It’s officially cookout season! While the temps across the country are soaring, many of us aren’t just looking to “beat the heat.” We’re doubling down on it by firing up the grill and enjoying some delicious barbecue. While beer is a staple at cookouts — thanks to the wonders of modern refrigeration, coolers, and bags of ice — don’t overlook the beauty of pairing your next plate of barbeque with bourbon. Indeed, bourbon and barbecue pairings work just as well as those with beer, and with that increased ABV, you may even observe an uptick in your enjoyment (sorry, but it’s true!).
The biggest dilemma when considering what bourbon to bring to your next barbeque is deciding what bottle to tote along. It’s a delightful problem to have, isn’t it? We all want to share the good stuff, and there’s a certain joy in introducing our friends to a new, delicious bourbon. But maybe you don’t want to share every top-shelf bottle in your collection with cookout guests. Nobody wants that neighbor you can barely tolerate guzzling your prized bottles like it’s water, right?
It’s a fair concern.
At the same time, you never want to come to the party empty-handed, and bringing only the most generic bottles will betray your bonafides as a whiskey enthusiast. Your knowledge and taste are respected, and that’s why we’ve put together this list to help you make the best choice for your next cookout.
We’ve put together a foolproof round-up with the best bottles of bourbon to bring to summertime cookouts. These bottles will strike a balance of being readily available, high-quality, and relatively affordable — all crucial things to consider when deciding what whiskey you deem worthy of sharing with your best friends and those barely tolerable friends-of-friends alike.
Whether you’re preparing for summer’s next big shindig or standing in the liquor aisle right now, frantically trying to make a last-second shopping decision, we aren’t here to judge, only to help. So keep reading to discover the ten best bourbons to bring to a cookout!
10. Four Roses Bourbon
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $24
The Whiskey:
Four Roses Bourbon is the brand’s most prevalent and affordably priced offering. New for 2024 is its revamped label design, though the consistent, high-quality flavor profile that fans have come to expect over the years remains unchanged.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on Four Roses Bourbon begins with a touch of honeysuckle, the floral aspect of rosewater, and stone fruits like white peach and Golden Delicious apples.
Palate: On the palate, this whiskey is surprisingly spry, as the lean mouthfeel allows notes of black tea, white peach, and honey to coast over your tongue. A touch of vanilla and black pepper spice can be found as each sip transitions from midpalate to the finish, which adds a bit of nuance to the generally light flavor profile.
Finish: On the finish is where the sweet notes make their final stamp, with honey and vanilla leading the way as this pour succinctly falls off the palate.
Pair It With: Four Roses Bourbon is a strong contender to sip throughout the cookout. The relatively low proof will keep you from overindulging, leaving you plenty of time to save that impulse for all the delicious food.
Bottom Line:
While its position on this list might cause you to overlook Four Roses Bourbon as a summertime cookout option, that would be a foolish mistake. This bourbon works wonders as a secret weapon for large gatherings thanks to its approachable ABV and easy-to-appreciate flavor profile. Skip the ice and avoid the fuss of mixing this one into a cocktail; here’s your pro tip: pop this bottle into the freezer an hour before the cookout begins and serve it neat, chilled. It’s a complete game-changer for summertime sipping.
9. Buffalo Trace Bourbon
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $41
The Whiskey:
Buffalo Trace, the country’s oldest continuously operating distillery, has been in business for 200 years. It prides itself on creating consistent products, and that consistency is on full display in its flagship bourbon, Buffalo Trace.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose carries vanilla extract, youthful oak, and gooey caramel. If you stick your nose a bit deeper into your glass, then you’ll also uncover nuances like the aroma of honey, white pepper, and fresh red apples.
Palate: On the palate, Buffalo Trace remains true to its nosing notes, with caramel, oak, and vanilla kissing the tip of your tongue and billowing over your tongue. Swishing this whiskey in your mouth a bit will reveal some honey and turn the volume up on the oak tones, making for a straightforward but enjoyable sipping experience.
Finish: Closing out each sip of Buffalo Trace is the distinct flavor of caramel candy, oak, and red apple skin. While the finish isn’t extraordinarily long, that works in its favor, allowing the light flavor profile to maintain its refreshing qualities without marring your palate with too much complexity.
Pair It With: Buffalo Trace will pair extremely well with sides like pasta salad or grilled corn. It already has a flavor profile that skews on the lighter side, so reach for this pour before getting into the heavier dishes, and you’ll be good to go.
