I’m restocking my liquor cabinet, and I want to buy a bottle or two of higher-end bourbon of a type that I haven’t tried before. I tend to enjoy bourbons that are very smooth, a little sweet, and not too smoky. Buffalo Trace, for example, is a brand that I really like. Can any of you recommend any other bourbons that I might enjoy?
Have you tried Knob Creek ?
I have. I like it, although not as much as Buffalo Trace.
I highly recommend Woodford Reserve. Slightly sweet, and very smooth.
(I can’t believe I beat Silenus to a booze related thread…)
All good recommendations above–I would also add Blanton’s to the list.
Seconded.
Only by 10 minutes! (I was feeding the cats.)
Since you already have Buffalo Trace, what do you need anything else for? 
But some suggestions nonetheless:
**Old Rip Van Winkle ** 20 year old.
Wild Turkey: Russell’s Reserve, Rare Breed and Kentucky Spirit.
Old Forester Birthday bourbon.
I recently tried Corner Creek bourbon, of which I’d never heard before. It’s incredibly smooth and on the sweet side. The label says its a limited bottling, but I found it in a fairly small liquor store in Denver so that may all be marketese.
I prefer something with more bite to it, but this one seems to fit what the OP is after.
Some other threads on the subject:
Seconded! I love Blantons!
Thanks for the great recommendations so far! I had glasses of Blanton’s and Woodford Reserve at a neighborhood bar (appropriately called Bourbon) last week, and really liked them both. I’ll also keep an eye out for Corner Creek.
(And silenus, that 20 year old Rip Van Winkle looks incredible! Probably just a bit out of my price range, though…I probably won’t be spending more than $80/bottle this time around.)
As it happens, I visited three different bourbon-making facilities yesterday–Maker’s Mark, Woodford Reserve, and the Heaven Hill warehouses in Bardstown. (Since the Bardstown distillery burned in 1997, they distill and bottle all of HH’s bourbons in Louisville but they still age them in Bardstown.)
If you’re not familiar with Maker’s, it’s very smooth and sweet. It might not be “high-end” price-wise, but a liquor cabinet isn’t complete without it.
I agree with the Woodford Reserve recommendation.
For a little more coin, Elijah Craig 18yo is a nice choice. We tasted it at HH against the 12yo Evan Williams, and it was very round and earthy by comparison.
Try some of the others in the Van Winkle line-up. Cheaper, and almost as good. Their rye is pretty sweet as well.
Black Maple Hill has some good drams, too.
I’m off to have a glass of Buffalo Trace right now. 
Thirded. Or is that fourthed by now?
Those of you who are knowledgeable about bourbon, how do you like Bulleit? I recently worked on an ad/PR project with them, and our office received several bottles (this is what first got me interested in whiskies and bourbons). I enjoyed it, but I found I liked the Wild Turkey Rare Breed even better - smoother and sweeter (that’s what’s on my liquor shelf at home at the moment). I’ll pick up a bottle of Russel’s Reserve at some point in the future, and may see if some of the other labels mentioned here are available around Tokyo.
I buy Bulleit quite often, in fact. A very nice tipple. There are times when I don’t want my drink to be too smooth and supple. When I want the bourbon to fight back a little, I reach for the Bulleit. 
Maker’s Mark is the bourbon by which I measure all others. That is, it must be at least as good as Maker’s if not better.
Woodford Reserve is extremely good. My husband likes it best and since I haven’t got that discerning a palate when it comes to hard liquor, I couldnt say how much better it is than Maker’s Mark. I’ve sampled Buffalo Trace once and found it smooth and excellent.
I always drink bourbon straight up, which I assume the rest of you do as well; perhaps with a little piece of ice in the summer.
I’ve been to all the distilleries Doc mentioned. (I’m centrally located to all of them.) They’re fascinating tours. It’s an interesting industry.
Not a bad recommendation up here. I can’t believe it has been over 2 years since the last meeting of the Straight Dope Bourbon Society. Someone should fix that.
Also, just to brag, I have a bottle of the Pappy Van Winkle 20year old that I break out for special occasions. It is a fine bottle of whiskey. Worth every penny.
Ridgemont Reserve 1792 deserves a mention.
I’ve never tried it, but I’ve heard a lot of good things.