Best Bourbon for the Money?
Decatur Metro | March 18, 2013 | 8:50 amA back and forth in FFAF on Friday made me realize that you guys might have some opinions on this!
What’s your favorite bourbon for the money?
A back and forth in FFAF on Friday made me realize that you guys might have some opinions on this!
What’s your favorite bourbon for the money?
Elijah Craig 12 year is excellent. About $25. Four Roses small batch is about the same price and is also very good.
+1 on both those choices. I also really like the Evan Williams Single Barrel.
Four Roses small batch, yes, for a delicious whiskey that doesn’t disappear with a little water.
If a rye counts: Old Overholt. Cheap and very hard to beat.
If you can get up to the Heaven Hill distillery, they have Elijah Craig 18 year. It’s delicious.
Sounds good, that’s for sure. Decatur Package had an Elijah Craig single barrel this Christmas season, it was just awesome. Alas, it sold out in a matter of days, and I only got one bottle.
For a reasonably priced bourbon, I would suggest Basil Hayden. It’s $30 – $35 a bottle. If you are looking for something cheaper, Bulleit is pretty good, at around $25.
Bulleit is hard to beat. a few months ago i hosted a bourbon tasting with glasses that includes everything from Pappy Van Winkle 20 on the expensive end, to Bulleit on the less expensive end of the spectrum, and walked away with a newfound respect for what the distillers have accomplished at that price point. in a blind tasting, i would imagine Bulleit would outscore many more expensive brands.
Bulleit Rye is swell, too.
yes it is–it’s my go to brand for homemade Manhattans, and sips nicely all by its lonesome.
Agreed – I noticed a short while back they raised the price a few bucks at Jax Package – probably due to demand.
Yep, demand for premium spirits, especially bourbon, is soaring. That’s the reason Maker’s Mark recently floated the idea of watering down their whiskey (only to retreat in the face of public backplash). Many producers are having a hard time keeping up, which means prices have only one direction in which to go.
As I mentioned in FFAF, Redemption High Rye Bourbon hits the spot for me at a price point around $23 a fifth. When I’m in the chips, I’ll spring for a fifth of Wathen’s for some sippin’ which is in the range of Makers ta $33 a fifth.
$33 for Wathen’s is more better bourbon for the money than the same amount for Maker’s. IMHO.
My favortite bourbon, regardless of the money, is whichever one makes me forget about the Decatur Metro political threads. Or school threads. Or new development threads…
. . . but which gets you ready to engage in a spirited car vs bicycles debate, no doubt.
Well yeah. But of course, it then puts me on the pedestrian side of the three-way debate because I wouldn’t want to drive or bike under the influence 😉
i’m a fan of the bulleit. high west has a great peated rye bourbon called campfire.
nothing quite like romancing booze on a Monday morning.
#degenerates
For around $20 a 750ml bottle, Buffalo Trace is about as good a buy as you can find, imo.
Thinking Man Tavern has a really good bourbon selection. I think the guy there said it was the best single barrel selection on the eastern seaboard, if I remember correctly, which I might not since I’d had several of those selections at the time.
It’s been a few months since I was in TM. But I would bet they don’t have the best bourbon selection in Decatur. MacMagees beats them, I’m sure.
Mac Magee has a good whiskey selection(and pretty good bourbon), but from the websites, TM has them beat when it comes to bourbon, and specifically small batch KY bourbon. As for the best on the eastern seaboard claim, I have no idea about that.
http://thinkingmantavern.com/spirits.html
http://www.macmcgeeirishpub.com/whiskeys.html
In the rye category, allow me to recommend Pikesville Supreme. Allow me also to bemoan how hard it is to find outside of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia. If any DMers are ever road-tripping to the bay state and wish to offer up some trunk space for a case, the first bottle out of the box is yours for your trouble.
I’d like to try 13th Colony Rye from Geogia. Decatur Package has been out when I’ve looked for it.
Another Bulleit fan here as well.
Interesting article in slate.com regarding whether older is in fact better:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/drink/2013/03/superaged_spirits_how_old_is_too_old_for_whiskey_gin_and_chartreuse.html
Evan Williams 1783 (the gold top)
/thread
Just got back from the land o Bourbon & country ham (KY) last night. Making plans to hit the Bourbon Trail on my next trip this summer and actually tour the distilleries. My vote for the best Bourbon for the money is Buffalo Trace. Elijah Craig is a good second choice
Glad to have discovered Four Roses yellow label a few months ago. So good for the low price.
