Cheap bourbon is one of the delights of the whiskey industry. That you don’t need to spend a crazy amount to get perfectly drinkable bourbon across the country is part of bourbon’s beauty. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of watery garbage out there, there is. That paradox, that there’s so much good stuff out there and simultaneously so much crap, can make it overwhelming for the novice whiskey connoisseur to know where to start. That’s where our “double-blind” taste test comes in.
To help you get started (or maybe just reset) with inexpensive bourbon that actually tastes good, I’m going to have my wife pull from cheap bottles off the shelves, pour a little into Glencairns, and log everything. Not only will I not know what I’m drinking, I’m going into this tasting with no idea what bottles will even be included. And I’ll be ranking based on taste alone.
The only directions I gave to my spouse were to grab “small batch” or standard labels, and don’t bother with the Old Crow (I already know that stuff is watery garbage). I ended up with eight bourbons in the $10 to $25 range, based on prices at Total Wine in Louisville, Kentucky.
Get it? Good.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Part 1: The Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
This has a very distinct nose that ventures from vanilla-soaked leather to a very clear sense of allspice berries and ground clove with a hint of cornbread batter and soft oak. There’s a light sense of caramel apples leading toward Johnnycakes covered in butter and honey with a light nutmeg lurking in the background. The finish arrives with a hint of dry reeds that ends up on a vanilla cream with brown spices.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
Soft vanilla extract mingles with black pepper, winter spices, and smooth suede on the nose. The palate starts with an orange-oil heavy Christmas cake with almonds and dried fruit that turns into cherry cough drops on the mid-palate. The finish leans into dry yet sweet oak and green peppercorns with a touch of that cherry popping back in.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with mild leather, brown spices, light caramel, sour vanilla cream, and a hint of dried green mint stems. There’s thin cinnamon on the front of the palate that leads to vanilla pudding cups (but kind of like licking the lid), apple tobacco, and dry cornbread. The mid-palate is sweet with a “brown sugar” vibe that leads towards a little more winter spice and dry wicker.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Lemon-honey candy greets you on the nose with a touch of indistinct leather and wood and a hint of sour pizza dough. Plastic vanilla extract bottles and “spice” drive the thin-ish palate as buttered popcorn and cherry candy pop in. The finish mingles “oak” with apple cores and thin spice.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Maple syrup and chalky cherry vitamins mix with cream soda, buttermilk pancake batter, and a sachet of vanilla pudding powder. That vanilla powder becomes a soft pudding on the palate as dry cedar bark counters Flintstone vitamins and cherry cream soda. The end lets the creaminess shine as that dry cedar and cherry slowly fade out.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with hints of old leather, orchard fruits, vanilla caramel candies, and dried pepper tree kindling. Wet corn husks open the palate as Vanilla Coke and cherry candy create a sweet base before dry wicker break the palate towards the finished. Charred oak staves with a hint of bitterness lead toward a creamy end with hints of vanilla and apples.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Raw leather, dark Caro syrup, nutmeg heavy eggnog, and charred oak lead the way on the nose. The palate starts off with mulled wine spices with ripe, slightly tart, and mildly sweet red berries swim in rich vanilla-laced heavy cream. Cedar planks dipped in honey move the mid-palate toward a finish of cream honey tobacco leaves in an old leather pouch.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Apple chips (and maybe even banana chips) mingle with spiced honey, mild leather, and a green line of kiwi skins and fennel tops on the nose. Apple and honey granola cereal in heavy cream lead toward a vanilla pod and plenty of wintry spices. The finish has a dry firewood note that leads to honey tobacco with a hint of dried kiwi and red berries.
Part 2: The Ranking
8. Benchmark Bourbon — Taste 4
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $10
The Whiskey:
The juice in this bottle is from Buffalo Trace’s Mash #1, which has a scant amount of barley and rye next to mostly corn. This is the same mash that’s used for bigger hitting brands like Eagle Rare, Stagg, and E.H. Taylor. In this case, this is a four-year-old bonded that’s sort of like a proto-E.H. Taylor Small Batch.
Blind Notes From Above:
Lemon-honey candy greets you on the nose with a touch of indistinct leather and wood and a hint of sour pizza dough. Plastic vanilla extract bottles and “spice” drive the thin-ish palate as buttered popcorn and cherry candy pop in. The finish mingles “oak” with apple cores and thin spice.
Bottom Line:
This felt like a $10 bourbon from the nose to the finish. It was plasticky with a very thin feel. Still, there were clear notes here, so it’s not a total loss. I’d use it for whiskey and Cokes but not much else.
7. Bulleit Bourbon — Taste 3
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $23
The Whiskey:
Bulleit embraces a high-rye mash bill that’s comprised of 68 percent corn, 28 percent rye, and four percent malted barley. The juice is then rested for six years before blending, cutting down to proof, and barreling.
Blind Tasting Notes from Above:
The nose opens with mild leather, brown spices, light caramel, sour vanilla cream, and a hint of dried green mint stems. There’s thin cinnamon on the front of the palate that leads to vanilla pudding cups (but kind of like licking the lid), apple tobacco, and dry cornbread. The mid-palate is sweet with a “brown sugar” vibe that leads towards a little more winter spice and dry wicker.
Bottom Line:
This starts off so strong on the nose but then the early palate struggles to connect until the mid-palate kicks in with a nice, classic bourbon vibe. That missing step lowers this one pretty far on this list.
