“Affordable” bourbon whiskey is often equated with trash whiskey these days. People are more than happy to pay $50, $80, and more for a bottle of bourbon that’s maybe only four years old and has a fancy label (and some good marketing). That’s sort of wild, considering there are tons of great bottles of classic straight bourbon on the shelf ranging from $15 to $30 per bottle that are generally just as refined, and often older.
No on wants to help pay off the marketing budget for a whiskey that isn’t very good, so I thought we’d focus on the latter group in our latest blind taste test. Sound good? Great!
These days you do hear a lot of, “How can it be good if it’s so cheap?” Well, your standard straight bourbon whiskey has to adhere to pretty strict rules about how it’s made, including having no additives. It’s also generally four to six years old when bottled by the big distillers out there, and the people doing the distilling and bottling tend to know what they’re doing since they can put a bottle on the shelf for around $20 and still turn a profit. Of course, not all of it is good. There’s plenty of trash on those lower shelves even amongst something as refined as straight bourbon whiskey. That’s where the blind taste test comes in, folks.
Below, I’m blind taste-testing 10 of the most recognizable and revered affordable bourbons on the shelf. These are cheap straight bourbons that actually win awards and make those subjective “underrated” lists all the time. These are all bottles that are also still gettable and affordable (depending on where you live). Once I taste these bottles, I’m going to rank them according to which ones taste the best, carry the most depth, and actually feel like something… well… more.
Our lineup today is:
- Maker’s Mark
- Old Tub
- Elijah Craig Small Batch
- Wild Turkey 101
- Benchmark Small Batch
- Heaven Hill Old Style Bourbon 6 Years Old
- Jim Beam Single Barrel
- George Dickel Bourbon Whisky Aged 8 Years
- Weller Special Reserve
- 1792 Small Batch
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Part 1: The Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
There’s a soft and grassy nose with a sour cherry vine next to sweetgrass, vanilla, and a touch of caramel apple — pretty classic bourbon. The palate leans into the caramel apple vibe while adding layers of dark winter spices, plums, black cherry soda pop, and apple pie with a hint of thinness. The end has a black cherry tobacco twinge next to wet granite and apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks.
This was a nice pour that’s a little sweet and wet (as in, a little over-proofed with water in my opinion).
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
There’s a whisper of cumin and chili pepper on the nose with a sweet yellow corn meal, a hint of butterscotch, and a mix of creamy honey and creamy eggnog with plenty of nutmeg and allspice next to a very distant dry woody note. The palate has a touch of candy corn next o Almond Joys, sweet cinnamon Hot Tamales, and black cherry tobacco leaves rolled up with dried sweetgrass. The end is lightly dry with a sawdust vibe next to apple stems and burnt orange.
This is pretty good overall and fully formed.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a hint of taco seasoning mix next to vanilla malts, caramel apple, and a touch of fresh mint. The taste opens with smooth vanilla and spicy winter spice mix that’s cinnamon and allspice heavy with a touch of anise next to oaky tobacco. The end has a nice woodiness that leans more toward pine tar and broom bristles with a soft and sweet vanilla cream cut with toffee and vanilla lattes.
This is really nice.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Sweet and buttery toffee is countered by burnt orange, old oak, and a hint of cumin and red chili pepper flakes. 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. 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.
This really works well. It’s deep and kind of playful with citrus and spice notes.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Soft leather and old vanilla pods mix with old lawn furniture sitting in green grass with a hint of floral honey and apple pie on the nose. The palate has a rich toffee vibe next to sweet cinnamon and plenty of eggnog creamy/spicy vibes that leads to a nutmeg-heavy mocha latte. There’s a sense of dried corn husks on the finish with a mix of rum-raisin, vanilla pound cake, and cherry bark-infused tobacco layered into an old cedar box.
This really popped on the nose and the palate. It’s fun and tasty.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
There’s a sweet sense of oak on the nose next to mint chocolate chip ice cream, brown sugar, and dried cinnamon sticks. The palate has a light smooth vanilla base with a pecan waffle vibe next to maple syrup and cinnamon butter. The end adds a layer of warm but mild chili pepper spice next to cherry/vanilla tobacco with a whisper of sweet oak.