Bottom Line:
While it’s becoming increasingly coveted (and thusly more difficult to find in stores), the reason behind the scarcity is neither nefarious nor nebulous. Simply put, Buffalo Trace is a damn good bourbon. With a light and approachable flavor profile that can be crowd-pleasing whether enjoyed neat, on the rocks, or as the base of a cocktail, Buffalo Trace bourbon is an easy, affordable choice for your next cookout.
8. Maker’s Mark
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $37
The Whiskey:
Maker’s Mark features an iconic bottle design, the same one they’ve been utilizing since their founding in 1953, and a mash bill that’s been used for just as long. This wheated bourbon is one of the best-selling whiskeys in the entire world, making it a ubiquitous sight on liquor store shelves.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: On the nose, you’ll find a bit of corn pudding, vanilla extract, and indistinct red berry aromas wafting out of the glass. There’s also a bit of graham cracker sweetness and white pepper.
Palate: On the palate, Maker’s Mark greets the tongue with a bunch of honeyed graham cracker notes that soon make way for vanilla pod and cornbread. A second sip morphs the vanilla pod into a custard note, complete with caramelized sugar and some red berry compote.
Finish: The finish of Maker’s Mark features some mellow spice and more red berry compote, as those natural sugars fuse with vanilla notes to quickly dissipate from the palate.
Pair It With: Cole slaw, couscous salad, or kebabs will pair perfectly with Maker’s Mark. Like Four Roses bourbon, you’ll want to opt for some of those lighter sides when reaching for this bourbon to allow the mellow flavors to play off each other.
Bottom Line:
What are Maker’s Mark’s selling points as a bourbon to bring to cookouts? Its light flavor profile makes it a great whiskey to sip neat or on the rocks. Despite its modest proof point, it has a ton of flavor, so you won’t blow out your palate or scare off bourbon novices. Lastly, it’s incredibly easy to find and affordable, so you’ll have no trouble replacing the bottle if you run out before the last hot links come off the grill.
7. Wild Turkey 101
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $31
The Whiskey:
Wild Turkey 101, the iconic expression produced in Lawrenceburg, KY, has a rock-star reputation as a party bourbon. With a mash bill of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley, that spice-laden flavor profile is part of what made it famous.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on Wild Turkey 101 is full of stewed cranberries, Christmas spices like nutmeg and clove, and a prominent combination of caramel and oak.
Palate: On the palate, Wild Turkey 101 opens with a fresh dusting of black pepper spice, which leaves your tongue perfectly primed for the mix of clove, spiced orange rind, and maraschino cherry flavors that take shape at midpalate. The mouthfeel is a tad lean, but the 101-proof point gives it some rough edges that allow you to wring the maximum flavor out of every sip.
Finish: The finish is again flush with baking spice as black pepper, nutmeg, and clove combine with a touch of toffee and cola nut. With a medium length, this finish is one that you’ll savor well after your final sip.
Pair It With: Wild Turkey 101 and barbecue chicken just belong together. While the uninitiated are gorging themselves on burgers and hot dogs, you’ll be elevating your game by doubling down on the spiciness of Wild Turkey 101 with the combination of spice, sweetness, and savoriness of those BBQ wings.
Bottom Line:
Wild Turkey 101 might conjure memories of raucous college parties for some people, but serious connoisseurs know that even with its party-friendly reputation, this is one of the best-kept secrets in bourbon. With a robust, spice-heavy profile, Wild Turkey 101 is bold enough to stand up to barbecue food’s big flavors and makes for a delicious, boozy cocktail. If your next batched Old Fashioned recipe includes this bourbon, your guests and bank account will thank us.
6. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
ABV: 45.2%
Average Price: $44
The Whiskey:
Woodford Reserve is well-known as the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, meaning it makes a great Mint Julep, but its versatility extends beyond the realm of cocktails. With an extensive history that traces back to 1812, Woodford Reserve is a classic bourbon produced today by the Brown-Forman Corporation, which also produces Jack Daniel’s and Old Forester.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on Woodford Reserve is full of vanilla, oak, maple candy, and peanut shells. It’s an inviting medley that draws you in before impressing you with further aromas like brown sugar and orange pith.
Palate: On the palate, maple candy leads the way with a bit of toasted oak, coconut flakes, and vanilla flavors, finding the various corners of your mouth. The texture is surprisingly thin, making it a somewhat refreshing experience, as those sweet flavors swiftly seep into your tongue before diffusing as quickly as they came.
Finish: The finish remains true to the palate experience, with the flavor dissipating quickly but leaving a sweet, warming impression of vanilla, brown sugar, and maple syrup.
Pair It With: Woodford Reserve’s sweet, maple flavor profile is going to go great with your burgers, whether we’re talking about turkey burgers or classic grilled beef. Take the edge off those charred, savory notes with the sweet embrace of Woodford Reserve’s flagship bourbon.
