordered from yet:
Bourbon Outfitter
I’m in Washington State and there are a lot of places that won’t ship here, but the above will.
20.5% PLUS $3.77 per liter! Highest liquor prices in the country. And we all voted for it after a massive media campaign by Costco. Yay us. Give me back my state-run liquor stores, please.