There are some amazing bourbons priced between $40 and $50. And I don’t just mean “solid.” I’m talking about “always in the bar cart for the rest of your life”-type sippers landing at this price point.
That, folks, is what makes bourbon so great as a spirit category. You can truly find beauty without breaking the bank.
That’s not to say that there isn’t value in older and more expensive bourbons, of course. There certainly is — often a lot of value. But if you really wanted to, you could stop here and have a pretty good selection of bourbons to choose from for the rest of your days. Part of that is that bourbon gets very good between six and 12 years old — that’s the main age range most of these bourbons fall under. Also, corn is pretty freaking cheap in America.
Again — just to restate! — there are amazing bourbons at higher age statements and price points. But … sometimes you don’t have to show off via a bottle of whiskey. Hype is hype, but good is good.
Below, I’ve called out 25 bottles of bourbon that are readily available at the liquor store (all of these bourbons are at these prices at Total Wine in Louisville, Kentucky). And before tax, they’re going to cost you just under $50. It’s a great price for a bottle of great whiskey.
Let’s dive right in!
25. Jeptha Creed Bloody Butcher Corn Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 49%
Average Price: $47
The Whiskey:
This four-grain bourbon is all about the farm-to-glass experience. The juice is made from a mash with Bloody Butcher corn — a sweeter red corn used by Indigenous Americans throughout the Midwest and South for millennia — grown right outside the still house on an expansive Kentucky farm. The red corn is mixed with malted rye, wheat, and barley in the mash and aged for an undisclosed amount of time before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is like your grandmother’s garden on a berry-picking day on the nose with huge notes of rhododendrons and wisteria next to blackberry jam, blueberry pie, and mason jars of apricot jam with plenty of dark spices layered in.
Palate: The palate holds onto the jammy notes but adds in the rich vanilla pudding, candied walnuts, nutmeg-dusted eggnog, and a tiny echo of cherry sasparilla.
Finish: The dry spices circle back around on the finish with a touch more of that vanilla and a whisper of fresh mint from the garden with a little dirt still on it.
Bottom Line:
This is the biggest crafty on the list. This is the bottle that you grab when you want to taste what the next generation of whiskey makers are doing to push the category forward. There’s a clear classical sense of Kentucky bourbon as a foundation here that then edges toward deeper notes of root beer, gardens, florals, and fruits that take this whiskey to new levels. On the flip side, this isn’t your everyday classic bourbon either. But that’s kind of the point.
24. Blade And Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.5%
Average Price: $43
The Whiskey:
This is a fascinating and unique bottle from Diageo. The core of this whiskey is orphan barrels from Diageo’s Stitzel-Weller distillery (which is now dedicated to the brand). Those last barrels from the iconic distillery — that once made Old Fitzgerald and Pappy back in the day — are blended with sourced whiskeys from unnamed distilleries. The blend is then proofed and bottled with no age statement.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a nuanced bourbon with hints of dried apricot, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, and a slight whisper of banana pulling you in.
Palate: The palate veers more towards the dried stone fruits and raisins, as a counterpoint of juicy pear leads towards hints of soft oak next to grain touches.
Finish: The end leans into the warming spices with a Christmas edge, with the oak and fruits fading out slowly.
Bottom Line:
This is the classic bourbon you’re looking for. This has that iconic Kentucky sweet/spicy vibe that bourbon is beloved for. It’s dialed, succinct, and extremely drinkable as a sipper or cocktail base. It might not “wow”, but it will satisfy any bourbon craving.
23. Rabbit Hole Cavehill Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This four-grain Kentucky bourbon is made with 70% corn, 10% malted wheat, 10% honey malted barley, and 10% malted barley. That spirit is then aged for three years in toasted and charred barrels before it’s small batched from only 15 barrels, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a lot of apple cobbler on the nose with sweet and bright stewed apples, plenty of dark brown spices, brown sugar, buttery pastry cobbles, and a touch of honey sweetness.
Palate: The honey becomes creamy and spiked with orange zest as the malt shines through as a digestive cookie with a hint of fresh mint and more of that honey with a flake of salt.
Finish: The finish brings about that spice again with a little more of a peppery edge this time as the fade slowly falls off, leaving you with a creamy vanilla tobacco feeling.