Bottom Line:
Woodford Reserve has a delightfully sweet, vanilla, and maple candy undertone that pairs exceptionally well with many typical spices in barbecue food. Being bottled at under 100 proof helps this bourbon bring the flavor without forcing you to douse the heat — the summer sun is already bringing enough of that to the party. Put your Woodford Reserve over rocks for a refreshing drink that you don’t have to overthink.
5. Old Forester 100 Proof
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $37
The Whiskey:
Old Forester’s Signature 100 Proof Bourbon takes the brand’s flagship 86-proof offering and significantly kicks up the flavor. This bourbon is made with a grain recipe of 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old Forester 100 Proof greets the nose with a slightly medicinal cherry note that sets the stage for a layer of complementing aromas like caramel, barrel char, hazelnut spread, and moderate oak.
Palate: The medicinal cherry note from the nose of this whiskey shows up in a big way on the palate, streaking across the tongue and laying a foundation for accenting notes like oak, black pepper spice, and toasted almonds to blossom. The texture in the mouth is fairly robust and slick, which rewards repeat sips as the liquid begins to coat your palate.
Finish: The finish features black cherry and caramel notes and hangs on for a medium length, making this a great sipping whiskey for enjoying neat.
Pair It With: Old Forester 100 is ideal for pairing with hot dogs, sausage, bratwurst, or hot links. Picture this: applewood smoked dogs, fresh off the grill, combined with the lush black cherry notes from this bourbon? Yeah, that’s an easy win.
Bottom Line:
Old Forester 100 Proof is perfect for barbecue food pairings with a slightly denser flavor profile because it’s robust enough to go toe-to-toe with those smoky, savory flavors coming off the grill. Again, the price is right, but the quality that comes with that affordable cost is a flame emoji of its own.
4. Michter’s US*1 Bourbon
ABV: 45.7%
Average Price: $50
The Whiskey:
Michter’s was recently voted the World’s Most Admired Whiskey Distillery, and its flagship bourbon is the most readily available example of why. For this expression, as well as the rest of its whiskey lineup, Michter’s uses a proprietary filtration process to optimize the flavor coming from its barrels.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Michter’s US*1 Bourbon has a dense set of aromas that immediately appear well-refined. Notes like honeysuckle, brown sugar, raisins, and youthful oak fill the air, with each well-developed layer presenting itself distinctly.
Palate: On the palate, what’s immediately remarkable about this bourbon is the texture, as it gently coats your tongue with moderate warmth, and before you know it, the taste of brown sugar, raisins, and walnuts is suddenly everywhere on your tongue. That deceptively viscous texture works really well here and is a credit to Michter’s proprietary filtration process as well as their unique proof-point.
Finish: The finish is brief, with brown sugar and cinnamon coexisting harmoniously alongside new oak and clove, making for a gentle send-off after every sip.
Pair It With: Any chicken dish without barbecue. Chicken salad? Check. Chicken kebabs? Book it. Plain grilled chicken breast because you like to keep things simple? Perfect. This isn’t a combo you need to overthink.
Bottom Line:
Michter’s US*1 Bourbon is an ideal option to bring to a cookout because it perfectly threads the needle of being flavorful and affordable. You don’t have to worry about anyone turning up their nose at this selection because Michter’s was recently named the World’s Most Admired Whiskey brand and their flagship bourbon over ice sure hits a hell of a lot harder than the generic beer your other friends brought. Enjoy it with some rocks for refreshment, but feel free to sip this one neat if you’re in the mood to savor something great.
3. Early Times Bottled in Bond Bourbon
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $25
The Whiskey:
Early Times is a historic brand first launched in 1860 by John Henry “Jack” Beam, Jim Beam’s paternal uncle. In 2021, it was announced that the production of this bourbon would be moved from Brown-Forman, the brand’s previous owner, to the Barton 1792 Distillery under new owner Sazerac.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: On the nose, there’s a strong Luden’s Wild Cherry cough drop note that is distracting at first but becomes increasingly enchanting over time. In addition to that artificial, berry-like sweetness, there are notes of ripe oranges, polished leather, and fresh hazelnuts.
Palate: On the palate, it’s the artificial cherry note and the polished leather from the nose that makes the biggest impression as each sip begins very sweet before trailing off into more typical, earthy bourbon notes like oak and nutmeg. Just as the flavors seemingly shift from the front palate to the mid-palate, so does the texture, which begins very slick and viscous before turning lean as the whiskey makes its way to the finish.
