Forget the Big Names. I Reach for This Tasty, Versatile, and Incredibly Cheap Whiskey at the Liquor Store

The hill upon which I will die—happily, unequivocally, though most definitely not literally—is that Nick Foles is the greatest quarterback in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles. I know this because I saw it, one glorious February evening in 2018, as he went pass for pass with Tom Brady during Super Bowl LII. The Eagles emerged victorious (probably unexpectedly, if you asked many before kickoff), Foles was awarded the MVP, and I, to celebrate the win, took the final sip from a handle of Kentucky Gentleman that I’d purchased before the big game.

Yes, Kentucky Gentleman. Lord of the bottom-shelf bourbons, the Pabst of the whiskey world. The bourbon you reach for in the most dire of times, when your home bar is bare of Bulleit, Four Roses, Woodford Reserve, Hudson Baby Bourbon, or any other brand of God’s chosen elixir.

Yet Kentucky Gentleman, produced by the Sazerac Company at its Barton 1792 distillery in Bardstown, KY, is one bourbon I can’t get enough of. Some of this is admittedly a product of my college years, when whatever money I could scrape together had to go a long way. Sure, I drank Jack Daniel’s, a choice that I seem to remember a Kentucky-born professor of mine looking down upon. But when I was in school a decade ago, I could get Kentucky Gentleman for less than $10 a bottle. Even today, at my local liquor store, I can get an entire liter of the stuff for around $16.

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“Kentucky Gentleman has occupied a spot on home bars for generations,” says Danny Kahn, master distiller at Barton 1792. “Its accessible price point and location on the bottom shelf may induce some to look down on it, but it still has a cult following amongst those who appreciate it for what it is.”

Plus, it’s banned in Russia. If it ain’t good enough for Putin, then it’s good enough for me.

Where the name itself comes from is something of a mystery. But according to the Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History, Kentucky Gentleman’s namesake is derived from a nickname for Thomas S. Moore. With a business partner, he founded a distillery in 1879, the date of which Kentucky Gentleman was originally crafted. Evidently, Moore was known around Bardstown as such a man.

What’s unmistakable is the taste itself. Notably, the whiskey is just a little more than half bourbon. The rest is fine grain spirits. The end result? A bourbon with a subtle sweetness and a nice oaky finish. It mixes well with cola, more than serves as the base for an old fashioned or Manhattan, and works perfectly as the ideal bourbon for whenever I make peach-infused whiskey at home.

“It’s got great flavor. It’s a bit lower on the barrel age, which does a great job of highlighting the grain bill, which explodes with a beautiful mix of rye, corn, and malted barley,” Kahn says.

He notes that he likes it not only as a base for cocktails, but also as a sipping whiskey—which is exactly how I had it the night Foles pulled out that win. Being somewhat superstitious, I took a lap around the living room of my home any time the Eagles scored a touchdown. I followed that up with two fingers of KG. Even my wife partook, sipping some neat Kentucky Gentleman right after the confetti dropped. We drank that whole bottle. Probably not advisable. Certainly frowned upon by my mother. But I enjoyed every drop. As they say in Philadelphia, “Go Birds!” 

Related: I’ve Tried Hundreds of Expensive Whiskeys. This Bottom Shelf Bourbon Remains My Go-to Bar Order