And never be scared of unfamiliar name brands when ye see em - these are often the best. Evan Williams for example beats Jim Beam in my book. Look for "handmade" on the label too. This means ingredients are inspected and measured by hand instaed of machine. Virtually all of the best bourbons are hand made.

Excellent lesser known bourbons worth looking for:

Weller's
Very Old Barton
Rip van Winkle
Buffalo Trace
Knob Creek
Woodford Reserve

Another interesting tidbit of bourbon lore: Even during prohibition bourbon distilleries continued production at drastically reduced rate - sneakin through loophole in the law where county judges declared the stuff "medicinal" and available through doc's prescription. But was never shipped or sold outa the county where it was produced.