This is fine. It’s nice and easy.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
You’re greeted with vanilla pound cake drizzled with salted caramel, mulled wine spices, and a cherry hand pie with powdered sugar icing that’s just touched with dark chocolate and maybe some broom bristles and corn husks. The taste leans into floral honey cut with orange oils next to sticky toffee pudding and cherry tobacco packed into an old leather pouch. There’s a hint of coconut cream pie next to woody winter spices on the finish with a touch more of that cherry tobacco married to salted dark chocolate all layered with dry sweetgrass and cedar bark.
This is a winner right here. It’d deep yet playful and accessible. It’s also just freakin’ classic from top to bottom.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Speaking of classic, the nose opens with creamy vanilla next to spiced tobacco with plenty of apple pie vibe and winter spices with a butter underbelly. The palate has a light bran muffin with a molasses vibe next to vanilla/nougat wafers (hello, Tennessee) that then leads to peach skins and gingerbread. The end leans into the nutty chocolate and vanilla wafer with a touch of orange zest, marzipan, and mint tobacco with a dry wicker end.
This is subtle and nice, though it’s very clearly an outlier.
Taste 9
Tasting Notes:
Nougat and old oak staves mingle with sour cherries, old vanilla pods, and sourdough apple fritters all wrapped up in new leather. The palate adds in stewed apples with plenty of allspice and nutmeg next to rum-raisin, pecans, and ginger tobacco. The end brings about dark cherry sour/sweetness with a touch of brown sugar, cinnamon-spiked apple cider, and fresh pipe tobacco with a twinge of dry wicker and old cedar.
This is another winning bourbon. It’s just good, full stop.
Taste 10
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a woody cherry bark next to sour apple pies, distiller’s beer, and caramel candies next to vanilla cream with a counterpoint of cumin and dry chili lurking in the deeper reaches of the nose. The palate opens with a Cherry Coke feel next to rich and buttery toffee, vanilla malts, and sharp Hot Tamales cinnamon candy with a nod toward allspice and root beer. The end is soft and lush with vanilla smoothness leading to black cherry tobacco braided with cedar bark and wicker.
This, again, is really freakin’ tasty, meaning this ranking is going to be brutal.
Part 2: The Ranking
10. Maker’s Mark — Taste 1
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $24
The Whisky:
This is Maker’s signature expression. It’s made from red winter wheat with corn and malted barley and then aged in seasoned Ozark oak for six to seven years. This expression’s juice is then built from only 150 barrels (making this a small batch, if you want to call it that). Those barrels are blended, proofed, bottled, and dipped in red wax.
Bottom Line:
This felt like a great cocktail bourbon from the jump. Mixed into a Manhattan or an old fashioned and this will shine, covering up that lower ABV wateriness on the finish.
9. Old Tub — Taste 2
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $20
The Whiskey:
Back in 2020, Beam decided to release this “distillery-only” expression nationwide. The classic Jim Beam juice is a tribute to what the brand was before Prohibition. “Jim Beam” used to be “Old Tub” as a brand back then. Anyway, the juice in this bottle is Beam’s low-rye bourbon that’s batched to comply with Bonded laws, meaning the barrels are from one distilling season, from one distillery and distiller, and bottled at 100 proof.
Bottom Line:
This is another bourbon that felt like a great cocktail base from the nose to the finish. The higher ABV here means it’ll cocktail nicely with a little extra oompf while providing a solid flavor profile to build off.
8. Heaven Hill Old Style Bourbon 6 Years Old — Taste 6
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $13
The Whiskey:
Heaven Hill’s Old Style Bourbon is always affordable and very palatable. The whiskey is Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon mash that goes into this, Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, and so forth. This expression adds an extra two years (or so) of aging to Heaven Hill’s entry-level “Old Style” juice (their White Label version).
Bottom Line:
This was very much in the “fine” category. I can see it working wonders in a cocktail but wouldn’t really bother with it as a sipper. Well, maybe over a lot of rocks and a dash of bitters.