#1= Wathen’s. #2=Jefferson’s Reserve. #3=Woodford Reserve. These are all about the middle-of-the-road in terms of price.
Also excellent is Eagle Rare, which is made at Buffalo Trace.
I could go on and on and on . . .
Bulleit is my favorite, but it isn’t cheap anymore. Used to get 1.75 for $37 at that liquor store on Scott.
Buffalo Trace is good, Evan Williams (is it bourbon or whiskey), and gasp, Old Crow are all good and all cheap. I can’t drink jack or Jim beam and think of myself as a very experienced boubon drinker.
I’ve seen recently that Jack Daniel’s and Old Overholt have released clear unaged whiskeys. The rye had a very high alcohol content, and the Daniel’s was tres cher at over $50 a fifth (numbered bottles). The Redemption folks also have a 2 years aged bourbon called Temptation that I have yet to try; It’s a few bucks more than their bourbon and rye.
Yesterday you could get a shot of Jameson’s and a High Life tallboy at Noni’s on Edgewood for five bucks. It was fine with my traditional St. Pasquale’s Day Chicken Parmigiana hero.
The trinity of American Whiskey value:
Evan Williams Single Barrel – great bourbon year after year for less than $25. Each year is a bit different.
George Dicket No. 12 – the other Tennessee whisk(e)y. GD Barrel Select may be a bit better, but for the price GD12 is serious bang for the buck.
Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond Rye – lots of expensive (and really good) ryes on the market, but this BiB compares with the best and at around $20 may be the best whiskey value on the planet.
OK, I guess I can tell you all now. There is one correct answer to this question and it is BULLEIT. If you don’t have a bottle, you should go buy one now. Better yet, buy five.
Skipping ahead to other categories of alcohol, I can also tell you that the answers to variants of this question are: Crown Royal, Johnny Walker, Cragganmore, Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Don Julio, Bailey’s, Guinness and Harp.
And no, I am not saying this solely because Mrs J_T’s biggest client is Diageo, who just happens to produce or own all of the above brands. I mean, it may be a big reason, but it’s not the only one 😉
Channeling Ron Swanson, Lagavullin 16 is Diageo’s best whisky. At $90/bottle, it also does a heck of a job of lining Diageo’s pockets (often at the expense of mine).
Well you just keep unlining your pockets to help pay our mortgage! Next time we get a bottle of the Lagavullin, I may even share it with you.
Hey, if it helps you pay your mortgage, so much the better. You have to hand it to Diageo, this is some brilliant product placement.
Decatur Package recommended W.L. Weller for the price. It’s $10.99. I need it cheap because I drink a lot of it.
No mention of Corner Creek!? I’m not a huge bourbon fan but that stuff is good.
The key phrase in much of this discussion is ‘for the price’. Sure, Bulleit is decent–for the price point– but I must be getting old because I much prefer to spend a bit more to get something that I like a whole heck of a lot more. And unfortunately I’ve found that what I’m willing to spend just keeps creeping upward because most of the higher priced ones are soooo tasty. Unfortunately there are a lot of small batch ones I’ve tried out at various places and I either tell myself I’ll remember the name but don’t the next morning (often for fairly obvious reasons) or can’t find them in stores. So these are some of my favorites that can be found relatively easily….
One of my favorites: Michter’s
Ol’ standbys: Woodford Reserve, Maker’s Mark
Rye: Really like Russell’s Reserve 6 year old
Old Charter is the BEST. for some reason it is not popular in GA but its very popular in LA (where I am from). You can get it at TOCO hills or Decatur Package for $20 for the 10 year. It is $60 for the same size in LA. Try it… I’ve converted several folks. 🙂
I’m shocked at the diversity of opinion here. I’ve sure got a lot of testing to do!
Let’s do value wines next week!
Alrighty!
If you are going to make anything other than a bourbon & branch (water), I’d vote for Ten High. I know it’s whiskey and not bourbon but it does the trick and it’s cheap.
For just plain sippin’ my plebian taste buds veer towards the Kickin’ Chicken.
To relive football weekend memories I always reach for a traveller of Virginia Gentlman.
These work for me cause I’m cheap…
I’ve come late to this discussion but one that I have not seen mentioned is Kirklands Premium Small Batch Bourbon. It’s a Costco brand but it’s every bit as good as Bulleit and ‘for the price’ I think it’s the best.
Cheers