Best Bourbon Selection

Bourbon, the happy offspring of mashed-up corn, limestone-rich water, and two or three centuries of backwoods know-how, is best taken at sunset in a nice thick tumbler with just enough melting ice to "let the flavors blend" (F. Sinatra) -- its sweet, golden nature inspiring reflection, quietude, and good fellowship all around. Over the past decade, this courtly elixir has inspired so much good fellowship, it's come to rival cognac and single-malt scotch in postprandial popularity, with a good dozen single-barrels poured at any given nightspot. The outrageously well-stocked Cannery Wine Cellars specializes in several vertical acres of top-of-the-line vino, but its shelves, cases, and cabinets also make room for a dazzling collection of harder spirits, from gins and vodkas of every variety to unicum, pisco, and pelinkovac, and among its 600 whiskeys from around the globe there are more than 100 home-grown bourbons. This is the place to find that small-batch bottling of Woodford's, Booker's, Peter Jakes, or Baker's, as well as a simple flask of Basil Hayden's, as cordial a cordial as ever conceived by man.