Some of the best bourbons in the game are in the $50 to $60 price range. Better still? You can still actually find most of them. It’s a sweet spot, with bottles of bourbon at around $55 often hitting that perfect balance of being really freaking good and still pretty accessible (in general).
Today, it’s time to call out 20 of the best bourbons that all cost between $50 and $60. The 20 bottles listed below are all bangers. Still, some of them lean more into the craft side of things and might be easier to get in the region they’re made. Others are on pretty much every shelf from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon. It’s a fun mix, is what I’m driving at!
When it comes to ranking these quality bourbons, I’m going on taste alone. Even with a list of 20 bourbons that I stand by and am more than happy to taste or drink, they’re still not all created equal. The bottom five or six tend to be bourbons that I’d mix a killer cocktail with more than, say, a slow sipper. Whereas the top five or six all slap and I’d break out when I wanted to impress. The middle bourbons sort of… fall in between those two worlds.
As for the pricing, these are all based on delivery prices in Louisville, Kentucky, and distillery bottle shops. Local prices (and availability) will vary.
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20. Bib & Tucker Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 6 Years
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
Bib & Tucker pulls barrels of Tennessee whiskey from an old and quiet valley in the state. They then blend those barrels to meet their brand’s flavor notes. While they are laying down their own whiskey now, this is still all about the blending of those hand-selected barrels in small batches.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this is full of wet, almost earthy, cedar bark and crispy wafers filled with rich vanilla cream.
Palate: The taste has a ginger snap quality in spiciness, graininess, and sweetness next to cinnamon-infused apple cider.
Finish: The mid-palate to finish is very light and sort of just touches back on the spice but really leans into sweet apple tobacco.
Bottom Line:
Bib & Tucker 6-Year is a great Tennessee whiskey for mixing bourbon cocktails. It pairs especially well with the bold flavors of a whiskey sour.
19. Redemption Wheated Bourbon
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $50
The Whiskey:
This release from Redemption is their take on MGP’s 45% winter wheat bourbon. Redemption’s team brings four-year-old barrels in-house and then masterfully blends them in small batches until they get just the right notes.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: That crafty wheat floral note greets you and then leans into brisket with hints of bitter coffee and a touch of nougat, cedar, vanilla bean, and a dry grassiness.
Palate: The palate holds onto those notes while swerving towards a peppery spice blend with almost a lime leaf savoriness.
Finish: The end is long and has a slightly warm biscuit edge that circles back towards the nougat and vanilla while swinging back toward that dry grassiness from the wheat.
Bottom Line:
This is another great cocktail base. I’d lean this more toward a Manhattan or basic old fashioned.
18. Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 44%
Average Price: $57
The Whiskey:
Old Elk is the work of distilling legend Greg Metze. Metze devised a bourbon through MGP of Indiana, a distillery in New York, and Old Elk’s facility in Colorado. The combined mash bill ended up being 51% corn, 34% malted barley, and 15% rye, which is one of the more unique mash bills in the game. The whiskey is then proofed down to a very accessible 88 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Freshly baked cinnamon rolls with powdered sugar icing mingle with a hint of walnut, dark cacao powder, and a hint of dry cedar bark.
Palate: The palate is very lush with a note of chocolate chip pancakes covered in brown butter and syrup with a dash of vanilla next to singed dry sweetgrass braids and a touch of burnt toffee.
Finish: The finish lets the chocolate turn velvety as a whisper of dried chili meets salted caramel.
Bottom Line:
The sweetness of the malt really shines through with that corn. That all said, I’d use this for really fresh highballs with good water and a twist of grapefruit or blood orange, which will accent that chocolate note nicely.
17. Daviess County Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cabernet Sauvignon Finished
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $54
The Whiskey:
This whiskey combines two mash bill programs. Rye-heavy and wheat-heavy bourbon barrels are aged for five years before they’re vatted and then re-filled into Cab casks from Napa. That whiskey then rests for a final spell before batching, proofing, and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is spritely on the nose with sour red wine mingling with tart apples, fresh honeycomb, vanilla pods, and a hint of fresh cinnamon stick.
Palate: The palate largely sticks to the nose and builds some more sour berries with a nice layer of smooth vanilla and tannic oak char.
Finish: The end is short and sweet with a sour edge that leads back to the oak and sour red wine.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty nice overall. The red wine vibes do come through and with a little sweet vermouth lean into mulled wine territory. Overall, this is still a cocktail bourbon more than a sipper. Though it’d be fine over some ice — don’t get me wrong.
