Best bourbon?

Booker's is my favorite - Or at least it will be when I run out of Hirsch 16yr & 20yr (the Michter's stuff).
Also like Jefferson's Reserve, Knob Creek.
Bulleit if I'm feeling... well, a little zany!
Jim Beam Black: Best bang for the buck.
I favor Makers Mark in Manhattans.

Midleton Irish Whiskey.

Lloydc is right on about the differentiation between bourbon and whisky. From my days working marketing with Seagram amd then Buckingham-Wile in NYC I recall that bourbon is the ONLY authentic American distilled spirit.

My choice spirits have been Scotch and Bourbon for a long time. For me I like them both over ice or with a splash of cold spring water. Although I enjoy the expensive brands I am a regular for Old Grand Dad. It's more affordable and satisfies my palet quite nicely.

A lot of those folks responding to this question are wrongly identifying whisky as a bourbon. Take a taste test (organolyptic test) and experience the difference.

Lloydc and Sit

Travel to Ireland and have the other brown spirit. Midleton has a better flavor backbone than these red neck beverages. :)

I'm quite sure you are correct about the taste quality of Midleton. I'm rather well traveled myself and have had a good taste of such brands during my frequent trips to England and elsewhere. Wonderful spirits.

However, to call Bourbon a "redneck" beverage exhibits rather narrow thinking. Bourbon evolved as a true gentlemen's drink enjoyed by distinguished, fine gentlemen such as Robert E. Lee.

Do you feel the same way about the Eastern European peasant beverage, vodka?