Yes, it's not strictly a whiskey but it is whiskey flavoured and has some of the characteristics of a standard American whiskey and this a good place to start before splashing out £30+ on a bottle of Woodford Reserve that may not even like.
Very true re JD but I find it's a good place to start if you're going down the bourbon or American whiskey trail as its smoother than most scotches (IMO) and is relatively cheap and easy to aquire.
Depends what you want. Scotch or bourbon? I'm a bourbon man myself so stuff like Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort are good places to start. From there you can move up to stuff like Maker's Mark, Woodford Reserve and Gentleman Jack