Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Skip to Content
Food

The Cool Material Guide to Bourbon

The Cool Material Guide to Bourbon

While whiskey is made and enjoyed all over the world, bourbon is distinctly and proudly an American-made spirit. Hoarded, beloved, and highly sought after, this complex elixir is at the pinnacle of connoisseurship. We believe that everyone should at least have a passing knowledge of bourbon. We also think that you should dig a little deeper and truly find out all there is to know about this spirit. So, we put together a comprehensive guide to bourbon whiskey.

What’s with the hype around Pappy Van Winkle? What’s the best budget bourbon? Can I use bourbon in a cocktail? We’ll answer these questions and more. Here you’ll find in-depth reviews and deep dives into the latest and greatest bourbons.

Welcome to Cool Material’s comprehensive guide to all things bourbon.

Food
What’s the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey?

If we didn't need water to survive and coffee to function, it's a fair bet we'd be consuming what we consider America's favorite drink--bourbon--all day long. That's obviously not sustainable, but we can all dream, right? What is bourbon? Why is it so delicious? How's it made? What's the difference…

What’s the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey?
Food
Food
The 8 Best Bang-For-Your-Buck Bourbons

Damn, do we love bourbon. For whatever reason, people sometimes get the wrong idea about this distinctive and storied blend of whiskey. They think it’s super expensive and unapproachable, or exclusively reserved for devout followers of the Church of Good Whiskey. But that’s just not true. In fact, there are…

The 8 Best Bang-For-Your-Buck Bourbons
Food
Food
10 Bourbon Cocktails You Need to Try

Bourbon. One of those exquisite, tantalizing liquids we can drink any time, in any weather, in any place on Earth. Sometimes we like it neat, sometimes we like it on rocks, and hell, sometimes we take it in a shot glass. If you need a great sipping bourbon, might we…

10 Bourbon Cocktails You Need to Try
Food
Food
Is Four Roses Small Batch The Best Budget Bourbon?

There's a commonly held belief that the more expensive something is, the better it must be. I've certainly fallen victim to this line of thinking in the past. Clothing, watches, cars, and drinks. A high price tag must mean high quality. And while we firmly believe in the value of…

Is Four Roses Small Batch The Best Budget Bourbon?
Food
Features
Why Pappy Van Winkle Can Cost Over $4,000 a Bottle

Pappy Van Winkle is the unicorn of bourbons. People say it’s real, but we’ve only really seen it in pictures, and most of them probably had some image doctoring going on. For all we know, it could have been a pasted on label to a bottle of iced tea. Though,…

Why Pappy Van Winkle Can Cost Over $4,000 a Bottle
Features
Food
How to Drink Whiskey like a Master Distiller

Appreciating whiskey or bourbon, like appreciating anything in life, requires a certain level of attention. But what should you paying attention to? Brian Nation, Master Distiller at Jameson’s Midleton distillery, walked us through his sampling process so you could learn to drink whiskey like the man responsible for everything from…

How to Drink Whiskey like a Master Distiller
Food
Food
The Complete Guide to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail

The holy grail for bourbon aficionados, The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is located in North-Central Kentucky between Louisville and Lexington. Within an 81-mile radius, pilgrims can tour all nine-heritage distilleries, and a number of craft distilleries as well. We’ve created the following guide to give you a few logistical pointers, great…

The Complete Guide to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Food