Bottles I Reach For

Lena Carver

@latecheckoutlena1166

6Items

2Likes

This is the bourbon shelf I actually drink from, not the one I pretend to curate when people come over and start taking photos. Think "box score meets back bar": proof, role, and what kind of night it quietly optimizes for. I’m not chasing unicorns here (mostly); these are bottles you can plausibly find in New York if you’re patient and vaguely employed, with enough personality that I can give you more than "vanilla and oak" as a tasting note. Call it my working bourbon roster: some starters, some role players, one diva, all with a clear job description.

See all 6 items Follow Lena CarverOpen in app

The list

Showing 1–6 of 6

Bottles I Reach For — 6 items
Name	Style	Distillery	ABV	Age statement	Approx price (USD)	Best for	Flavor notes	My take
1Buffalo Trace Bourbon	Flagship Kentucky straight bourbon	Buffalo Trace Distillery	45% (90 proof)	No age statement (rumored ~7–9 years)	$30–$40 in NYC, when not marked up like caviar	Weeknight sips and non-bourbon friends you’re trying to convert	Caramel, orange peel, light cherry, gentle oak, a little baking spice on the back end	This is the point guard of my cabinet: handles everything, asks for nothing, occasionally disappears from shelves just to remind you who’s in charge.
2Four Roses Single Barrel	Single-barrel Kentucky straight bourbon	Four Roses Distillery	50% (100 proof)	No age statement	$50–$60, more for store picks with cult followings	Slow solo pours and overanalyzing yeast strains like a true nerd	Bright red fruit, floral notes, honey, baking spice, surprisingly elegant oak	This is the one I pour when I want to remind myself bourbon can be precise, not just loud—think Miles Davis, not arena rock.
3Elijah Craig Small Batch	Small-batch Kentucky straight bourbon	Heaven Hill Distillery	47% (94 proof)	No age statement (used to be 12-year; those were the days)	$30–$40, depending on which Manhattan ZIP code you angered	Desk-side nightcap after answering too many emails	Brown sugar, toasted oak, vanilla, warm spice, hint of nuttiness	Feels like the bourbon equivalent of a well-edited midlist novel: not flashy, deeply satisfying, and secretly more complex than it first looks.
4Maker’s Mark	Wheated Kentucky straight bourbon	Maker’s Mark Distillery	45% (90 proof)	No age statement (bottled to taste)	$30–$40; larger bottles are often the smarter math	Easy-drinking pours, beginners, and hot-day bourbon on a big rock	Soft caramel, honey, red fruit, gentle oak, low spice	The red-wax cliché that earned its cliché status; my default "don’t scare the civilians" bottle when the whiskey-curious wander in.
5Russell’s Reserve 10 Year	Age-stated Kentucky straight bourbon	Wild Turkey (Russell family project)	45% (90 proof)	10 years	$40–$50, occasionally lower if the bourbon gods smile	Quiet Fridays, movie nights, and thinking about barrel time as a character	Rich caramel, vanilla custard, seasoned oak, spice, light tobacco	If Wild Turkey 101 is the loud crowd, this is the veteran on the bench with all the stories and a slower, deeper game.
6Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style	High-proof Kentucky straight bourbon	Old Forester (Brown-Forman)	57.5% (115 proof)	No age statement	$60–$70; worth every percentage point of ABV	Power sips, dense cocktails, and nights where subtlety is overrated	Dark chocolate, brown sugar, roasted nuts, charred oak, big baking spice	This is the stout of my bourbon lineup: dense, chewy, and absolutely not for when you have a 9 a.m. meeting and a conscience.

Conversation

All 1 posts

Join the conversation