16. Penelope Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Strength
ABV: 57.6%
Average Price: $57
The Whiskey:
Penelope Bourbon is a great example of what a master blender can do with MGP whiskey. In this case, three barrels were blended — aged three to five years — to create a barrel strength expression that highlights the quality of those casks. The final product ended up being a four-grain bourbon with a mash bill of 74% corn, 16% wheat, 7% rye, and 3% malted barley.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this bursts forth with peaches, red berries, blueberry, and an almost savory gooseberry next to cotton candy, a touch of toffee, and very light-yet-sweet oak.
Palate: The palate shines as the peaches and berries combine to make a sort of summer fruit crumble with plenty of butter, dark sugar, and spice alongside a thin line of soft leather, rich vanilla, and more of that sweet oak.
Finish: The mid-palate sweetens with more cotton candy before diving into a warming and spicy finish that keeps the spice sweet and subtle.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice all-around bourbon. In the end, I’d lean toward simple cocktails with it. A nice old fashioned, Manhattan, and maybe even a jaunty Sazerac work best.
15. Baker’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel Aged 8 Years 1 Month
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
Baker’s is pulled from single barrels in specific warehouses and ricks across the Beam facility in Clermont, Kentucky. The bourbon is always at least seven years old. In this case, it was aged eight years and one month before bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sourdough rye crusts and star anise with a fleeting hint of caraway counter cellar funk and cherry/vanilla tobacco on the nose.
Palate: The palate lets that vanilla get super lush with a sense of cinnamon bark and allspice berries next to hints of dill and fennel.
Finish: The end has an eggnog softness with a bit of Red Hot and chili-laced tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice and funky Beam product that veers away from the bold cherry and vanilla notes the brand is famous for. I do like this over some ice when I’m in a specific mood. Otherwise, this tends to be more of a cocktail base where you can really let the whiskey shine.
14. Frey Ranch Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
Frey Ranch is all about the farm behind the whiskey. In this case, that’s a 165+-year-old farm in the Sierra Nevada basin near Lake Tahoe. The grains (corn, wheat, rye, and barley), fermentation, distilling, aging, and bottling all happen on-site at Frey Ranch.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Fruity cherry gummies mingle with raw sourdough bread dough, vanilla beans, dry firewood, and burnt brown sugars on the nose.
Palate: The taste has a very crafty corn chip vibe that leads to tart cranberry, more of that vanilla, and a cinnamon-spiced oatmeal raisin cookie.
Finish: This all coalesces on the finish with the spice, oats, tart red fruit, and vanilla playing second fiddle to the dry firewood and slightly spiced tobacco end.
Bottom Line:
This is fun and crafty (the grains are very sweet and evident on the palate). I’d lead more toward a fresh and vibrant cocktail with this one — think a smash or julep.
13. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Tennessee Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
This was first introduced in 1997. The whiskey is hand-selected from barrels on the upper floors of Jack’s vast rickhouses. The whisky is bottled at a slightly higher proof to allow the nuance of the whiskey to shine.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The banana notes are drawn way back here and replaced by a clear sense of toasted oak, cinnamon bark, and cherry candy.
Palate: That oak is the underpinning for notes of caramel corn, mild spice, and plenty of oily vanilla beans that leads back to an almost chewy cherry tobacco with a hint of cedar bark underneath.
Finish: That cherry marries well to a peppery spice, chocolate cake, and mulled wine with a fluttering of toasted wood lingering on the sweet backend.
Bottom Line:
This is on the sweeter side of things. Still, this works as a sipper on the rocks or a solid cocktail base where you can draw the added sugar back (thanks to the sweetness already built into the whiskey).
12. New Riff Single Barrel Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 55.8%
Average Price: $50
The Whiskey:
These releases from New Riff will vary from location to location as they’re largely reserved for retailers. The whiskey in the bottle is New Riff’s standard bourbon mash of 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley. The spirit is aged for at least four years before they’re bottled individually without cutting or filtration.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on these tends to be soft, kind of like freshly baked rye bread, with notes of eggnog spices, slick vanilla flan, thin caramel sauce, and hints of spicy orange zest.
Palate: The palate amps everything up as the orange peel becomes candied and attaches to a moist holiday cake, dried cranberry and cherry, more dark spice, a touch of nuttiness, and plenty of that vanilla.
Finish: The end takes its time as the whole thing comes together like a rich and boozy fruit cake as little notes of leather and tobacco spice keep things interesting on the slow fade.
Bottom Line:
These rule. I like these pours over a single, large ice cube. That said, this makes one hell of a Manhattan.
11. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $56
The Whiskey:
Jimmy and Eddie Russell — Wild Turkey’s Master Distillers — hand-select these barrels from their vast warehouses for just the right bourbon flavor. The bourbon is bottled with a touch of water added.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: You’re met with creamy depths of vanilla next to pound cake, spicy tobacco, sweet oak, and a clear hit of orange oil.