Bottom Line:
This is a fruity and spicy dessert in a glass. There’s a nice sharpness here that helps this one really shine brightly in a cocktail, especially a classic old fashioned or bourbon sour.
22. Rebel Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel
ABV: 60%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This is Lux Row’s classic wheated bourbon recipe from 1849. The mash is made with 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley before it’s distilled and then left to mature for at least four years. Once aged, the whiskey barrels are batched and then bottled as-is at cask strength (mostly for retailers or bars).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Pecan waffles, pancake syrup, and blueberries drive the nose with a hint of toasted marshmallow and old oak.
Palate: Those blueberries drive the palate toward honeyed Graham Crackers with a sense of almost floral honey, wet brown sugar, and old boot leather.
Finish: That honey amps up through the finish with the leather as cedar kindling and dry tobacco round out the hot finish with a sense of chili peppers stewed in brown sugar syrup with cinnamon and clove.
Bottom Line:
This has a deep nutty edge that’s accented by sharp spice and dark fruit — again, classic. The ABVs are there but this isn’t a hot whiskey. It has a nice warming Kentucky hug that’s perfectly mellowed either via cocktail mixing or a big ol’ rock for sipping.
21. Bulleit Bourbon 10 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.6%
Average Price: $44
The Whiskey:
This is classic (sourced) Bulleit Bourbon that’s aged up to 10 years before it’s blended and bottled. The barrels are hand-selected to really amplify those classic “Bulleit” flavors that make this brand so damn accessible (and beloved) in the first place.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A lot is going on with butter and spicy stewed apples, maple syrup, Christmas cakes full of nuts and dried fruit, and a hint of savory herbs all pinging through your nose.
Palate: The palate brings about smooth and creamy vanilla with plenty of butter toffee, sourdough crust, more X-mas spice, cedar bark, and a hint of dried roses.
Finish: The finish is long, warming, and really embraces the toffee and spice before echoing the stewed fruits and buttery vanillas.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty good choice if you’re looking for a great everyday pour to have stocked. If someone doesn’t like this, they simply don’t like bourbon yet.
20. Horse Soldier Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $43
The Whiskey:
This craft whiskey from Kentucky is made with a mash bill of 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley. The barrels aged a minimum of six years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Butterscotch leads the nose on this sip as ginger snaps mingle with rich and sharp toffee candies next to a touch of vanilla, pepper, and cherry lurking underneath everything.
Palate: The taste really amps up the creaminess of the vanilla and the butteriness of the toffee, as a slight marzipan flourish arrives with a thin layer of freshly cracked black pepper and salted black licorice.
Finish: That pepper marries to the ginger as the heat levels off and fades out leading towards a finish with more of the vanilla and dry wood than anything else.
Bottom Line:
This is a bolder whiskey with a good dose of peppery spice, sharp winter barks, and soft stewed fruits that are all mellowed by velvety vanilla creaminess. ONI short, this is for the sharper spice bourbon fans, which makes this a great sipper (on a rock) or whiskey-forward cocktail base.
19. Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 43.5%
Average Price: $43
The Whiskey:
This celebrity whiskey comes from Vampire Diaries actors Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder. The juice is from an “undisclosed” source from Indiana (MGP, obviously). The mash bill is a four-grain recipe of corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley that’s aged for an undisclosed amount of time before proofing all the down for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is light but distinct with hints of apple cider, soft caramel, a touch of singed oak, and plenty of vanilla.
Palate: The palate leans into notes of marzipan with a fairgrounds caramel apple on a stick that’s just touched with salt and a distant hint of tobacco.
Finish: The finish is short and sweet (and a bit thin) thanks to that low ABV, but does leave you with a nice sense of lush marzipan and applewood tobacco just touched by vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is a really solid cocktail bourbon. The silky vanilla adds a nice texture while the apple cider, spices, and nuttiness add good dimensions of flavor. You can also pour this a table whiskey any ol’ day of the week too.
18. Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 1870 Original Batch
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $44
The Whisky:
This Old Forester celebrates the distillery’s founding in 1870. Back in the day, Geroge Brown would pull barrels from his three distilleries to create a consistent blend to bottle. Today, the good folks at Brown-Forman pull three barrels from three of their Kentucky warehouses. Each barrel will have a different day of distillation, a different entry proof before aging, and different ages. Those barrels are batched and then proofed down.
