Raise a Glass of the Finest Bourbon to Our Vets

	Photo: Castle Brands

This Veterans Day, make a toast to those who serve our country in proper fashion -- with a fine bourbon.

"It's not just your dad's drink anymore," says Jerald O'Kennard of Tastings.com and the Beverage Testing Institute. "Although I think it'd be a great gift for your dad -- whether he's a veteran or not. Bourbons are on fire as a category -- they've never been more popular."

O'Kennard notes bourbons have gone through a sort of rollercoaster in popularity. Although it was the drink of choice from the 1930s through the 1950s, vodkas and rums took its place during the 1960s, he says. Bourbon distilleries shut down and brands disappeared. Bourbons made their comeback in the late 1980s in the form of smaller-batch bourbons -- catching the taste buds of scotch and cognac lovers, he says.

Adding that this September was named National Bourbon Heritage Month by the U.S. Senate, O'Kennard says the comeback is complete.

"Bourbons are back to stay, and I think they're never going to die away again," he says.

Toast to Our Veterans With Bourbon

Describing what he deems to be the world's most popular bourbon, O'Kennard says Jim Beam Black is the next step up for the bourbon novice. At a recommended retail price of $20.99, the 86-proof Black was the highest-rated brand by the Beverage Testing Institute among leading North American whiskies "for its overall nose, depth of flavor and finish," according to Jim Beam's Web site.