Palate: That vanilla really amps up as hints of rose water-forward marzipan lead towards cedar, more vanilla, and a dash of Christmas spices.
Finish: When you add water, a really deep dark chocolate smoothness arrives with a more nutty almond that’s reminiscent of an Almond Joy straight from a special candy shop.
Bottom Line:
This is just good. It’s wildly well-balanced and a very bourbon-y bourbon. It’s also a single-barrel product that you can actually find and likely afford. It’s also highly drinkable as a sipper or cocktail whiskey.
10. Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 55.6%
Average Price: $58
The Whisky:
This is Maker’s 46 turned up to 11. The whiskey is formed from a wheated bourbon that’s made in very small batches. French oak staves are added to the barrels for a final, short maturation to really amp things up. Then for this version, the best barrels from that program are batched and bottled 100% as-is without any proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Notes of cinnamon, Graham crackers, dark chocolate powder, vanilla beans, pine kindling, and a hint of singed marshmallow mingle on the nose.
Palate: The palate leans into the hotness of the cinnamon but is tempered by vanilla cream pie filling, Honey-Nut Cheerios, light leather, and more of that dry pine.
Finish: The end builds with cinnamon heat towards honey-laced tobacco in a cedar box with a hint of dark chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Bottom Line:
This is a quintessential Manhattan bourbon that also works really well as a slow sipper on any ol’ day of the week.
9. FEW Bottled in Bond Bourbon Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
This expression from Illinois’ FEW Spirits marks the 125th anniversary of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. The juice is made from 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley. That whiskey spends four years resting before it’s proofed down to 100 proof and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of vanilla cream pie with an extra thick vanilla pudding next to dry cedar bark with a touch of white moss, a touch of black licorice, and a hint of barrel smoke.
Palate: The palate leans into cherry bark with a light cherry tobacco spiciness that melds with the vanilla pudding, a pan of fresh sticky buns with plenty of cinnamon and walnuts, and a hint of black pepper and more of that dry cedar bark.
Finish: The finish has a bit of an oatmeal cookie vibe that leads back to the spicy cherry tobacco and white moss.
Bottom Line:
This is a good sipper to have on hand. It’s balanced but still very cherry/vanilla forward, giving it a classic bourbon vibe.
8. Starlight Distillery Single Barrel Huber’s Rickhouse Select Indiana Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 57%
Average Price: $55
The Whisky:
These single-barrel releases from Huber Winery’s Starlight Distillery are starting to light up the craft bourbon scene. The Indiana bourbon is real craft from a family tradition going back to the mid-1800s on the same farm (this isn’t MGP). Depending on the barrel, the mash here is a unique one with 58% corn, 27% rye, and 15% malted barley. That whiskey is aged for at least four years before it’s considered ready for single-barrel bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this meanders from sheet cake with vanilla frosting toward chili-laced dark chocolate ice cream to old leather gloves with a hint of potting soil, soft cedar planks, and a twinge of an orange creamsicle.
Palate: The taste balances a lemon meringue pie with silky cream soda, red peppercorns, and thick toffee sauce with plenty of brown butter.
Finish: The end has a bit of woody spice next to spiced cherry syrup, a crack of black pepper, and crumb more of that cake from the nose with a counter of those old leather gardening gloves finishing off the taste.
Bottom Line:
This is a new bourbon that feels classic through and through. While it is a solid cocktail base (especially for old fashioneds), it works perfectly well as a slow sipper over a single ice cube too.
7. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $50
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 light pepper next to bog notes of dark citrus, powdered cacao, and stewed peaches with classic bourbon vanilla, orchard fruit, and an oaky vibe.
Palate: The palate is a mix of apricot jam cut with nutmeg and cinnamon next to a deep sense of bruised peaches, pear cores, and red berries with a mix of spiced peach tobacco wrapped around dry wicker and cedar bark.
Finish: The end leans into the sweet and spiced stone fruit while the tobacco slowly fades through sweet caramel and vanilla buttercream toward a silky finish.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice sipper that pairs really well with food (try it with roasted lamb with a medley of South Asia spices, it’s fantastic).
6. Nelson Bros. Whiskey Reserve Bourbon
ABV: 46.65%
Average Price: $58
The Whiskey:
This new release from Nelson’s Green Brier is a big evolution for the brand. This high-rye bourbon is aged for four years before it’s masterfully blended into his expression. It’s then bottled without any fussing or meddling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A vanilla wafer with soft nougat greets you on the nose with a hint of burnt orange zest, Christmas cake, candied cherry, and a little bit of apple pie filling.
