There’s no getting around the fact there’s a massive amount of bourbon on the shelf these days. In the pursuit of covering all that I can, I end up reviewing and raving about bourbons that you might never get the chance to taste — much less actually find and buy. That’s a shame. But it’s also easily fixable in that there’s a ton of bourbon out there that you can easily find, try, buy, and enjoy. That means it’s time for a classic bourbon blind taste test of mainstream bourbons that everyone can find (one way or another).
To that end, I’m conducting this blind taste test with bourbons that all clock in under $40 — the range is really closer to $18-$35. That alone makes these bourbons far more accessible. That doesn’t mean that these aren’t good or special bourbons though. There are single-barrel bourbons and bottled-in-bond whiskeys in the mix with some serious competition.
Moreover, I’ve picked bourbons that are on shelves. Whether they’re in your state exactly, I cannot say. America is a big place, folks, and whiskey distribution isn’t equal. What I can say is that these bourbons are on most shelves around the country and actually cost their MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) without markups.
That makes our lineup today the following mainstream bourbons:
- George Dickel Bourbon Whisky Aged 8 Years
- Green River Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey
- Cooper’s Craft Barrel Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- McAfee Brothers Benchmark Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- J.T.S. Brown 100 Bottled In Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Special Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
- Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years
- Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
After blindly tasting these awesome mainstream bourbons, I’m going to rank them. This ranking is based solely on taste and depth. It’s really that easy so let’s dive right in!
Part 1 — The Mainstream Bourbon Blind Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This nose is classic, with rich vanilla next to dry spicy tobacco leaves next to apple hand pies with sugar icing made with plenty of dark spices and butter.
Palate: The palate has a bran vibe that hints at a white Necco Wafer with a ripe white peach fresh off the tree with a hint of ginger bite to it.
Finish: The end circles back around to a vanilla wafer with nutmeg, orange zest, and a twinge of dark chocolate sauce leading to a dry and slightly molded wicker chair sitting in the sun.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a really nice bourbon with extra depth. That extra depth is very obviously from Tennessee (all the vanilla wafer) but it just works here.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This pops on the nose with rich caramel next to soft roasted peach and apricot, cinnamon bark and nutmeg with a creamy vibe, and a hint of Cream of Wheat cut with maple syrup.
Palate: Toffee drives the palate toward Nutella and honey over buttermilk biscuits with an apple/pear tobacco aura that leads to a soft orange.
Finish: The end is rich and full of stewed fruits — peach, pear, orange, raisins — and a mild sense of oaky spice and a mild graininess.
Initial Thoughts:
This is delicious. The biscuitiness and jamminess feel like a sneaky afternoon treat via a quintessential glass of Kentucky bourbon.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of old oak and almost smoldering cinnamon bark on the nose with a hint of apple/pear cider cut with orange oils and a whisper of vanilla-nougat wafers.
Palate: That apple/pear cider vibe dominated the start of the palate with a Martinelli’s cider sweetness next to clove buds and more cinnamon bark, a light sense of vanilla cake, and burnt orange.
Finish: The cinnamon really attaches to the apple/pear cider on the finish with a fleeting sense of sweet oak and old evergreen pitch and an echo of orange tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is bold on the nose and big on the palate with a deep bourbon vibe. This is good stuff.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Nose: That orange and caramel really come through on the nose with a thin line of creamy dark chocolate and some nutmeg and cinnamon.
Palate: The palate largely adheres to that flavor profile while adding in layers of dark fruit, old leather, mild oak, and orange cookies.
Finish: The finish arrives with a sense of winter spices and dark chocolate oranges next to a twinge of cherry-kissed spicy tobacco chew and a final note of rail bourbon vibes.
Initial Thoughts:
This feels like it’s trying as hard as it can to be a big and bold bourbon. Sadly, it ends up feeling kind of cheap by the time you get to the end.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cream soda with a dash of cherry opens the nose next to dry leather tobacco pouches, salted caramel sauce, and a light touch of floral honey that’s just kissed with winter spice barks.
Palate: The palate brings forward dry and woody spices with a hint of eggnog creaminess leading toward honeyed Graham Crackers and a sweet tobacco chew.
Finish: The end turns the woody spice into Christmas nut cakes and gingerbread with more creamy vanilla, honey, and leather lingering the longest.
Initial Thoughts:
This is pretty goddamn tasty.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of old oak next to sweet cherries, vanilla cookies, and that Buffalo Trace leathery vibe with a hint of spiced tobacco lurking underneath.
Palate: The palate has a sharp texture before malted vanilla ice cream over a hot apple pie cut with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and walnuts next to Frosted Raisin Bran takes over.
Finish: The end adds sweet cherry to the tart apple and layers it into a light tobacco leaf with a mild sense of old musty barrel warehouses with a hint of fall leaves outside but fades super fast.
Initial Thoughts:
This was grassy and earthy with a good depth. It’s good but not “OMFG! Where’s this been all my life” good.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose has classic hints of caramel and vanilla with a grassy underbelly next to soft cherry, hints of oak, and a touch of apple orchard.