6. Buffalo Trace Bourbon — Taste 7
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $25
The Whiskey:
This is the whiskey that heralded a new era of bourbon in 1999. Famed Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee came out of retirement to create this bourbon to celebrate the renaming of the George T. Stagg distillery to Buffalo Trace when Sazerac bought the joint. As for the juice in the bottle, it’s Mash Bill #1 (like Eagle Rare, Benchmark, Stagg, etc.) that’s aged for at least four years.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Raw leather, dark Caro syrup, nutmeg heavy eggnog, and charred oak lead the way on the nose. The palate starts off with mulled wine spices with ripe, slightly tart, and mildly sweet red berries swim in rich vanilla-laced heavy cream. Cedar planks dipped in honey move the mid-palate toward a finish of cream honey tobacco leaves in an old leather pouch.
Bottom Line:
This is where things get pretty good on this list. From here on out, the whiskeys have a clear beginning, middle, and end. There’s a mellow nature to this whiskey that’s very easy-drinking. There’s no “wow” factor and it gets a little lost in the mix but don’t let that stop you if the tasting notes speak to your palate. For me, that raw leather note on the nose tends to push me away a little and that’s why this ranks a tad lower.
5. Old Grand-Dad Bonded — Taste 2
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $20
The Whiskey:
This high-rye whiskey is aged for at least four years. The bonded barrels are then vatted according to the Old Grand-Dad flavor profile and bottled at 50 percent ABV, which lets a bit more of the juice shine in the bottle.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Soft vanilla extract mingles with black pepper, winter spices, and smooth suede on the nose. The palate starts with an orange-oil heavy Christmas cake with almonds and dried fruit that turns into cherry cough drops on the mid-palate. The finish leans into dry yet sweet oak and green peppercorns with a touch of that cherry popping back in.
Bottom Line:
This was pretty damn good, albeit a little “peppery” with no distinction on that note until the end. Still, this was perfectly fine and felt like a good base for an old fashioned.
4. Jim Beam Black Extra-Aged — Taste 6
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $20
The Whiskey:
This expression replaced the old Jim Beam Black Label 8 Year. The juice in this bottle is aged longer than your average four-year-old Beam, but there is no age statement on exactly how long. The best way to think of it is that it’s aged for as long as it needs to be, according to the distilling team.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
The nose opens with hints of old leather, orchard fruits, vanilla caramel candies, and dried pepper tree kindling. Wet corn husks open the palate as Vanilla Coke and cherry candy create a sweet base before dry wicker break the palate towards the finished. Charred oak staves with a hint of bitterness lead toward a creamy end with hints of vanilla and apples.
Bottom Line:
This was nuanced yet accessible. It was deeply flavored but light in the right ways (that is, not thin or watery). This was just a really nice pour that would work equally well on the rocks or in a cocktail.
3. George Dickel No. 12 — Taste 5
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $23
The Whisky:
This is Dickel’s touchstone whisky. The corn-heavy juice — 84 percent corn, eight percent rye, and eight percent malted barley — is aged for at least five years before it goes into the bottle at 90 proof.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Maple syrup and chalky cherry vitamins mix with cream soda, buttermilk pancake batter, and a sachet of vanilla pudding powder. That vanilla powder becomes a soft pudding on the palate as dry cedar bark counters Flintstone vitamins and cherry cream soda. The end lets the creaminess shine as that dry cedar and cherry slowly fade out.
Bottom Line:
This betrayed itself as Dickel from the jump, thanks to the vitamin chalkiness. I like it. But I can see why it puts a lot of folks off. That aside, this is still a well-built bourbon with a beginning, middle, and an end, with a clear flavor profile that works.
2. Four Roses Bourbon — Taste 8
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $19
The Whiskey:
This introductory juice from Four Roses is a blend of all ten of their whiskeys. The barrels are a minimum of five years old when they’re plucked from the warehouses, blended, brought down to proof, and bottled.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
Apple chips (and maybe even banana chips) mingle with spiced honey, mild leather, and a green line of kiwi skins and fennel tops on the nose. Apple and honey granola cereal in heavy cream lead toward a vanilla pod and plenty of wintry spices. The finish has a dry firewood note that leads to honey tobacco with a hint of dried kiwi and red berries.
Bottom Line:
This is so damn unique, especially compared to the other pours today. That green nose with the kiwi and fennel really helps this one stand out. After that, the whiskey leans pretty classic and doesn’t take any more big swings, which is kind of disappointing after that nose. Still, this is really well built and damn easy to drink. That’s a win.
1. Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch — Taste 1
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $16
The Whiskey:
This is Evan William’s small-batch bourbon reissue. The expression is a marriage of 200 barrels of Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon (78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and ten percent rye). That juice is vatted, then proofed down to 90 proof (instead of the old 86 proof), and bottled as is.
Blind Tasting Notes From Above:
This has a very distinct nose that ventures from vanilla-soaked leather to a very clear sense of allspice berries and ground clove with a hint of cornbread batter and soft oak. There’s a light sense of caramel apples leading toward Johnnycakes covered in butter and honey with a light nutmeg lurking in the background. The finish arrives with a hint of dry reeds that ends up on a vanilla cream with brown spices.
Bottom Line:
I think this won thanks to the distinctiveness of the flavor notes from start to finish. The nose wasn’t just “spicy.” That spice is allspice and clove, specifically. There were layers that built on each other and created a bigger experience. It also felt pretty classic but had some real depth.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m not overly shocked by this ranking. Evan Williams 1783 is a goddamn solid whiskey. Four Roses is always a funky favorite. The cheapest whiskey tasted cheap. And yeah, I still don’t dig on that Buffalo Trace raw leather note.
In the end, if you’re looking for a good whiskey that you can both drink on the rocks and make solid cocktails with, I’d go with any of the top three, depending on what flavor profile you prefer. If you’re looking for a good, cheap bottle of bourbon that punches way above its price class, then definitely go with the Evan Williams 1783. That stuff rules.
