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Duke Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, $35
Actor John Wayne had a well-documented adoration of brown liquor—he usually boxed up several bottles and took them on location shoots so that he could have a nip or two every night. His son, Ethan, who used to stock his father’s trailer bar on set and now manages John Wayne Enterprises, set out to make a bourbon that his dad would love. The result is a not-too-sweet, heavy-hitting sip with strong notes of vanilla and spice. Much like its namesake, it leaves a long and memorable finish.
Old Forester 1870 Original Batch, $45
Louisville’s iconic Old Forester just launched its Whiskey Row Series to celebrate the nation’s first batched bourbons (prior to being bottled, whiskey was only sold by the barrel). Blended by Brown-Forman master taster Marianne Barnes, 1870 is one of the first contemporary bourbons to be crafted by a woman and is named for the street on which the original distillery sat—the space is currently being renovated and will reopen as an Old Forester Distillery in 2016. Tinged with clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg, this smooth sipping bourbon also has undercurrents of citrus and spice.