Tasting Note:
Nose: This opens with a rush of fresh wildflowers next to bold citrus notes — especially grapefruit and orange oils with a dash of lemon zest in the mix — before a deep and stewed cherry arrives with plenty of winter spice.
Palate: The taste takes that lemon and layers it into a very vanilla and butter-forward shortbread with a dusting of raw sugar that leads towards an eggnog spice mix cut with brandied cherries.
Finish: Spiciness drives the finish as a hint of that dark cherry and lemon mingle on the warm and fairly long end.
Bottom Line:
Old Forester tends to lean into the dark cherry. This is a great example of that with plenty of bright citrus and buttery mouthfeel adding more to the mix. Mix this into a Manhattan or old fashioned and you’ll be all set.
17. Wilderness Trail Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
Wilderness Trail is the whiskey nerd’s whiskey. Dr. Pat started off selling yeast to brewers and distillers and helped start this distillery based on making the best of the best. This expression starts with a high rye mash bill of 64% corn, 24% rye, and 12% malted barley. That whiskey is aged on-site and then only 12 barrels are pulled for this small batch expression.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This draws you in with a piping hot apple pie full of stewed apples, wintry spice, and a lard crust accented by vanilla, a touch of applewood, and subtle salted caramel drizzle.
Palate: The palate leans into the stewed apples first, then counters with freshly cracked black pepper before the caramel sweetness takes the mid-palate towards the finish.
Finish: The end is full of winter spices with a hint of peppery tobacco leaf and a touch of dry wicker furniture.
Bottom Line:
This is Kentucky bourbon done exactly right. It’s versatile and delicious. You can’t go wrong with this as an everyday pour or great cocktail base. Should you buy it? Let the tasting notes above guide you.
16. Pinhook High Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $42
The Whiskey:
This contract distilled juice from Pinhook celebrates the young racehorse “Bourbondini.” The whiskey in the bottle is made from a mash of 75% corn, 15% rye, and 10% malted barley. After a long rest, the whiskey is just touched with water and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a big nose full of hot apple cider spiked with clove, raisins, and molasses next to a soft bar of high-quality marzipan all with a whisper of figgy jam in the background.
Palate: The palate leans toward that savory fruit with a hint of dry tropical fruit before a chili-infused dark espresso takes over with a dash of powdered dark chocolate.
Finish: The finish sweetens with rich toffee and brown butter vibe as the charred barrel makes an appearance at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is another great bourbon that goes beyond the ordinary and simply dives deeper.
15. Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $44 (one-liter)
The Whiskey:
This is 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.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this feels classic with a bold sense of rich vanilla pods, cinnamon sharpness, buttered and salted popcorn, and a good dose of cherry syrup with a hint of cotton candy.
Palate: The palate mixes almond, orange, and vanilla into a cinnamon sticky bun 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 root beer, old leather boots, porch wicker, and a sense of dried cherry/cinnamon tobacco packed into an old pine box.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the most widely available “premium” bourbons out there. It’s a damn good whiskey that’s built for making your favorite whiskey cocktails. That doesn’t mean that you can’t pour this over ice and sip away.
14. Cedar Ridge Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This Iowa whiskey is all about the Iowa corn. The mash is 74% corn, 14% malted rye, and 12% malted barley which has rested in oak for several years. Since the temperature in Iowa swings by 100 degrees through a single year, aging doesn’t need to last forever. When the barrels are just right, they’re batched and bottled completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of orchard fruits and barks that leads to a dry grassy graininess (hello, craft whiskey) with a soft apple pie and peach cobbler vibe that leads to a floral honey cut with clear Caro corn syrup sweetness.
Palate: That sweetness attaches to the dry grains on the palate with a sense of white cornmeal over smudging sage with a hint of orchard and winter spice bark rounding out the palate before the ABVs start to rise.
Finish: The rise of the ABVs peaks pretty quickly with a pleasant buzzing, more honeyed sweetness, and dry prairie grasses on a summer’s day.
Bottom Line:
This is another great crafty to add to your bar cart. The essential bourbon notes are there with extra layers of sweetgrass, soft grains, and diverse fruits. This is also tasty AF in general and has a great mouthfeel that’s warming and bold.
13. Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.2%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This expression takes standard Woodford Bourbon and gives it a finishing touch. The bourbon is blended and moved into new barrels that have been double-toasted but only lightly charred. The juice spends a final nine months resting in those barrels before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a welcoming aroma of marzipan, blackberry, toffee, and fresh honey next to a real sense of pitchy, dry firewood.
Palate: The taste drills down on those notes as the sweet marzipan becomes more choco-hazelnut, the berries become increasingly dried and apple-y, the toffee becomes almost burnt, and the wood softens to a cedar bark.
Finish: A rich spicy and chewy tobacco arrives late as the vanilla gets super creamy and the fruit and honey combine on the slow fade.
Bottom Line:
This is probably the most approachable sipper on the list. It’s so easygoing while delivering a unique and varied profile. This also makes a mean whiskey-forward cocktail.
12. George Dickel Bottled in Bond Tennessee Whisky Fall 2008 Aged 13 Years
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $43
The Whisky:
Master Distiller Nicole Austin has been killing it with these bottled-in-bond releases from George Dickel. This release is a whiskey that was warehoused in the fall of 2008. 13 years later, this juice was bottled at 100 proof (as per the bottled-in-bond law) and left to rest. Last fall, new releases of that Tennessee whiskey were sent out to much acclaim.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sour cherries, maple syrup, and pecan waffles mingle with dried apple chips, old leather boots, and winter spice with a hint of vanilla wafers on the nose.
Palate: The taste leans toward spicy apple pie filling with walnuts, plenty of cinnamon, and some raisins before malted vanilla milkshakes, blueberry cotton candy, and dark chocolate milk arrive on the mid-palate and lead toward a moist oatmeal cookie dipped in salted caramel.
Finish: The end has a dry woody spiciness with star anise, cinnamon, and allspice mingling with marzipan and cherry/cinnamon tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a whisky that continually flies under the radar. It’s a great whisky that deserves more hype (yes, it wins awards but still doesn’t get called enough for as good as it is). You can easily sip this over some rocks or mix it into your favorite cocktail and it’ll shine.
That’s before you even get to the point that this is a 13-year-old bourbon that costs less than $50.
11. Still Austin Whiskey Co. Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 59%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
The folks at Still Austin have spent the last six years perfecting their grain-to-glass whiskey experience. The juice is rendered with grains from Texas and water from the ground beneath their feet, all imbued with a crafty Texas vibe in every sip. The actual whiskey is a two-year-old bourbon that’s batched to highlight the bright fruits of the new and crafty whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is fruity like a tropical hazy IPA with clear notes of pineapple, lemon-lime, and maybe a slight hint of savory papaya next to more typical bourbon notes of vanilla, holiday spices, and caramel.
Palate: There’s a clear sense of those spices on the palate with a hint of dark chocolate leading back to all that fruit, a touch of marzipan, and a dash of vanilla cream pie.
Finish: The end warms a bit with the fruitiness waning towards a spicy choco-tobacco end.
Bottom Line:
This is a fun and kind of wild ride from dank and fruity craft to classic bourbon, all in one mouthful. If you’re looking for a start in Texas bourbon, this is a great place to take the first step.
10. Rowan’s Creek Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50.05%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This whiskey used to be a 12-year small batch offering named after the creek that runs through Willett Distillery. It’s still named after the creek, but the 12-year age statement is gone. The whiskey is cut down to a very specific 100.1 proof with Kentucky limestone water before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with notes of salted caramel, woody cherry tobacco, a touch of leather, and vanilla wafers countered by savory herbs (think rosemary and maybe sage) next to light but fresh roses.
Palate: The taste goes hard with the cherry tobacco to the point that it’s nearly sticky on the palate as the roses dry out and the vanilla and caramel almost feel dried out and attached to a dry cedar bark.
Finish: A hint of winter spice comes in late as the finish leans back into the dry roses and singed cherry tobacco leaves.
Bottom Line:
This is quintessential Kentucky bourbon that’s amazingly easy to drink. It’s so soft and supple while delivering a deep and varied profile of everything that you want from bourbon and more. This is also an excellent choice for making refined and really tasty bourbon cocktails.
9. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Botted-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This brand-new release from Bardstown Bourbon Company is 100% their own whiskey. The juice is made from a wheated bourbon mash bill — 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley — down in Bardstown, Kentucky. The whiskey spends about six years mellowing before it’s just kissed with local water and bottled at 100 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a sense of orange Jolly Ranchers, powdered cacao, and stewed peaches with classic bourbon vanilla and an oaky vibe.
Palate: The palate is a mix of apricot jam, pear cores, and red berries with a mix of spiced orange candy tobacco wrapped around dry wicker and cedar bark.
Finish: The end leans into the sweet and spiced orange while the tobacco slowly fades through sweet caramel and vanilla buttercream toward a silky finish.
Bottom Line:
That bright orange and deep berry vibe makes this a wonderful old fashioned base. This also works as an approachable table whiskey too. This has everything you’ll want from a good classic bourbon.
8. Michter’s US *1 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.7%
Average Price: $43
The Whiskey:
Michter’s really means the phrase “small batch” here. The tank they use to marry their hand-selected eight-year-old bourbons can only hold 20 barrels, so that’s how many go into each small-batch bottling. The blended juice is then proofed with Kentucky’s famously soft limestone water and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this is very fruity with a mix of bruised peach, red berries (almost like in a cream soda), and apple wood next to a plate of waffles with brown butter and a good pour of maple syrup that leads to a hint of cotton candy.
Palate: The sweetness ebbs on the palate as vanilla frosting leads to grilled peaches with a crack of black pepper next to singed marshmallows.
Finish: The end is plummy and full of rich toffee next to a dash of cedar bark and vanilla tobacco.
Bottom Line:
Not to be overly cliched, but if you only buy one bourbon for mixing cocktails, it should be this. Michter’s Small Batch works in every cocktail application without getting lost in the mix.
7. Heaven Hill Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled-In-Bond
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $44
The Whiskey:
This expression has been a touchstone “bottled-in-bond” since 1939 and remains a go-to for many bourbon lovers. The whiskey is the classic Heaven Hill bourbon mash bill that’s left to age for an extra three years compared to Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond (also from Heaven Hill and the same base spirit).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with this rich and creamy vanilla ice cream (you know the kind that’s likely labeled “Tahitian”) that’s drizzled with a buttery and salty caramel sauce next to soft leather and dried apple blossoms with a hint of old cedar bark braids.
Palate: A floral honey vibe melds with Graham Crackers on the palate as creamy toffee covered in crushed almonds mingles with vanilla-laced pipe tobacco and old leather-bound books.
Finish: There’s a bit of freshly ground nutmeg near the end that leads to a light cherry tobacco note with whispers of old cellar beams and winter spices on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is where we get into the “you can just buy this and be good forever” area of the list. This whiskey really has it all when it comes to bourbon and doesn’t disappoint as a cocktail base or sipper.
6. Pure Kentucky XO Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $40
The Whiskey:
This is yet another of Willett’s “small batch” bourbons. This one is 12 years old and barely proofed down before going in the bottle. While it’s generally a Kentucky-only release, it is a $40 bottle — making it one of Kentucky’s best-kept secrets.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with rich buttery toffee syrup drizzled over a vanilla sponge cake with hints of smoky cherrywood, dry potpourri, and menthol tobacco.
Palate: The palate leans into the toffee and cherrywood and layers in notes of wintry spices, green peppercorns, nougat, and old library leather.
Finish: That toffee and cherry sweeten the mid-palate as the peppery spice, old leather, and cherry tobacco merge on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is an easy “yes” as an everyday pour of deep and essential Kentucky bourbon. if you do come to Kentucky this year, buy a case and bring it home.
5. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Tennessee Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $48
The Whiskey:
This was first introduced in 1997. The whiskey is hand-selected from barrels on the upper floors of Jack’s vast Tenessee rickhouses. The whisky is bottled at a slightly higher proof to allow the nuance of the single-barrel whiskey to shine.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The banana notes are drawn way back here and replaced by a clear sense of toasted oak, dark cherry, apple tobacco, and a hint of molasses.
Palate: That oak is the underpinning for notes of caramel corn, mild winter spice barks, and plenty of oily vanilla beans that are all countered by a soft cherry soda with a whisper of clove.
