By the way, if you like this I think you'll also be really into Bull Run American Whiskey. It's 14 year old sourced (most likely MGP) corn whiskey finished in Oregon pinot noir barrels, 48.22% ABV. Sweet,thick, rich butterscotch, strawberry, cherry, and charred oak, but not at all "woody". Very, very desserty. If you can't find it locally you can buy it here:
20.5% PLUS $3.77 per liter! Highest liquor prices in the country. And we all voted for it after a massive media campaign by Costco. Yay us. Give me back my state-run liquor stores, please.
I would personally recommend Rebel 80 proof as a good starter bourbon. Sweet, soft, nice caramel flavor, and very cheap. I recently had my brother – who has never tried any whiskey neat before – give it a try and he actually said it was "nice" and it didn't burn at all. A couple others to try are Old Forester 86 proof or Benchmark Top Floor. All very affordable easy sippers that also have higher proof versions when you're ready to step up a bit.
Thanks for the review! I'd be tempted to buy this for the brilliant packaging alone.
One tip that has really helped me a lot is most International duty free shops will let to pre-order online weeks in advance, often from a larger selection than they keep on-hand in the shop. Some shops you pay upfront, some you don't pay until you pickup. Usually when you pay later, you can pick and choose which bottles you want to buy and which to put back on the shelf. The real beauty of pre-ordering is you just walk-up to the customer service desk, they already have your bottles ready, and then you just carry them on the plane since it's after security checks. Also you'll know what they have at the airport and what prices are, so if you find something better or cheaper in town before you get the airport you know to buy it then.
I know I'm in the minority when I say I'm not especially impressed by Redbreast 12, though the 15 is much better if overpriced. Personally I lean toward the Powers line-up, especially John's Lane, but even the very affordable Gold Label is a great daily sipper and way better than Jameson. Also great in the bang-for-the-buck scale is The Sexton single malt. The bottle is a bit gimmicky (and you will spill the first couple pours), but if you like sherry I think it has more flavor than Redbreast. My favorite is Dingle single malt, but it's next to impossible to get outside of Ireland since they're so tiny.
I've successfully ordered from:
Seelbachs - Fantastic for hard to find craft distilleries. Free shipping on first order if you sign up for newsletter.
Lueken's Wine and Spirits - Based in Florida
Marketview Liquor - Based in New York
B-21 - Very cheap shipping within the US ($14 for 6 bottles and no tax!). Based in Florida.
Another with hard to find stuff and barrel picks I haven't ordered from yet:
Bourbon Outfitter
I'm in Washington State and there are a lot of places that won't ship here, but the above will.