Finish: The finish on Early Times Bottled in Bond features a flourish of black pepper and barrel char, which wasn’t present at midpalate. The lengthy finish also showcases an additional pop of fresh hazelnuts, which adds a layer of balance to the entire affair.
Pair It With: With big flavor up front and a lean mouthfeel on the finish, you’ll want to pair Early Times Bottled in Bond with a dish that does the opposite — something with a party in the back and lingering savoriness. That means you’ll want to pair this with your grilled ribs. Let the bourbon sweetness do the up front, and that grilled meat can pick up the slack on the back end.
Bottom Line:
Early Times Bottled in Bond has a fruit-forward medley of flavors and substantive texture, allowing it to pair well with most barbecued food. Taking that into account, along with its depth of flavor and budget-friendly price point, are just some of the reasons why it deserves a place at your next summertime gathering.
2. Evan Williams Bottled in Bond
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $21
The Whiskey:
Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is the white label yin to Evan Williams Bourbon’s black label yang. Bottled at 100 proof, per the Bottled in Bond regulations, this bourbon was made to exacting specifications and can be readily found on most liquor store shelves.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Evan Williams Bottled in Bond hits the nose with a fresh pop of lemon zest, peanut shells, and a bit of menthol and honey.
Palate: On the palate, the whiskey presents a strong peanut shell presence with some tasty lemon citrus and a slight steeliness that cuts through the middle of the tongue and makes for an interesting tasting experience. Upon further inspection, that steeliness is reminiscent of heavy-mineral water, and the texture is a bit prickly, which rewards neat sipping as it reveals unexpected flavors. Think of the prickly sensation you get from eating Pop Rocks.
Finish: The short-to-medium finish features more peanut shell flavors along with black pepper spice and new oak.
Pair It With: This is the perfect pairing for cornbread, fresh fruit, or dessert. If you’re thinking of making watermelon and feta skewers, then the lemon zest from Evan Williams Bottled in Bond will work really well there. It will also add some dimensions to cornbread’s buttery, grain-forward flavor. Going with cake or pie for your dessert menu? Again, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond will make the perfect coupling with enough citrus and divergent sweet notes to elevate your last meal of the cookout.
Bottom Line:
Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is delicious all on its own, thanks to a surprisingly bright flavor profile full of lemon zest, peanut shells, and sweet honey. That said, it’s also one of the best bourbons on the market to mix into cocktails, and though a simple highball will do, a refreshing Mint Julep or Paper Plane would also be ideal here. Thanks to that versatility and a flavor profile that will keep things light when charred food is weighing you down, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is one of the best bourbons to bring to a cookout.
1. Jim Beam 7-Year Black Label Bourbon
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $27
The Whiskey:
The new and improved Jim Beam Black Label is the result of tireless tinkering from Master Distillers Fred and Freddie Noe. New for 2024, the long-standing Jim Beam expression now has an age statement and a slightly altered flavor profile designed to optimize the distillery’s 7-year-old bourbon profile.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Peanut brittle, bubble gum, and caramel are all featured prominently on the nose of Jim Beam’s 7-Year Black Label on the first pass. A second sniff introduces accenting notes of orange rind and leather.
Palate: The dense, substantial texture hits at first before a clash of peanut brittle, butter, and hazelnuts dances across the palate. There are notes of lemon zest and honey that take root on the roof of the mouth before the flavor of barrel char and black pepper usher in the transition to the finish.
Finish: Nutmeg and honey roasted peanuts show force on the finish along with some chocolate truffle dust as it warms the entire mouth and hangs around for an impressively long time.
Pair It With I’ll be honest here, Jim Beam’s 7-Year Black Label pairs well with just about every dish you can expect at the cookout. It has the citrus backbone to cut through savory dishes but enough complexity to hold up well against more robust flavors as well. If you want to drizzle a little over some poundcake, we promise not to judge. Hell, we’re liable to join you on that flavor journey because it sounds pretty amazing. On the other hand, if you want to go the health-conscious route and keep a glass of Jim Beam Black Label close to you while the salads and the fruit bowl are making their rounds, you’re smarter than the rest of the crowd — everyone knows simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.
Bottom Line:
What makes Jim Beam 7-Year Black Label bourbon so great for summer sipping is that it brings an abundance of approachable flavors to the table at a manageable proof point. If you’re looking to mix it up with a cocktail, Jim Beam Black Label has the backbone to provide some much-needed punch, but if sipping whiskey neat is more your speed, you’ll find layer after layer of deliciousness thanks to the extended time this bourbon spent aging. Jim Beam Black Label has the sweetness, spice, flavor, and wallet-friendly price to make it a winner. It should also have your full attention next time you’re wondering what whiskey to bring to a cookout.
