This thread is all win. Mrs. Skinsfan and I are big-time bourbon drinkers. It's the libation of choice for us. I'm a certified geek about it.
We've done the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, twice, private distillery tours, the whole nine-yards.
I also like scotch, mainly single-malt Islay peat bombs, but bourbon is what we love to drink. Off the top of my head, we probably have at least 50-60 bottles, most of them open, in our bunker**. We have plenty of top-shelf, barrel picks and some pricey bottles but our "go-to" juice* is good, cheap, whiskey. We are in the midst of a bourbon boom, with a lot of inexpensive, flavorful whiskey, at great prices. Stuff like Evan Williams bottled-in-bond, Old Granddad bottled-in-bond, OGD 114, Wild Turkey.
I'm also a rye whore. I love 'em and there's a lot of really good ones out there, that are very reasonably priced, Wild Turkey 101 rye, Dickel Rye, Rittenhouse, etc.
What's my favorite bourbon? That's like asking, "Who is your favorite child?" I love them both, but differently.
With the occasional exception of the occasional Old-Fashioned, bourbon slush, or with ginger ale, (Blenheim's red-cap only), we take it neat.
Folks, if I can suggest just one, kinda pricey, (~$60.00 - $70.00 range), run, don't walk, to your nearest liquor store, and pick up a bottle of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, Barrel proof whiskey. Yeah, it's JD, but it's nothing like the stuff that we drank when we were younger. It's hands-down one of the biggest bargains in barrel proof whiskey, and it's unbelievably good. A few drops of water, or over an ice ball, really opens it up. Compared to other barrel proofs, (Booker's, Stagg Jr., etc), it's only a matter of time before the bean-counters at Brown-Forman jack up the price.
*just using the term "juice" when referring to bourbon is a sure sign that you're dealing with a bourbon geek.
** another bourbon geek term