Finish: The sweet banana fruit is there on the end and marries well to a peppery spice, cherry gum, and mulled wine that amps up as the end draws near with plenty of that toasted wood lingering the longest.
Bottom Line:
This is the perfect after-dinner pour. It’s lighter thanks to those low ABVs but still delivers a punch of flavor.
4. Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
ABV: 56.25%
Average Price: $42
The Whisky:
This special release from Maker’s Mark is their classic wheated bourbon turned up a few notches. The batch is made from no more than 19 barrels of whiskey. Once batched, that whiskey goes into the barrel at cask strength with no filtering, just pure whiskey-from-the-barrel vibes.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Burnt caramel candies and lush vanilla lead the way on the nose with hints of dry straw, sour cherry pie, and spiced apple cider with a touch of eggnog lushness.
Palate: The palate has a sense of spicy caramel with a vanilla base that leads to apricot jam, southern biscuits, and a flake of salt with a soft mocha creaminess.
Finish: The end is all about the buzzy tobacco spiciness with a soft vanilla underbelly and a hint of cherry syrup.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best Maker’s Mark bottles that money can buy. You can sip it or mix it and you’ll be set.
3. Four Roses Small Batch Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 52%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This expression uses six of Four Rose’s ten whiskeys. The blend employs OBSV, OBSK, OBSF, OESV, OESK, and OESF (see what that all means here) all aged six to seven years before batching, much lighter proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This nose is enticing with a mix of dark berries and cloves with a yeasty doughnut filled with dark fruit and covered in powdered sugar next to a thin line of berry brambles — stems, thorns, dirt, leaves, everything.
Palate: The palate is lush with a balance of dark berry pie filling next to winter spices, mincemeat pies, nutshells, and brandy butter vanilla sauce.
Finish: The finish arrives with a rush of fresh mint next to wet cedar, blackberry Hostess Pies, and nutmeg-heavy eggnog all leading to a final note of that dark berry bramble black dirt.
Bottom Line:
This is another great Kentucky bourbon. It’s a great sipper over a big rock while also shining as a cocktail base for fruity and classic cocktails.
This is such an easy “yes” when you see it on the shelf. Buy two and give one away.
2. Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 10 Years
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This might be one of the most beloved (and still accessible) bottles from Buffalo Trace. This whiskey is made from their very low rye mash bill. The hot juice is then matured for at least ten years in various parts of the warehouse. The final mix comes down to barrels that hit just the right notes to make them “Eagle Rare.” Finally, this one is proofed down to a fairly low 90 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old leather boots, burnt orange rinds, oily sage, old oak staves, and buttery toffee draw you in on the nose before a sense of old fallow fruit orchards with falling leaves hints at old brick barrelhouses in the distance with a whisper of dried apple.
Palate: Marzipan covered in dark chocolate opens the palate as floral honey and ripe cherry lead to a winter cake vibe full of raisins, dark spices, and toffee sauce before deep and earthy barrel warehouse vibes arrive with a sense of the cobwebs, mold, and ancient wood takes over.
Finish: The end has a balance of all things winter treats as the marzipan returns and the winter spice amp up alongside a hint of spicy cherry tobacco and old cedar wrapped with smudging sage, old fall leaves, and bourbon-soaked oak stave from decades ago.
Bottom Line:
This is another “I’m done, I’ll drink this from now on” bourbons. I love this over a big rock or in an old fashioned.
1. Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58.4%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This is the mountaintop of what the main line of Wild Turkey can achieve (this is easily found on liquor store shelves for the most part). This is a blend of the prime barrels that are married and bottled untouched. That means no filtering and no cutting with water. This is a classic Turkey bourbon with nowhere to hide.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens like a dessert table during the holidays with crème brûlée next to a big sticky toffee pudding with orange zest sprinkled over the top next to a bushel of fresh mint.
Palate: The palate hits an early note of pine resin as the orange kicks up towards a bold wintry spice, soft vanilla cream, and a hint of honeyed cherry tobacco.
Finish: The end keeps the winter spices front and center as a lush pound cake feeling leads to soft notes of cherry-spiced tobacco leaves folded into an old cedar box with a whisper of old vanilla pods lurking in the background.
Bottom Line:
This bourbon has everything you could want from a refined and delicious Kentucky bourbon. It’s perfect … really. Buy a case and be done with it.
