Bourbon is the quintessential American spirit; a whiskey can’t legally be categorized as such unless it’s made here. And our citizens love the stuff—so much so that we experienced a huge boom of distillers and bottlers from the turn of the century to now. If you need help picking up a new bottle, Esquire’s resident booze expert Jonah Flicker is on the case. Read his list of top bourbon brands below. —Chris Hatler, deputy editor
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There are hundreds of whiskeys to choose from. We narrowed our list down to the best of the best.
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Bourbon is to America as Scotch is to Scotland. It’s serious damn business, a true American spirit. As a result, bourbon is a passionate obsession like music, food, cars, and movies. How you feel about the spirit is entirely subjective, although there are a few objective truths: Bourbon must be distilled and aged in the United States from a mash bill containing at least 51 percent corn. It must be distilled to no more than 160 proof, put into charred new oak barrels at no more than 125 proof, then aged. Finally, it must be bottled at a minimum of 80 proof.
Other than that, there is no wrong or right, despite what blowhards and “bourboomers” online might tell you. That said, there are dozens and dozens of bourbon makers out there. Bourbon boomed from the 2000s through the Covid-19 pandemic, inciting brands from all around the country to distill and bottle their own whiskeys. So, if you need a little guidance, we’ve got you.
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I know you’ve been Google-searching “sex movies” or “sexy movies.” I’m not judging. Maybe you’re in a particular and peculiar mood and you’re looking to watch something bold but with substance. There’s a reason erotic thrillers were huge not so long ago; we’re all yearners deep down, and a good movie that oozes sex appeal strips our innermost desires completely bare.
While erotic thrillers have woefully vanished from theaters, streaming platforms have given the genre brand-new life. Netflix, still one of the biggest streamers today, has quite the selection of movies you can watch in the merciful privacy of your living room. And because Hollywood stopped making erotic thrillers like they used to, international markets like France, Germany, Spain, and Korea have stepped up to give closet horn dogs their fix for hot stuff. We might speak different languages, but feeling good is a universal pleasure.
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This article is inspired by a watch I recently rediscovered in a box of old things. It's a Bulova Jet Star, made by the American watch company that's now part of the Citizen group. Bulova isn't a brand that usually tops anyone's list of favorite watchmakers, despite a CV that includes creating the world's first fully electronic watch, the Accutron, and, thanks to Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott, the distinction of being the only personal watch ever worn on the Moon.
The Jet Star is a reissue of a funky 1970s space-age design, with a throwback faceted case and smoky grey dégradé dial. It's not a wildly expensive watch—it's still available on Bulova's website for $650. I've been wearing it for the past couple of weeks and it's attracted far more admiring comments than any sub-$700 quartz watch has any right to. Which made me wonder: What other watches deserve more love than they get?
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