At around $75, the best bourbon whiskeys should have… something extra. Bourbon, by design, is a pretty inexpensive whiskey genre — there are tons of wonderful options under $50. So when you start inching toward that $100 price point, it’s certainly fair to ask for something more, something unique, and something that’ll last in your memories.
Today, I’m going to call out bottles of bourbon that do just that, yet all cost just south of $80.
The 20 bourbon whiskeys listed below are all a little extra. They all fall into categories that touch on special barrel aging, made by young whiskey geniuses who are changing the face of the game, or are special versions of classic brands. There’s no mediocrity in the whiskeys listed below.
All of that said, I still ranked these whiskeys because my professional opinion and palate favor some bottles more than others. While I vouch for all of these whiskeys, some of them just aren’t my jam but I still respect those bottles for their deep craft. So go through and look at those tasting notes to find the whiskeys that speak to you and then click on those price links to find a bottle near you (prices are set for Louisville, Kentucky delivery or distillery bottle shops and will vary by region).
Let’s dive in!
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20. Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Premium Whiskey Barrel No. 007
ABV: 60.5%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
This new single-barrel release is made with whiskey distilled, aged, and bottled at the Nearest Green Distillery in central Tennessee. The single barrels are chosen for their exact flavor profile and greatness and bottled completely as-is with no filtration or cutting with water to maintain that barrel’s greatness in the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich and dark cacao powder next to burnt caramels, black licorice, old vanilla pods, and old leather boots appear on the nose with a dash of fresh nutmeg and clove.
Palate: Lush salted caramel and a rich sense of honey loaded with cinnamon sticks and a black cherry cola drive the palate before a pinch of black pepper arrives, adding a bold ABV heat.
Finish: The end has a cream soda feel with spiced nut cake and mince pies over a Cherry Coke cut with chocolate sauce that’s just kissed with chili pepper tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a great whiskey for someone looking for a bourbon that’s just that little bit deeper than the average pour. It has a classic vibe with a mild sweetness that’s countered by salt and herbal spice. For me, it’s a little warm on the palate and needs a big ol’ ice cube to calm it down.
Once watered, it’s a deep and rewarding sipper.
19. Wilderness Trail 6 Years Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $75
The Whiskey:
The team over at Wilderness Trail continues to wow with their six-year-old Wheated Bourbon release. The whiskey is a mash bill of 64% corn, 24% wheat, and 12% malted barley and uses co-founder Dr. Pat’s (yes, he’s a real doctor) proprietary yeast. The juice is then aged in their main warehouse where it’s moved to a new floor every one of those six years, allowing a little extra magic to happen in the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a cinnamon-heavy pecan pie with a lard-hewn crust next to hints of wet pine.
Palate: The palate leans into the corn syrup of the pecan pie while the cinnamon draws you towards an apple tobacco chew with a touch of caramel and vanilla lurking in the background.
Finish: The finish doesn’t overstay its welcome and holds onto the cinnamon and pie vibes, ending on a fruity tobacco buzz.
Bottom Line:
This is a great get for a true whiskey nerd. The brand is also getting some wider distribution, which means you’ll see more of it on shelves (finally). All of that aside, this is an easy sipper that also makes a mean old fashioned thanks to a serious acuity wherein you feel the ingenuity of the layers in every sip.
18. Laws Whiskey House Cognac Foeder Finished Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $74
The Whiskey:
This four-grain bourbon starts with standard aging for two years in new American oak. The barrels that hit just the right mark are then batched and re-filled into cognac casks for additional mellowing. Once those barrels hit the right flavor profile, the whiskey is vatted into a 50-year-old French oak foeder (huge barrel, basically) where it rests for a spell before bottling. That foeder is never fully emptied, creating heritage to all the bourbon that passes through it year after year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This season’s nose has a sense of Earl Grey tea leaves just touched with champagne next to stewed plums and apples with a sense of Saigon cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, and ground allspice.
Palate: The palate is rich and lush with an apple butter thickness and spice next to singed cedar bark and apple bark over rum-raisin, creamy eggnog, and a whisper of pear.
Finish: The end has a creamy and lush vibe that leans into vanilla and nog with a whisper of holiday cake imbued tobacco rolled with cellar oak and rich caramel sauce.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent example of what a cognac finish can bring to a bourbon. The nuance here is that cognac foeders were used instead of smaller format barrels. That’s an incredible amount of surface space for the bourbon to interact with the unique wood sugars.
