Love Evan Williams & Buffalo Trace? You Need To Try This Underrated Kentucky Bourbon Brand Next

On paper, Evan Williams Bourbon and Buffalo Trace Distillery give a pretty good idea of what Kentucky straight bourbon is all about. The former is a worthy bottom-shelf bourbon, while the latter is on Mashed's list of the best bourbons for beginners. When it comes to actual taste, however, sticking to just these two actually provides a limited view of the whiskey type. Comparison site Whiskey Mates rates their similarity at 84.5%, so you're not really stretching your palate with these two bottles.

If you want to see what else Kentucky straight bourbon can do, consider Bardstown Bourbon Company's white label bourbon. At around $50 per bottle, it's significantly pricier than the other two, but it's worth trying because of how different it is. Bardstown makes a high rye bourbon with a mash bill that contains 36% rye; for comparison, Evan Williams has only 10% rye. Buffalo Trace hasn't made its mash bill public, but it's believed that the bourbon contains less than 10% (via Whisky Advocate). 

With that much rye, Bardstown finishes with a nice, spicy kick that livens up the palate more than the other two. Still, the brand's Kentucky straight bourbon manages to deliver a balanced experience overall, keeping it close to the approachable flavor profiles that make Evan Williams and Buffalo Trace so popular among drinkers. Bardstown, in general, is an underrated bourbon brand that deserves to be on your radar.

Founded in 2016, Bardstown Bourbon Company is a relative newcomer to the bourbon scene, but it's already got an impressive range of products to explore. Its flagship Estate-Distilled line includes four distinct types of bourbon to set the foundation, and its other lines offer over a dozen innovative creations for customers to enjoy.

Bardstown's Discovery Series highlights the skill of the company's blenders by featuring bourbons made with whiskies from multiple other sources. The 2026 Discovery, for instance, is comprised of three bourbons of different ages and finished in custom-made garryana oak barrels. The Collaborative Series features bourbons made in cooperation with other liquor producers around the world, such as France's Château de Laubade and India's Amrut Distilleries. If you have a taste for the unique, check out the Distillery Reserve line, which features rare finishes such as 300-year-old French oak and Japanese Hokkaido Mizunara oak barrels.

To taste what some critics say is Bardstown's best, go for its Lochs of Jura barrel finish. The straight bourbon and rye whiskey blend is aged for 32 months in single malt Scotch whisky barrels from the Isle of Jura, which opens up its citrus and floral notes while still grounding the palate in more traditional bourbon flavors. It recently took home the American Whiskey trophy at the 2026 International Wine and Spirits Competition, scoring an impressive 99 points out of 100, making it a must-try if you've got around $150 to spare.