7. Elijah Craig Small Batch — Taste 3
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $26
The Whiskey:
This is Elijah Craig’s entry-point bottle. The mash is corn-focused, with more malted barley than rye. The whiskey is then rendered from “small batches” of barrels to create this proofed-down version of the iconic brand.
Bottom Line:
This is where we get into the workhorse whiskeys. This feels as viable as a cocktail bourbon as it does as an on-the-rocks sipper. It didn’t jump out at me like the next entries, but there was exactly zero wrong with this one.
6. George Dickel Bourbon Whisky Aged 8 Years — Taste 8
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $34
The Whiskey:
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 whiskey notes. The barrels are a minimum of eight years old before they’re vatted. The juice is then cut down to a manageable 90-proof and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This is just good bourbon with a unique flavor profile. There are a lot more grain and wafer vibes in the mix. I like that, but this still feels like a workhorse that works in cocktails or on the rocks. I wouldn’t really reach for this as a neat sipper.
5. Wild Turkey 101 — Taste 4
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $20
The Whiskey:
Classic Wild Turkey 101 starts with their classic 75/13/12 mash bill that inches the malted barley just above the rye in the mix. That whiskey then spends at least six years in the cask before it’s batched and just kissed with Kentucky limestone water before bottling.
Bottom Line:
This is the last of the workhorses but the closest to a whiskey I wanted to reach for neat but wasn’t quite there. That said, this on the rocks with a dash of bitters rules.
4. Weller Special Reserve — Taste 9
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $30
The Whiskey:
This is classic wheated bourbon that’s blended, proofed, and bottled as a just-north-of-budget whiskey expression. We don’t know the age or mash bill though since Buffalo Trace keeps all that information very close to its chest.
Bottom Line:
This was very distinct on the nose and palate and felt like an easy sipper. The only reason it’s a little lower on this ranking is that it was just classic and nothing popped out.
3. 1792 Small Batch — Taste 10
ABV: 46.85%
Average Price: $28
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from Barton 1792 Distillery is a no-age-statement release made in “small batches.” The mash is unknown but Sazerac does mention that it’s a “high rye” mash bill, which could really mean anything. The juice is batched from select barrels and then proofed down and bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
This popped a little bit more than the sip above. It’s easy to drink and feels like a fun ride when sipped neat or on the rocks.
2. Benchmark Small Batch — Taste 5
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $19
The Whiskey:
This is a one-step-up “small batch” from Buffalo Trace’s budget brand, Benchmark. There’s not a whole lot of information on what this is exactly when it comes to the mash bill or aging. The “batch” could be 20 barrels or 200. We do know that the bourbon is cut down to 90-proof before bottling.
Bottom Line:
This really lights up the palate. The nose is deep and inviting and the taste is fresh while still feeling classic. It’s also really approachable while offering balance and nuance. It just wasn’t quite as deep and fun as the next entry.
1. Jim Beam Single Barrel — Taste 7
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $24
The Whiskey:
Jim Beam’s single-barrel bottlings are pulled from single barrels that hit just the right spot of taste, texture, and drinkability, according to the master distillers at Beam. That means this juice is pulled from less than 1% of all barrels in Beam’s warehouses, making this an exceptional bottle at a bafflingly affordable price.
Bottom Line:
This is just delicious. It’s a super easy sipper neat with real depth (and you will find new nuances every time you go back in for more). This tasted the best and it kind of wasn’t close.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
The fact that Jim Beam can put a single barrel expression on the shelf — worldwide — for around $25 is f*cking wild. There are single barrel expressions that cost 10 times that that aren’t that much better. Trust me on this.
Look, all of these bourbons tasted good. Some were a little thinner than others. But let me reiterate — they all tasted good. You’d be fine getting any of these. And, shit, you can buy a case of any of these for the price of a single bottle of something that tastes 10, maybe 20% better? And if you’re mixing cocktails, all of these bottles are the way you want to go. They all work fine and will make a perfectly decent cocktail.
I guess the lesson here is this: The next time you’re in the liquor store, maybe look a little bit lower on the shelf instead of higher.
