The $30 to $40 range for a bottle of bourbon is the real sweet spot. You’re well under $50 per bottle. The price range is pretty average, so you’ll be able to find the bottles. And there are just a ton of great bourbons priced in this range.
That said, there are also a lot of mediocre bottles. That’s where we come in. I’m here to guide your hand when reaching for a great bottle of bourbon under $40 at your local liquor store. To that end, I’m calling out 15 bourbons — all under $40 — that are pretty damn great.
Most of the bottles below could be priced at $60, $70, or over $90 per bottle and most people wouldn’t blink an eye. They’re that tasty. That said, I did rank them against one another — some of them simply have more depth and beauty. So read through my tasting notes, find the bourbon or bourbons that speak to you, and then hit that price link to snag a bottle of your own.
15. George Dickel Bourbon Whisky Aged 8 Years
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.
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.
Bottom Line:
People like to rag on Dickel for being an inferior whisky. It’s a complaint from a different era. Dickel has been producing some of the best juice out of Kentucky for a while now and this bottle is proof positive of that brilliance. This is simply whisky at first glance that goes beyond the average if you give it a moment to bloom via a tasty cocktail or a few rocks in a glass.
14. Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $35
The Whiskey:
This much-lauded bourbon is Woodinville’s touchstone expression. The whiskey is made with those same family farm grains. The hot juice spends years in the toasted and heavily charred barrels maturing until it’s just right (around five years in total). The results are batched and proofed down with local water to a very welcoming 90 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: You’re greeted with a thick vanilla pudding with caramel candy and a cedar box full of dark spices.
Palate: The caramel thickens to a buttery and rich toffee with notes of dark chocolate peeking in next to more of those woody spices and a vanilla oil velvetiness.
Finish: The end is long and embraces the sweeter edges of the vanilla pudding while allowing the spice to warm the senses.
Bottom Line:
This is really solid craft bourbon that’s best used as a building block for cocktails. I would lean floral and citrus-forward with the cocktails — think spring and summer sippers.
13. High West Bourbon A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $33
The Whiskey:
High West Bourbon is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after sourced whiskeys. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of two to 13-year-old barrels rendered from high-rye and low-rye mashes alongside undisclosed whiskeys, some of which are sourced from MGP.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a hint of funk on the nose that leads to raw leather, vanilla pudding, and buttered sweetcorn.
Palate: The taste is soft and velvety with a touch of nougat next to quickbread biscuits with plenty of butter and vanilla-laced honey.
Finish: The finish dries out toward vanilla pods and cedar bark with a hint of apple chips with a flake of Kosher salt.
Bottom Line:
This Utah-meets-Indiana whiskey is a solid choice for any home bar cart, especially if you’re looking for a great cocktail base. The flavor notes are classic with a deep sense of grains, vanilla, and savoriness.
12. Woodford Reserve Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45.2%
Average Price: $31
The Whiskey:
This is the entry point to Woodford Reserve. The mash bill mixes 18% rye with plenty of corn and malted barley. After triple distilling on pot stills the whiskey is blended with column-distilled whiskey. The bourbon then rests for six to seven years before barrels are pulled for blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s that classic note of bourbon vanilla up top but it doesn’t overwhelm the notes of dark chocolate oranges, dried fruits, spicy tobacco, and a distant wisp of fresh mint.
Palate: A lovely toffee richness creates a well-rounded mouthfeel as notes of spicy and chewy tobacco mingle with dark chocolate dust, more orange oils, and a touch of cinnamon sticks.
Finish: The end is pure velvet, lingers for just the right amount of time, and brings the whole sip together.
Bottom Line:
This is an essential gateway bourbon. The flavors are pure classic bourbon with a lean toward spicy tobacco and dark fruit, all of which work wonders in whiskey-forward cocktails.
11. 1792 Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 49.3%
Average Price: $37
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from Sazerac’s other Kentucky distillery of note (they own both Buffalo Trace and Barton’s 1792 distilleries) is a bit of a hidden gem. As with all Sazerac products, there’s a lot of secrecy around what the actual mash bill is, aging times, and so forth. It is likely a high-rye mash that’s aged over five years.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Salted caramel and apple pies lead the nose with a nice dose of nuttiness, winter spices, and eggnog creaminess with a butter vanilla underbelly.
Palate: Bruised peaches with clove and nutmeg drive the palate toward woody orchard barks, rich toffee, and a sense of vanilla cake with cardamom icing.