Palate: The taste has a moment of grilled pineapple that leads to brandy-soaked dark chocolate-covered cherries with a supporting act of zucchini bread, pecan pie, and a whisper of lemon meringue pie — it’s kind of like being in an old-school diner.
Finish: A mild dusting of white pepper ushers in the finish with a smooth green tea cut with menthol tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This has a nice balance of fruitiness and spiciness that goes beyond that standard toward something deeper. It’s a great sipper over a big old rock or a perfect cocktail base for a Sazerac or boulevardier.
5. Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years
ABV: 60%
Average Price: $54
The Whiskey:
This single-barrel bourbon is from Beam’s private barrel pick program for retailers and at the distillery. That means your local retailer goes out to Clermont, Kentucky, and picks a single barrel for their store only. That then means these will vary from store to store ever so slightly but still carry that classic Knob Creek vibe.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is bold on the nose too with plenty of lush vanilla next to salted caramel, a touch of barrel char, brandy-soaked cherries, and a hint of dark chocolate-covered espresso beans with a little date/prune action.
Palate: The palate pops with dark chocolate Almond Joys next to cherry root beer and old oak with a hint of potting soil.
Finish: The end softens toward a mocha espresso with a dash of nutmeg next to dry cedar and cherry tobacco wrapped around a box of Red Hots.
Bottom Line:
This is Knob Creek turned up very loud. It’s also a bold yet classic bourbon. It works wonders over a single rock or in a simple cocktail or just as an eye-opening everyday sipper.
4. Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 10 Years
ABV: 45%
Buy Here: $51
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 round out the nose.
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.
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.
Bottom Line:
It’s amazing that you can still find these (sort of). If you can, buy a case. This is a perfect house pour that’ll always deliver. I tend to drink it over a single large ice cube. It rules.
3. Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 7 Years Old
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $56
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.
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 another one that can be easy to find or not depending on where you are. That aside, this is a pretty damn good whiskey all around. It’s great neat, on the rocks, or in a Manhattan.
2. Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
Bourbon legend Jimmy Russell hand selects eight to nine-year-old barrels from his warehouses for their individual taste and quality. Those barrels are then cut down ever-so-slightly to 101 proof and bottled with their barrel number and warehouse location.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is as bold as it is classic with a spice matrix brimming with cinnamon, clove, star anise, cardamom, and nutmeg next to dry cedar kindling, black-tea-soaked dates, rum-raisin, and tart dried cranberry tobacco.
Palate: The vanilla creates a lush underbelly as old boot leather mingles with marzipan, orange blossoms, and creamy dark chocolate flaked with salt.
Finish: The end is softly warm with a sense of that marzipan covered in lightly spiced dark chocolate next to old tobacco braided with old wicker and dry cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
Just buy a case of this. It’s still on most shelves but won’t be forever. It’s also that good.
1. Chattanooga Whiskey Bottled In Bond Vintage Series Fall 2018 Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $53
The Whisky:
The latest seasonal drop from Tennessee’s Chattanooga Whiskey is another great. The whiskey is a blend of four of their mash bills. 30% comes from mash bill SB091, which is a mix of yellow corn, malted rye, caramel malted barley, and honey malted barley. Another 30% comes from mash bill B002, which has yellow corn, hardwood smoked malted barley (smoked with beech, mesquite, apple, or cherry), caramel malted barley, caramel malted, and honey malted barley. The next 20% is mash bill B005: yellow corn, malted wheat, oak smoked malted wheat, and caramel malted wheat. And the last 20% is from mash bill R18098, which is yellow corn, pale malted barley, naked malted oats, double roasted caramel malted barley, peated malted barley, cherrywood smoked malted barley, chocolate malt, and de-husked chocolate malt.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cinnamon, brown butter sugar, walnut, and raisins meld on the nose with some vanilla to create a moist oatmeal cookie next to buckwheat pancakes griddled in brown butter and topped with apple butter, and maybe some apricot jam with a dash of nutmeg, dark chocolate shavings, and creamy vanilla whipped cream.
Palate: The palate leans into cherry hand pies and vanilla wafers with a counter of dried wild sage, orchard tree bark, and meaty dates.
Finish: The end has a sharp turn into dried red chili pepper cut with pipe tobacco, dark chocolate bars, cedar bark, burnt orange, and lime leaves with this whisper of cinnamon cookies at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is also “that good.” Really. This whiskey rocks. It’s a great bottle to impress whiskey heads but also a subtle sipper that delivers on several levels if you’re looking for a solid slow sipper. Naturally, it also rocks in Manhattan, Sazerac, or old fashioned.