In the end, I’d pour this over a rock and sip it slow or mix it into a fun, 50/50 bourbon/cognac Sazerac.
17. Red Line Cask Strength Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $70
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from Red Line is sourced from hand-selected barrels from MGP of Indiana. The team at Red Line picked six-year-old barrels of MGP’s iconic high-rye bourbon mash of 75% corn, 21% rye, and only 4% malted barley. Those barrels were vatted and then bottled as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lovely sweetness that arrives on the nose with a hint of burnt sugars and brown butter just starting to coalesce into caramel with a flake of salt and a sense of rum-raisin and an echo of charred oak.
Palate: The palate leans into a light apple compote with a hint of plum and plenty of wintry spices next to vanilla and wicker before the warmth of the ABVs peak on the mid-palate.
Finish: The end is soft and supple with a sense of spiced prune jam, old porch wicker, and allspice berries.
Bottom Line:
This is just a good bourbon. It’s easy, fun, and tastes really nice. Sometimes that’s enough.
16. Horse Soldier Reserve Barrel Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 60.25%
Average Price: $72
The Whiskey:
The bourbon in this bottle was contract distilled in Ohio at Middlewest (but it’s now being made in Kentucky too). The whiskey is a wheated bourbon that spent eight years mellowing before bottling. Each barrel was hand-picked before being married into a barrel strength expression that’s bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a crafty, sweet grain nose that opens toward a pile of freshly chopped firewood, lemon pepper, creamy vanilla-laced honey, winter spices, and Kiwi boot soap.
Palate: The palate has a hint of caramel malts next to Vanilla Coke, a buttery and spiced apple pie with plenty of brown sugar, and a hint of ginger next to some orange blossoms in the background.
Finish: The end is solid with a spicy warmth next to more of that dry firewood and a smidge of sweet oatmeal cookies.
Bottom Line:
This is another bourbon that’s just good from top to bottom. I would lean more towards cocktail with this one, but it’s perfectly suited to on the rocks sipping.
15. Pursuit United Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished with Toasted American and French Oak
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $75
The Whiskey:
The latest release from the Bourbon Pursuit team is a blend of four to six-year-old bourbons. The three bourbons involved are a Finger Lakes whiskey (70/20/10 corn/rye/malted barley), an MGP bourbon (60/36/4 corn/rye/malted barley), and an undisclosed Tennessee whiskey (80/10/10 corn/rye/malted barley). Those whiskeys were finished in both American and French toasted oak barrels before batching and bottling with a touch of Kentucky water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Pecan dark chocolate nut clusters mix with burnt orange, spiced and sweet mulled wine, and rum-raisin with a touch of fresh cedar on the nose while a deep leatheriness draws you in.
Palate: The palate has a sense of Nutella over scones with a Cherry Coke on the side while singed cedar and cherry bark mingle with clove-studded oranges and a dusting of freshly cracked black pepper.
Finish: The end has a nice spicy warmth and a touch more of that singed wood next to spicy cherry tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This has a nice, classic bourbon underbelly that’s accentuated by a solid finishing program. There’s a nice woody spice and classic bourbon sweetness that makes for easy sipping (again over ice) or easy mixing into simple whiskey-forward cocktails.
14. Jefferson’s Ocean Aged At Sea Straight Bourbon Whiskey Very Small Batch Special Wheated Mash Bill
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $74
The Whiskey:
Jefferson’s Ocean is deeply skilled at crafting unique and very tasty drams. This expression uses a wheated mash bill (instead of high rye) that’s aged for six to eight years on land. Barrels are then loaded onto a ship and sailed around the world where the spirit and wood interact the whole time thanks to the choppy seas, creating an incredibly unique whiskey in the process.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a very subtle nose, with hints of vanilla, dark salted caramel, and mild eggnog spice drawing you in.
Palate: The palate holds onto those flavors fairly well, while adding a touch of popped corn to the salted caramel as the vanilla becomes more of an eggnog-spiced pudding that remains very airy and light.
Finish: The end is slightly nutty with a touch of cedar as the spice and svelte vanilla slowly fade away.
Bottom Line:
The ABVs on this one are what will make or break it for some folks out there. I like it in that you can sip this neat without hesitation. That said, it is on the lighter side, which goes against the massive trend of all the ABVs all the time. All of that aside, this is a balanced and very tasty bourbon.