Palate: That grassiness becomes vaguely floral as slightly spiced caramel apples arrive, along with a chewy mouthfeel that leads towards a soft mineral vibe — kind of like wet granite.
Finish: The end holds onto the fruit and sweetness as the oak and dried grass stay in your senses.
Initial Thoughts:
This is really good too. There’s a hint of nostalgia springing from the profile that endears this one to me.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lovely nose at play with soft taco mix spice next to creamy vanilla, caramel-dipped cherries, a hint of pear skins, and plenty of nutmeg.
Palate: The palate has a minor note of cornbread muffins next to cherry-vanilla tobacco with a dash of leather and toffee.
Finish: The end leans into some fresh gingerbread with a vanilla frosting next to hints of pear candy cut with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Initial Thoughts:
This is pretty good. It’s a little cheap on the finish but offers real depth.
Taste 9
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this feels classic with a bold sense of vanilla pods, cinnamon, buttered and salted popcorn, and a good dose of cherry syrup with a hint of cotton candy.
Palate: The palate mixes orange and vanilla with a hint of sour cherry soda that leads to a nice Kentucky hug on the mid palate.
Finish: That warm hug fades toward black cherry, old leather boots, porch wicker, and a sense of dried cherry/cinnamon tobacco packed into an old pine box.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a nice classic bourbon. That’s it.
Taste 10
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is classic Kentucky bourbon with clear dark cherry tobacco, apple cider doughnuts, plenty of cinnamon, eggnog creaminess, and a little rye grassiness (think dry sweetgrass).
Palate: The spice on the palate is squarely in the cinnamon category with creamy vanilla, more warm fruity tobacco, and a hint of orchard bark lurking in the background.
Finish: The end is warm but fades pretty quickly, leaving you with soft oak, dark spice, brown sugar, and a whisper of sweet and creamy grits.
Initial Thoughts:
This feels like classic mixing bourbon with a nice profile.
Taste 11
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft and sweet apple and cherry woods greet with a good dose of sour red berries dusted with brown winter spices, especially clove and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate leans into soft and salted caramel with a hint of those berries underneath while the spices get woodier and a thin line of green sweetgrass sneaks in.
Finish: The finish is silky and boils down to blackberry jam with a good dose of winter spice, old wood, and a hint of vanilla tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is serious bourbon with real depth. I like this one a lot and want to go back for more.
Taste 12
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet and buttery toffee is countered by burnt orange, old oak, and a hint of cumin and red chili pepper flakes.
Palate: The palate leans into soft vanilla pudding cups with a touch of butterscotch swirled in next to orange oils, nougat, and a hint of menthol tobacco.
Finish: The midpalate tobacco warmth gives way to a finish that’s full of woody winter spices and a whisper of Cherry Coke next to orange/clove by way of a dark chocolate bar flaked with salt.
Initial Thoughts:
This is another classic bourbon that is a little warm on the end. It’s good stuff otherwise.
Part 2 — The Mainstream Bourbon Ranking
12. McAfee Brothers Benchmark Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 4
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $24
The Whiskey:
This expression is from the single barrels that actually hit that prime spot/flavor profile to be bottled one at a time. This is the best of the best of the barrels earmarked for Benchmark in the Buffalo Trace warehouses. Those barrels are watered down slightly before bottling at a healthy 95-proof.
Bottom Line:
This was trying so hard not to feel cheap on the profile. That said, there’s enough going on that you can kind of forgive that stretching. In the end, this feels like a highball whiskey suited for good fizzy drinks with big garnishes.
11. Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 8
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $17
The Whiskey:
Heaven Hill makes great whiskey, especially inexpensive bottled in bonds. This “b-i-b” is tailored for the Evan Williams flavor profile. Still, this is Heaven Hill, so we’re talking about the same mash bill, same warehouses, and same parent company as several entries on this list. This is simply built to match a higher-end Evan Williams vibe.
Bottom Line:
This is a good bourbon with a hint of cheapness in its profile. That hint really is me stretching to find something to nitpick. Overall, this is a nice bourbon that’s suitable for cocktails, highballs, and on the rocks partying.
10. Weller The Original Wheated Bourbon Special Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 6
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $25
The Whiskey:
This is the entry point to Weller. It’s a standard large-batched bourbon. The age of the barrels on this blend is also unknown. Overall, we know this is a classic wheated bourbon, and … that’s about it.
Bottom Line:
This was also very much in the “fine” column of this blind-tasting panel. There’s nothing wrong with it. There’s a nice earthy depth next to classic bourbon vibes. Still, it’s very clearly for mixing cocktails and highballs more than anything else.
9. Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years — Taste 9
ABV: 50%
Buy Here: $30
The Whiskey:
This is Jim Beam’s small batch entry point into the wider world of Knob Creek. The juice is the low-rye mash aged for nine years in new oak in Beam’s vast warehouses. The right barrels are then mingled and cut down to 100 proof before being bottled in new, wavy bottles.
