Seems obvious doesn’t it? If you want to try anything from outside of British culture, London’s the natural place to go. Especially when it comes to food and drink. And because just about any fool can find his way to London on the train (let’s face it, it’s the end of literally every train line), it’s a great place to start.
As it happens, my bourbon pilgrimage began when t’other half arranged a birthday weekend for me in East London, the main event of which was a trip to Bodean’s in Tower Hill. This visit was a two-fold revelation to me; firstly I realised that there are more fun ways of finding new whiskeys than simply buying one online every payday, and secondly I realised just how much bourbon and smoked meat belong together. They are the Torvill and Dean of the dinner table.
Bodean’s clearly takes bourbon seriously; they have a whole separate whiskey bar menu for you to look at. The selection is not small. They will even introduce you to the concept of a ‘flight’ of whiskey if that’s not something you’ve tried yet, and – whilst they are not the only place to offer this – they were the the first establishment to present me with the ‘Pickleback';
a ‘makes-sense-only-after-you’ve-tried-it’ combination of a shot of bourbon (I believe it was Buffalo Trace in Bodean’s) and a shot glass full of pickle juice. I can’t justify it, there is no justification for it other than getting one down your neck and seeing what I mean. It’s perfect for washing down a plate of smoky burnt ends.
It was a flight for me, and in fact the highlight of it was actually a rye whiskey from Utah; High West Double Rye. It’s a great one if you’re looking for something a bit different. The nose had notes of red apple, cinnamon, plum and a dark, velvetty liquorice root essence. The palette is incredibly diverse, with apple and grapefruit, opening out with a chewy woodiness and finishing with a fresh spearmint and lemon sharpness. Suffice to say the Double Rye is now one of the recurring bottles on my shelf at home.
Bodean’s is also an opportunity to try Balcone’s “Baby Blue” (a Texas whiskey) which is a rare find. The notes that came to the fore were lavender, linen and pine, with an additional hint of Earl Grey tea in the palette. For me it was one of those whiskeys that I may or may not choose to try again, but was definitely memorable.
Another place in London I’d recommend highly is MEATliquor on Welbeck Street. It’s a similar kind of thing; a smokehouse and a whiskey bar, the perfect place to discover new bourbons. 
Their selection of world whiskey is more than ample. The liquor shelf itself was such a thing of beauty that I was compelled to take a rare tipsy selfie with it.
Whilst the burgers were the headlining act at MEATliquor, the star of the show for me was Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon, with its spicy nose of winter wood, toasted grain and cocoa and a delicate, watery mouthfeel with lashings of toffee, oats, peaches and melon.
Additionally their Picklebacks (of which I naturally had to buy a round for my friends) are made with Bulleit Rye, which gives them an extra sharp, spicy yet tasty kick.
A comprehensive list of places to find bourbon in London would be pretty much impossible, but one last place I’d mention (mainly because it was such a surprise) is Brewdog in Shepherds Bush. It’s a hop and a skip from the Empire O2 venue; I remember because I discovered it whilst looking for somewhere to eat before an AWOLNation gig.
Brewdog is a name well known to British craft ale fans, and indeed my ale-loving partner was drawn to it for this reason. However, it turned out there was more inside to appeal to me than just the jalapeño poppers; there was a nice selection of American whiskey to try.
At the time I went in I was able to get a glass of Eagle Rare; a dry and tasty 10 year old Kentucky bourbon which struck me as quite nutty with a strong, sweet caramel base. They were also the only bar so far in which I’ve encountered Ryemageddon, from the small yet acclaimed Corsair distillery. Grassy, herby and almost refreshing, it cemented the impression I was already forming that rye whiskey was going to feature heavily in my list of favourites.
A word of warning to the wise traveller however; if you’re going to seek out hard-to-find whiskeys in London, do it in restaurants and bars where ‘something different’ is their primary offering. Don’t go into a standard cheesy ‘party night’ type bar. Yes, they may well have a bottle of something interesting on the shelf, but chances are you’ll be charged well over the odds for it because it’s ‘special’. I made this mistake, and just got lucky that it was on my brother’s round…£15 for a Blanton’s (sorry Dan!).