Finish: The end is softly full of woody cedar bark, cream soda, and apple-cinnamon tobacco.
Bottom Line:
You’ll have to keep your eye out for these as special releases at your local liquor store. When they do drop, buy as many as they’ll let you. This is an enjoyable bourbon with killer classic notes that are soft and inviting, making this a great on-the-rocks sipper or base for your favorite whiskey cocktail.
10. Penelope Bourbon Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $35
The Whiskey:
Standard Penelope Bourbon is a great place to start with the brand’s ever-expanding line. This expression is an MGP four-grain bourbon that’s aged a minimum of two years before vatting, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This whiskey opens with a nose full of wet yellow masa next to a buttery Graham cracker crust holding a light vanilla pudding that’s countered by a note of red chili spice and a touch of cinnamon.
Palate: The taste is very soft and touches on stewed raisins, more of that vanilla, sweet oak, and some orange.
Finish: The softness leans back into that wet masa while the finish smooths out with vanilla before ending on that chili pepper spice.
Bottom Line:
This doesn’t have any business tasting this refined for a two-year-old product. The spice and creamy grains mellow massively over some ice or in a cocktail (think citrus or fruit-focused).
9. Remus Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $34
The Whiskey:
This is the entry-point bottle to the beloved Remus Reserve yearly releases. The whiskey is MGP’s bourbon (from the Ross & Squibb branded distillery) but they don’t let us know the mash bill or how long these barrels age before they go into the batch.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is full of berry brambles heavy with sweet, tart, and dark berries, thorny stems, green leaves, and even a little dark soil next to Cherry Coke with a hint of spicy and a touch of sweet oak.
Palate: The cherry morphs into a syrupy and spicy cherry pie with a lard crust next to hints of vanilla pudding, brittle toffee, and more of that soft and sweet oak.
Finish: The finish is short and sweet and highlights that cherry while layering in new leather, more oak, and nice and lush vanilla cream.
Bottom Line:
This is just good bourbon through and through. It’s a great example of the high-quality juice MGP of Indiana has always been producing. Overall, get this to make some killer at-home cocktails for any season.
8. Starlight Distillery Carl T. Huber’s Signature Indiana Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $34
The Whiskey:
This crafty Southern Indiana whiskey is made with a high-corn mash bill in a tiny farm distillery. The hot juice is aged on-site among the apple and peach orchards for at least four or five years before it’s batched, proofed, and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a mild sense of sweet orchard fruits next to buttered cornbread with a hint of green chili pepper, touches of vanilla oils, and a hint of orange zest.
Palate: The palate has a sweet grits vibe with a buttery underpinning that leads to vanilla cake, caramel frosting, and a twinge of marshmallow sweetness countered by woody spice and orchard tree bark.
Finish: The woody spice leads to a finish full of eggnog creaminess and a hint of burnt orange by way of cinnamon sticks with a whisper of apple cider to them.
Bottom Line:
Sticking with Indiana, this farm-to-table whiskey is a hidden gem. The whiskey works wonders in any form of cocktail (it shines with berry and fruit-forward applications) while also working as a great table whiskey for easy everyday sipping over some ice.
7. Old Bardstown Estate Bottled 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $36
The Whiskey:
Since this is a Willett product, we can also assume this is good ol’ Heaven Hill whiskey. We do know that this is a “small batch” and from barrels that are a minimum of four years old (some say as old as ten). But that’s about it.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The whiskey opens with a note of wintry plum pudding next to an oatmeal cookie, a hint of worn leather, and dried mint leaves.
Palate: The palate luxuriates in vanilla-laced pancakes dripping with real maple syrup, a touch of orange zest, and a little more of that leather next to a mild spicy tobacco leaf.
Finish: That tobacco leaf attaches to a woodiness that’s almost wet like cordwood as the vanilla smoothes out the finish and leaves you with a smooth menthol tobacco vibe.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bottle to grab when you can’t find a green foil Willett. It’s made by the same family and has a very high quality through and through. I’d still lean toward mixing up great whiskey-forward cocktails with this one, but you can 100% sip this over a big rock and be pretty happy about it.
6. Jack Daniel’s Bonded Tennessee Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $30
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is made from Jack’s classic mash of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye before it’s twice distilled and run through Jack’s long Lincoln County sugar maple charcoal filtration process. The spirit then goes into the barrel for at least four years — per bonded law — before it’s batched, cut down with a little water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with Cherry Jolly Ranchers next to sweet cedar bark braided with old strands of leather and orange-laced tobacco leaves with a hint of vanilla wafer and general “health food store” vibes underneath it all.
