Mark suggests a bourbon tasting as a way to become familiar with what's available and compare style and subtleties among distillers. A few to try include:
Blantons: on the sweeter end, dense, intense, dark honey color with pronounced sweet vanilla flavors.
Wild Turkey: emphasizes the "small grains" - barley and rye - for a distillation that is woodsy with thick, malty flavors. They make two ultra-premiums - look for Rare Breed and Kentucky Spirit.
Maker's Mark: the smallest bourbon distiller uses wheat instead of rye - an unusual style - to produce a light, clean, refreshing whiskey.
Booker's: produced by Booker Noe, grandson of Jim Beam, this is Booker's personal pick from the Jim Beam Warehouse. This 6-8 years old whiskey is unfiltered, not diluted with water, and has woody, earthy, barrel tones - and, it's around 125 proof.
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