For some reason that I just can't quite put my finger on....I have a major headache this morning.

Maybe I should compare brands of sweet tea instead. lol

Drink plenty of water throughout the day
Have your normal evening meal
Do the comparisons around 8pm (after you’re done driving of course)
Then start hydrating again with water.

No headache

Read a book where one of the main characters drank this.
Saw a bottle years later and gave it a try. Not bad, around $20.

Try Weller Special Reserve. It's a good bang for the buck

I only drink on the rocks, so my day to day low budget is Evan WIlliams bottled in bond 100 proof. $25/1.75L @ Specs. Jameson Stout Cask is super smooth. Old Grandad 114 proof and for about $50/L Eagle Rare which is exceedingly hard to find. I prefer the high octane stuff

OLD CROW is your friend!

Don't knock Jim Beam Double Oak till you've tried it. I can't stand regular Jim Beam...

Old Forester Rye, best whiskey under $20

My stepson gets some cheap chit on Grissom AFB. He's says is just as good as the expensive whiskeys he has at home. I would have to find out what is called.

You always struck me as a White Claw or Zima type.

Military Special $12 a gallon on base. That's pretty cheap.

To really enjoy whiskey, you need to first get over the wall. When a newcomer is just learning, all you'll get from the flavor is FIRE! It doesn't matter how high end the spirit, you're going to taste FIRE! At this point you just need to stick with it in order to reap the rewards on the other side. One day, as if by magic, you don't taste FIRE and you experience the flavor profile written on the box or bottle. At this point, you're screwed. Now you'll begin to realize why the mass produced stuff is quick to market and a dram of the good stuff is a work of art. You're now over the wall and you get to really see the artistry in what a master distiller does in choosing the recipe, type of barrel, stave, toast on the oak, etc.

Most whiskeys open up down about 30% so you might enjoy a touch of water initially or a melted cube of ice but then you'll likely transition over to neat. Any conversation that involves mixing God's nectar with Coke, Sprite, etc, is a non-starter and will no longer interest you. At this point, you get to sit at the adult table .

The list of spirits given above is interesting. I see a Canadian blend, an Irish, a bourbon, and so on..... Those might not be the best to taste against one another because they are so drastically different in style. Obviously, if you enjoy it, that's the main thing. There are so many great spirits to try and only so many drunken evenings remaining.

I picked different types on purpose, just to see the difference for myself. I've explored the Canadians. Others, not so much. Going to add scotch to that list one of these days. I definitely prefer it mixed or on the rocks, though. I don't know if I'll ever get to sit at the grown ups table. Even chilled, I struggle drinking it neat. They all sort of taste like hose water filtered through a bucket of sweaty gym socks.

In college we kept a bottle of Rebel Yell in the freezer. Many times an impromptu game of quarters broke out with that bottle. Those made for rough mornings.