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There’s a reason bourbon keeps finding its way onto whiskey shelves. It’s familiar enough for a newcomer to pick up a bottle without feeling completely lost, but there’s plenty going on once you start trying different ones.
The interesting thing is that two bottles can both be bourbon and still taste noticeably different. One might lean sweet and oaky, while another brings more spice, fruit, or vanilla to the glass.
Then you find one with a heavier, richer profile and suddenly you’re wondering how many bottles you can reasonably fit on the shelf.
If you like whiskey but haven’t spent much time with bourbon, you’ve got a lot of ground to cover.
Classic names like Buffalo Trace and Maker’s Mark are easy places to start, but they don’t taste quite the same. Buffalo Trace brings a mix of vanilla, caramel, and spice, while Maker’s Mark tends to be softer and sweeter.
Woodford Reserve offers a fuller, more layered profile with plenty of oak, fruit, and spice. Then there’s Wild Turkey, which is known for bringing a little more heat and bold spice to the glass.
Try a few, and you’ll start noticing the little things that make one bourbon more appealing than another. Maybe you prefer something sweet and mellow, or you like a bourbon with more oak and spice. You might even keep changing your mind depending on the night.
And that’s where buying bourbon gets interesting.
You don’t have to stick with one brand forever. You can try a small-batch bourbon one time, pick up a single barrel the next, then grab something aged longer when you feel like seeing what more time in the barrel can do.
Yes, there’s plenty of trial and error involved. Some bottles will become regulars, and others might make you think, “Well, I had to try it.”
Shopping for bourbon online can make that exploration a lot easier, especially when you’re looking for a particular bottle that your local store doesn’t carry.
The Barrel Tap’s bourbon collection includes familiar bottles alongside less common releases, so you can browse around instead of settling for whatever happens to be sitting on the nearest shelf.
If you already have a favorite style, brand, or bottle in mind, that can make the search easier. But if you don’t, browsing is half the experience.
And sometimes you find something you weren’t looking for at all.
Maybe you spot a bottle of Four Roses Small Batch and decide to give it a shot. A bottle of Knob Creek might catch your eye if you’re after something with a bigger, fuller profile. Or you might come across another bourbon you haven’t tried and decide it’s time to branch out.
That’s usually how one more bottle finds its way onto the shelf.
The more bourbon you try, the easier it gets to figure out what you actually like. Maybe you gravitate toward sweeter bottles, prefer plenty of oak, or want something with a little more spice. Once you know what you like, finding the next bottle gets a lot more interesting.
Buy bourbon because there’s always another bottle to try. You can stick with dependable favorites or branch out whenever something catches your eye.
And you can compare different brands, try different bottles, or simply keep one around for the nights when bourbon sounds right.
Ready to add another bottle to the shelf? Buy bourbon online and see what catches your attention.