Bottom Line:
This is classic Kentucky bourbon … that’s built for mixing whiskey-forward cocktails. Use it that way.
8. Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 10
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $24
The Whiskey:
This whiskey embraces a high-rye mash bill that’s comprised of 68% corn, 28% rye, and 4% malted barley. The hot juice is then rested for six years before blending, cutting down to proof, and barreling. As far as we know, this is still mostly sourced juice but will likely start including Bulleit’s own whiskey in the next year or two.
Bottom Line:
This a perfectly average bourbon with classic notes (that’s not a bad thing). Use it for cocktails.
7. Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 12
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $19
The Whiskey:
A lot of Wild Turkey’s character comes from the hard and deep char they use on their oak barrels. 101 starts with a high-rye mash bill that leans into the wood and aging, having spent six years in the cask. A little of that soft Kentucky limestone water is added to cool it down a bit before bottling.
Bottom Line:
This is where we start getting a little more depth. And heat. Overall, this feels like the perfect on the rocks sipper or cocktail base for everyday sipping.
6. Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky — Taste 7
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $24
The Whisky:
This is Maker’s signature expression made with Red winter wheat and aged seasoned Ozark oak for six to seven years. This expression’s whiskey is sourced from only 150 barrels (making this a “small batch”). Those barrels are then blended and proofed with Kentucky limestone water before bottling and dipping in their iconic red wax.
Bottom Line:
This really stood out on this go around. There was a nostalgic vibe that just worked with a nice sweet depth countered by spice. This feels like a great Manhattan whiskey.
5. Cooper’s Craft Barrel Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 3
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $32
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is from Brown-Forman (which also makes Jack Daniels, Old Forester, King of Kentucky, and Woodford Reserve in the U.S.). The Kentucky-distilled juice is aged in special oak barrels that are chiseled before charring to create more surface space for carbon filtering and aging in the barrel. The best barrels and then batched, slightly proofed with that Kentucky limestone water, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This has some seriously good depth to it. Overall, I can see sipping this on a lazy weekday evening over a rock and being pretty happy about it.
4. George Dickel Bourbon Whisky Aged 8 Years — Taste 1
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $31
The Whisky:
The whisky in the bottle is the same Dickel Tennessee whiskey but pulled from barrels that leaned more into classic bourbon flavor notes instead of Dickel’s iconic Tennessee whisky notes. The barrels are a minimum of eight years old before they’re vatted. The whiskey is then cut down to a manageable 90-proof and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This was complex and delicious. There was a Tennessee feel to the profile that helped it ascend beyond average. I’d use this in a simple whiskey-forward cocktail or just on a big rock.
3. Green River Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 2
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $33
The Whiskey:
This new release from Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Green River distillery is a wheated classic. The whiskey in the bottle is made from a mash bill (recipe) of 70% Kentucky-grown corn, 21% wheat, and 9% malted 6-Row barley. That whiskey then spends four to six years mellowing before batching, proofing, and bottling as-is.
Bottom Line:
This was a damn fine sip of whiskey with real depth. I want to experiment with this with a ton of different cocktail combinations.
2. J.T.S. Brown 100 Bottled In Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 5
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $16
The Whiskey:
This is a quality whiskey from Heaven Hill’s expansive bourbon mash bill (78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye). That means this is the same base juice as Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, several Parker’s Heritages, and Henry McKenna. It’s a bottled-in-bond, meaning it’s from similar stocks to their iconic Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond and a few other whiskeys on this list.
Bottom Line:
This had a great profile. It was more than classic. Say it with me, folks. This is quintessential Kentucky bourbon through and through. Drink it however you like to drink your whiskey.
1. Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 11
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $27
The Whiskey:
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a blend of four whiskeys. The blend is split evenly between the high and low-rye bourbons with a focus on “slight spice” and “rich fruit” yeasts — that means OBSK, OESK, OBSO, and OESO Four Roses recipes are in the mix. After six to seven years of aging, the whiskey is blended, cut with soft Kentucky water, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This was the stand-out — not by far, but clearly so. This is just good goddamn bourbon that’s versatile. Drink it over some rocks. Mix it into your favorite cocktail. Or just sip it neat. You’ll be set no matter which whiskey path you take.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Mainstream Bourbons
This was an illuminating panel. I really enjoyed a lot of these whiskeys. I don’t think I’d skip any of them. And every single one of these whiskeys is relatively cheap and findable. It only proves that you don’t need to chase huge-name-allocated expensive whiskeys all the time. If you’re looking for good to great bourbon, it’s 100% on the shelf right now for an excellent price.
Those platitudes aside, I would focus on the top six or seven bourbons though. Overall, the J.T.S. Brown is a masterpiece that is still somehow under $20. (Yes, I know you can’t get it in every single state). Then there’s the Four Roses Small Batch. That whiskey is just good. You can get it everywhere from CVS to Costco to your local dive. And it’s crazily affordable for the quality of whiskey in that bottle. That’s a win-win, folks.