Palate: The palate feels like warm apple pie on a sunny day with the best vanilla ice cream on top as layers of eggnog nutmeg and creaminess move toward a Cream of Wheat vibe.
Finish: Some apple wood chips for a smoker and a hint of almond shells pop on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is another whiskey that is helping completely change the way people think about Tennessee whiskey (and Jack Daniel’s in general). This higher-proof Jack is perfect for mixing cocktails of any variety. It’s also attuned enough to work as an everyday table sipper over some good ice.
Hell, you can throw this into some Coke and be pretty stoked about it too. That’s versatility.
5. Legent Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $39
The Whiskey:
This bottle from Beam Suntory marries Kentucky bourbon, California wine, and Japanese whisky blending in one bottle. Legent is classic Kentucky bourbon made by bourbon legend Fred Noe at Beam that’s finished in both French oak that held red wine and Spanish sherry casks. The whiskey is then blended by whisky-blending legend Shinji Fukuyo at Suntory.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Plummy puddings with hints of nuts mingle with vinous berries, oaky spice, and a good dose of vanilla and toffee on the nose.
Palate: The palate expands on the spice with more barky cinnamon and dusting of nutmeg while the oak becomes sweeter and the fruit becomes dried and sweet.
Finish: The finish is jammy yet light with plenty of fruit, spice, and oak lingering on the senses.
Bottom Line:
This is where we get into the clear sippers. Yes, this makes an amazing Manhattan, but a pour of this over a single rock is a sipper’s delight.
4. Evan Williams Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 43.3%
Average Price: $38
The Whiskey:
This is Heaven Hill’s hand-selected single barrel Evan Williams expression. The whiskey is from a single barrel, labeled with its distillation year, proofed just above 86, and bottled as is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a nice nose full of woody cherry and salted caramel with a tart apple edge and a soft leatheriness.
Palate: The palate feels and tastes “classic” with notes of wintry spices (eggnog especially) with a lush creaminess supported by soft vanilla, a hint of orange zest, and plenty of spicy cherry tobacco.
Finish: The end is supple with a hint of tart apple tobacco with a light caramel candy finish.
Bottom Line:
Look, I know this is a cliché. But if you buy only one Evan Williams, make it this one. This is a great whiskey for a great price. Yes, it’s Kentucky exclusive now but it’s worth picking up a case when you come to visit the Bourbon Trail in 2024.
3. Coopers’ Craft Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 100-Proof Barrel Reserve
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $31
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 were then batched, slightly proofed with that Kentucky limestone water, and bottled.
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 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.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those whiskeys that surprise you from nose to finish. It’s really freaking good, especially at this price point. It could easily beat some $50 bourbons in a blind (not all, but some for sure). It’s also a nice sipper over a rock or a great base for any whiskey-forward cocktail.
2. Green River Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Sour Mash Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $36
The Whiskey:
This 2023 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.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This pops on the nose with rich caramel next to soft roasted peach and apricot next to a rush of cinnamon bark and nutmeg with a creamy vibe.
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.
Bottom Line:
This is the best candidate for an old fashioned on the list. It just works in the cocktail better than most others (even at higher price points). It’s also a mighty fine sipper over some rocks.
1. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $37
The Whiskey:
This small-batch expression is hand-selected by both Jimmy and Eddie Russell (the father and son team behind all of Wild Turkey’s line). The duo picks out ten-year-old barrels that hit just the right spot in both flavor and texture then small-batch them into this tasty bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a classic bourbon nose with clear notes of spiced cherry cola, lush vanilla, salted caramel, and soft oak next to almost botanical winter spices.
Palate: The taste delivers with more lush vanilla next to spice barks, soft cedar, and deeply dark and red fruit with a whisper of smudged sweet sage.
Finish: The end dives into a dark spiced cherry vibe next to soft and luxurious vanilla, tempered oak, and a mild sense of just “bourbon.”
Bottom Line:
This is the best whiskey at this price point… kind of by far. This is deep, nuanced, and still very approachable. It’s also quintessential Kentucky bourbon with a deep cherry spice and gentle Kentucky hug on the end. Mix it into a great cocktail or sip it over rocks, either way, you’ll be in for a treat.
