Smooth Bourbon Suggestions

April 5, 2013 3:30 PM

mrs. mmascolino is a big fan of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. She particularly likes how smooth it is. Since I live near a well stocked Kentucky liquor store I thought I'd ask the citizens of the green to suggest other bourbons that match this ones in terms of smoothness.
posted by mmascolino to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

I haven't had that one, but the bottle of Blanton's I got as a gift is often much smoother than I'm in the mood for.
posted by supercres at 3:31 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

I highly recommend Rowan's Creek which I find super smooth, my backup is Basil Hayden
posted by bitdamaged at 3:34 PM on April 5, 2013

Blanton's is the smoothest good bourbon, and the best smooth bourbon, I've ever had.
posted by willbaude at 3:35 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Larceny. Enjoying a small medium one right now.
posted by deezil at 3:47 PM on April 5, 2013

Elijah Craig
posted by sanka at 3:47 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Ridgemont Reserve 1792 is my favorite bourbon because it is so smooth.
posted by saul wright at 3:49 PM on April 5, 2013

Call me lowbrow, but I really like Knob Creek. (But, this is a man who lives by Jimmy Buffet's lyric, the warmest beer I ever had was just cold enough.)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 3:49 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Knob Creek is good bourbon, but I would not consider it smooth by any stretch of the imagination.

If you like Woodford, you might try the Angels Envy, a port barrel finished bourbon from Lincoln Henderson, who developed Woodford.

Another smooth whiskey I've had recently is the George Dickel Rye. Word is that it's the same distillate as Bulleit Rye, but is filtered through maple charcoal after aging like a Tennessee whiskey which makes it a little sweeter and smoother.

Michters Bourbon is another very smooth whiskey at a bit higher price point.
posted by Jawn at 4:00 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

weller.
posted by FauxScot at 4:22 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve. Good luck finding it, but when you do, thank your lucky stars.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 6:31 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Seconding Larceny. Basically any wheated bourbon (which Larceny is) is going to be relatively smooth -- Weller, mentioned above, is one, as is Maker's Mark, which is decent as far as it goes but is probably the least tasty of the three. I think Makers 46 is really good, but I wouldn't call it smooth.
posted by invitapriore at 6:40 PM on April 5, 2013

Seconding Weller. The secondary grain used is wheat instead of rye, which makes it noticeably "softer." Won't beat Woodford though.
posted by uncannyslacks at 7:05 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

nthing Noah's Creek and also Buffalo Trace for almost dangerous smoothness. Buffalo Trace is to date the smoothest bourbon I've ever had.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:20 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

I'm a fan of the Bulleit.
posted by jander03 at 7:59 PM on April 5, 2013

2nd-ing Buffalo Trace, which is also a bargain. Eagle Rare, which is made by the same distillery, has more going on, and is quite wonderful.
posted by neroli at 8:14 PM on April 5, 2013

Bulleit's great, but its not smooth at all. nthing Blantons.
posted by Aversion Therapy at 8:58 PM on April 5, 2013

Buffalo Trace and Elmer T Lee came immediately to mind. Basil Hayden is my favorite, and I think of it as smooth and floral; it's kind of "light" tasting, if that makes sense. It's an awesome bourbon and worth trying, and it definitely doesn't burn like some of the rougher versions.
posted by jaguar at 9:27 PM on April 5, 2013

Four Roses Small Batch. This is the second of 3 tiers of Four Roses, with the cheaper being the basic Four Roses, aka "yellow label" and the pricier being Single Barrel (actually two versions of Single Barrel). Small Batch is super-smooth, almost to the point that my Woodford (regular) drinking friends lament the lack of a "back end," a slightly burning finish. Yellow Label may be my new regular; its' good. Small Batch is outstanding.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:05 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Pappy Van W comes from Buffalo Trace Distillery, as does Weller. NYT back in 2007 taste tested ten, Tom (sorry, but the alliteration was irresistable) and these two came in 1 and 4. Back then, PVW was at the outrageous price of $90. Now, you can't find it at $500-600. Weller 108 proof that is not as smooth as the 10 year old 100 proof. (Can't find either up north, but even the 100 is hard to find down south, and it's pretty cheap. $15 or so/fifth. The 108 is everywhere, just not up north. Odd.)

I buy it as gifts a lot when I wander back home. To burnish my southerboy creds, I often will pick a fight with someone of act aggressively towards a random policeman. Somehow, it makes it all seem so right.
posted by FauxScot at 12:47 AM on April 6, 2013

Seconding Angel's Envy for ROI. Even though the bottle looks like an Ed Hardy+Tapout collaboriation, Lincoln Henderson - of Woodford fame - knows what he's doing and he did it here, even if it's a little heavier-handed on the finish. If you like Buffalo Trace's profile, try Blanton's, since it's roughly the same folks (same distillery).

Bourbon and whiskey prices are insane right now, because of corn and demand. Pappy and Black Maple Hill are/were my $100 go-tos but the prices are a bit nuts for me at the moment.
posted by kcm at 6:16 AM on April 6, 2013

Seconding Rowan's Creek.
posted by J-Garr at 7:06 AM on April 6, 2013

I was going to say Blanton's. Or Basil Hayden's, for something lighter. But I see both have been mentioned.

...and it sounds like I should pick up that bottle of Angel's Envy that I have been admiring at the liquor store.
posted by sad_otter at 5:27 PM on April 6, 2013

Response by poster: I went with Blanton's which she liked although she didn't necessarily like it more than the Double Oaked from Woodsford Reserve.
posted by mmascolino at 12:14 PM on May 6, 2013