While I have experimented with different butters in baking, I'm not sure that I'd want to participate in a butter taste test - particularly not when one of the tastings involves eating butters plain to "experience their melting properties directly on the tongue." That being said, I do appreciate the efforts of the tasters from Cooks Illustrated who participated in a premium butter tasting, eating butter both plain and on baguettes to try to pick out the top butter.
The butters tested all had butterfat contents of at least 82%, higher than the standard 80%, with the exception of Land O'Lakes, which was included as a benchmark. Every single butter tested - seven unsalted and six salted - were recommended including the non-premium benchmark butter, so it sounds like you can't go wrong by choosing a name-brand butter or a butter that is "european-style." The butters were ultimately ranked by preference, but not one was a loser:
Unsalted:
- Land O'Lakes Ultra Creamy butter
- Presidente Unsalted butter
- Celles Sur Belle Premium Churn
- Land O'Lakes Unsalted Sweet butter (benchmark)
- Organic Valley European-style butter
- Plugra European-style butter
- Jana Valley Imported Sweet Cream Butter
Salted:
- Land O'Lakes Ultra creamy salted butter
- Land O'Lakes regular salted butter
- Lurpak Slightly Salted Danish butter
- Le Gall Beurre de Baratte de Bretagne
- Vermont Butter and Cheese Company Salted butter
- Kerrygold Irish Butter
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