Kentucky bourbon buying guide: Tips for how to pick the best bottle

If you’re buying bourbon, you’re probably buying Kentucky bourbon. But not necessarily.

Even though some people believe all bourbon must be made in the Bluegrass, bourbon legally can be made anywhere in the U.S.

Many brands are made with sourced bourbon, made by a distillery then sold to a third party. Sometimes the sourced bourbon is finished in other barrels to give it a unique flavor. Often it is blended with other barrels to create something better than the individual whiskey.

Sometimes brands use contract distilling, where a well-known distillery makes bourbon to be sold under another label. This is quite common and many big names started out this way.

But what tips are there for buying a good bottle of bourbon, especially if you’re a beginner? Are there certain things to avoid? What do all the terms mean on the labels?

Watch the video above for a guide for how to buy the best bourbon for your money and what to look for on the bottle in a liquor store.

This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 10:04 AM.

Janet Patton

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-379-5233

Janet Patton covers restaurants, bars, food and bourbon for the Herald-Leader. She is an award-winning business reporter who also has covered agriculture, gambling, horses and hemp. Support my work with a digital subscription