As a marque brand named after the distiller, this is a clear step up from basic Jim Beam or Evan Williams Black (or Jack Daniels for that matter) in taste, complexity, and price. I came to bourbon from Irish whisky and dislike too much char or wood. Buffalo Trace has only hints of these to add layers to the sweet corn, maple and vanilla flavors. While I like Benchmark ( the young, cheap stuff from this mash bill), I love this bourbon and it's wonderful balanced flavor. To get this $5 cheaper, I drive to the next state over... And it's worth it! I'm a fan of Buffalo Trace and Four Roses products and enjoy this as much as the slightly more flavorful Bulleit and almost as much as my standby Four Roses Small Batch.