Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The best Kentucky bourbons: Top picks for every whiskey lover

These five Kentucky bourbons are available everywhere

Whiskey glass
coldsnowstorm / istock

There are specific rules regulating what exactly a bourbon is (and what differentiates it from other whiskeys). To be considered a bourbon, the whiskey must be made with a mash bill of at least 51% corn (although most have much more). While there’s no minimum time it needs to spend in a barrel (two years to be considered a straight bourbon), it must be aged in new, charred oak barrels. While there are other rules, the last essential rule centers on geography.

America’s “native spirit” must be made in the United States. This includes Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. What this means is that bourbon is made in more states than just Kentucky. There are award-winning bourbons distilled in Texas, New York, Florida, and all corners of the country, though 95% of all bourbon is made in the Blue Grass State. This includes some of the best bourbons on the market.

Recommended Videos

Five great Kentucky bourbons can you find anywhere

Bourbon barrels in Louisville.
GoLouisville.com.

While we love the many expressions from non-Kentucky distilleries, today it’s the southern state’s time to shine. The best part? There are myriad award-winning, nuanced bourbons produced in Kentucky that you can find just about anywhere. Below, you’ll see some of our favorites. If you’re a bourbon drinker, you’ll want to stock up on these classic, easy-to-find Kentucky bourbon whiskeys. We’re talking about Elijah Craig, Maker’s Mark, Michter’s, Buffalo Trace, and more. Keep scrolling to see them all. You’ll be glad you did.

Elijah Craig Small Batch

Elijah Craig Small Batch
Elijah Craig

Regarding bargains, you’d have a hard time beating the appeal of Elijah Craig Small Batch. Named for Elijah Craig, a former Baptist minister who might have created bourbon whiskey when he decided to mature his corn whiskey in charred oak. The flagship expression for this award-winning brand, Elijah Craig Small Batch, is a 94-proof sipping whiskey.

Tasting notes: It begins with a nose of vanilla beans, mint leaves, dried fruits, and oak. The palate is centered on notes of caramelized sugar, vanilla beans, charred oak, and wintry spices.

Michter’s US-1 Bourbon

Michter's US-1 Bourbon
Michter's

Few independently owned whiskey brands are as noteworthy as Michter’s. You can’t go wrong with any of its award-winning expressions. But if you want to purchase a readily available bottle of bourbon, we suggest Michter’s US-1 Bourbon. This 45.7% ABV small-batch whiskey was matured in fire-charred, new American oak barrels.

Tasting notes: A nose of caramel corn, raisins, vanilla, and oak greet you before your first sip. Drinking it reveals flavors like toffee, vanilla, sweet corn, stone fruit, and oaky wood. The finish is a warming mix of caramel and cracked black pepper.

Buffalo Trace

Buffalo Trace
Buffalo Trace

There are only so many value bottles that are better than Buffalo Trace. This beloved distillery’s flagship expression is made with a mash bill of corn, rye, and barley. It doesn’t have an age statement, but it’s believed to have matured between six and eight years in new, charred American oak barrels.

Tasting notes: On the nose, you’ll find aromas of cinnamon candy, sweet treacle, vanilla beans, honey, and charred oak. The palate is a symphony of pipe tobacco, raisins, butterscotch, candied orange peels, sticky toffee, vanilla beans, and oak. The finish is a warming mix of sweetness and spice.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength

Maker's Mark Cask Strength
Maker's Mark

Maker’s Mark is one of the most popular bourbon brands for a reason. Everything the distillery makes is noteworthy and worth adding to your home bar cart. Our favorite is Maker’s Mark Cask Strength. Bottled at cask strength between 108 and 114-proof (depending on the batch), it’s made with a mash bill of 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% malted barley.

Tasting notes: Matured for over six years in charred American oak barrels, it begins with a nose of toffee candy, toasted vanilla beans, dried fruits, and oak. Drinking it brings notes of caramelized sugar, vanilla, fresh leather, oak, and wintry spices. The finish is long, lingering, and effortlessly warming.

Knob Creek 9-Year

Knob Creek 9
Knob Creek

If you only grab one bottle of easy-to-find Kentucky bourbon on this list, make it Knob Creek 9-Year. This award-winning bourbon was matured in charred American oak casks for at least nine years. The result is a 100-proof, sublime, nuanced, sippable pre-prohibition-style bourbon you’ll enjoy all year.

Tasting notes:  The nose is a mix of dried cherries, toasted vanilla beans, sticky toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, and pepper rye. Sipping it reveals hints of toasted vanilla beans, treacle, caramelized sugar, cracked black pepper, and rich oak. The finish is spicy, dry, and very warming.

Bottom line

If you love Kentucky bourbon, we suggest stocking up on all the above whiskeys. But, at the very least, grab one or two. You’ll want to keep all versatile, bargain bottles on your home bar for perpetuity.

Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
Old Fitzgerald launches 7-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
Heaven Hill is set to launch a new signature Old Fitzgerald expression
Old Fitzgerald

Today, renowned Kentucky distillery Heaven Hill announced the launch of Old Fitzgerald launch 7-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon. Not only is this the newest expression from the famed brand, but the distillery revealed that it will be the renowned brand's new signature expression. It's also being released to coincide with the 155th anniversary of John E. Fitzgerald trademarking the brand Old Fitzgerald.
Old Fitzgerald 7-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond

This new addition to the Old Fitzgerald lineup was created with a mash bill consisting of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. It was matured for seven years in Level 3 charred new American oak barrels. Like all bottled-in-bond bourbons, it's bottled at 100-proof.

Read more
The world’s first “bourbon-infused luxury hotel” just opened in Kentucky
Bardstown, Kentucky is home to a new bourbon hotel destination
The Trail Hotel

Bourbon drinkers looking for a place to lay their head after a day spent visiting the iconic distilleries of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail have a new destination to visit. That’s because the recently opened Trail Hotel is touted as the world’s first “bourbon-infused luxury hotel.”
The Trail Hotel

Located in Bardstown, in the heart of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail and close to some of the most well-respected distilleries in the country, The Trail Hotel is a 95-room hotel located in a historic property and chocked full of “southern hospitality” and interactive bourbon experiences. In addition to the nearly 100 rooms, the space boasts eight signature suites, a four-star restaurant, and five distinct bars.

Read more
We asked an expert bartender to tell us the best bourbons for beginners
Whiskey expert Frederic Yarm picks the best beginner bourbons
Whiskey in a glass

Bourbon, like all types of whisk(e)y can feel intimidating to the novice drinker. Even with its heart in Kentucky, there seems to be countless noteworthy brands from Louisville to Los Angeles. It’s enough to make you grab the first eye-catching bottle you see at your local liquor store and call it good. But, if you do that, you might get lucky and find your new go-to whiskey, or you might end up with something that turns you off from bourbon completely. You wouldn’t want that.

Finding your way in the bourbon world doesn’t come easy. I’ve been writing about alcohol for nearly two decades and it took me a while to learn about America’s “native spirit” and find the brands and expressions that would find permanent spots on my home bar.

Read more