I realized I haven't posted in here in years. I've only started really drinking in the last couple of years, and I've started drinking whiskey/bourbon more regularly as I find most other hard liquors aren't to my taste. Usually I like fun flavored ones even if they're not seen as 'good' or 'high-quality', so feel free to shame my tastes :P So here's my go-tos:
For "fun flavors to drink and mix", I like Jim Beam's flavored lineup. It's fun to collect flavored minis from the local store and go nuts trying them in various mixed drinks. The Red Stag (Black Cherry) is a classic; fun on its own, with soda or lemonade, and I like mixing it with brown sugar and then covering meat in it and grilling it. The Jim Beam Kentucky Fire or Fireball for cinnamon whiskey is also a solid choice for "cheap and fun".
Cask and Crew is a local Rochester bottler who I got introduced to through a local spirits expo. Their
Walnut Toffee is sweet, probably too sweet for a lot of other people to use as a common sipper. I love sweet things so I'll sip it on its own. It's a great mixer though, I like doing an Old Fashioned with cardamom bitters instead of regular and this for the bourbon. Also fun to mix with lemonade and grenadine, or with apple cider (especially warm apple cider).
If I'm looking for a medium priced whiskey to sip or use in a mixer where I don't want the sweetness of the Walnut Toffee, and that I can find all over, Elijah Craig Small Batch is pretty nice. Adding a bit to recipes is awesome.
My fancy bourbon, I won't put this in a mixer and I want it when I want to sip something straight and really enjoy it, is Knob Creek 12 year. That's amazing stuff.