13. Hidden Barn Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch
ABV: 53%
Average Price: $73
The Whiskey:
Jackie Zykan’s (former Master Taster for Old Forester) first release at her own shingle is a sourced whiskey from Neeley Family Distillery in rural Kentucky. The bourbon is made from a sweet mash (a brand new mash with every cook instead of reusing mash for a sour mash) with a high-ish rye content in pot stills (a true rarity in bourbon these days). Those barrels aged for four to five years before Zykan picked a handful for this batch-proof release.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is full of digestive biscuits and whole wheat pancakes cut with vanilla and pecan next to hints of anise, caramel candy, and cinnamon-toast tobacco.
Palate: The palate holds onto the massive graininess with a clear sense of rye bread crumb next to thick oatmeal cookies with more of those pecans and plenty of raisins and spice.
Finish: Later, a hint of white pepper arrives and leads the finish to soft espresso cream with a dash of nutmeg and creamy toffee.
Bottom Line:
This leans heavily into the crafty side of bourbon that’s becoming more centered these days. There’s a big note of sweet graininess from top to bottom. The difference is either going to make or break this bourbon for you. I dig it, especially over some ice or in a cocktail.
12. Garrison Brothers Small Batch Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
Garrison Brothers is a true grain-to-glass experience from Hye, Texas. The juice is a wheated bourbon made with local, Texas grains. That spirit is then aged under the beating heat of a hot Texas sun before the barrels are small-batched (with only 55 barrels per batch), proofed with local water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a caramel apple note on the nose next to a bit of dry straw, worn leather, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cut with whole milk and unsalted butter mixed in white grits.
Palate: That cereal nature continues through the palate with a sugary and buttery shortbread note mingling with hints of vanilla cake frosted with lemon cream leading to a touch of orange oils.
Finish: The end is very long and warm with a bit of cinnamon that ultimately leads back to the caramel apples plus just a touch of dry campfire smoke at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is another bourbon that has huge crafty notes (those sweet cereal grains). The whiskey has a balance and depth that goes far beyond that though, making this a very sippable yet bold bourbon that also mixes really well into citrus-forward cocktails.
11. Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength
ABV: 57.9%
Average Price: $73
The Whiskey:
The new-ish release from actors Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley is an evolution of their brand. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of three bourbons which create a four-grain bourbon. That blend was then bottled as-is, creating a deeply classic bourbon experience from founders who truly care about whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a balance of old leather boots and freshly cracked black pepper next to a hint of walnut shell, vanilla pod, and orange zest.
Palate: The palate leans into what feels like star fruit as orange marmalade, salted butter, and fresh honey drip over rye bread crusts.
Finish: The end comes with a good dose of peppery spice and old leather as those walnuts and oranges combine with a handful of dried fruit and a dusting of winter spices on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This feels like Somerhalder and Wesely set out to find the most quintessential bourbon whiskey barrels they could with the best depth and actually did. This is just really good bourbon from top to bottom. It also keeps the higher ABV in check with a nice, sweet bourbon harmony.
Try it neat and take it slow.
10. Monk’s Road Fifth District Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 6 Years
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $76
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from Log Still Distillery in Kentucky is run by direct descendants of the famed Dant family (true foundational legends in Kentucky bourbon). The whiskey in the bottle is a single-barrel bourbon that aged for six years before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a hint of woody vanilla next to a hint of sour cherry, a dash of toasted coconut, a light note of leather, and some butter toffee underbelly.
Palate: The palate leans into cola notes with plenty of clove and nutmeg next to a whisper of oatmeal cookie with sweet spices and plenty of vanilla.
Finish: The end is lush and sweetens towards a Caro syrup with a bit of stewed apple that’s kind of woody and mildly spicy.
Bottom Line:
This is another one that’s quintessential bourbon. The spice and sweet balance is on point and feels like a trip down memory lane to the best Christmases of your childhood.
9. Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength
ABV: 58.4%
Average Price: $70
The Whiskey:
This uncut and unfiltered version of Redwood Empire’s beloved bourbon is a four-grain whiskey built from a blend of California, Kentucky, and Indiana whiskeys. The mash ends up being 74% corn, 20% raw rye, 4.5% malt barley, and a mere 1.5% wheat. The barrels in the final blend range from four to 12 years old with the older stuff coming from the Ohio Valley.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a soft sense of classic bourbon on the nose with dark cherry, vanilla pod, light caramel sauce, and pecan waffles with pancake syrup and cinnamon-brown sugar butter next to a whisper of old boot leather and a very distant echo of sweet grits.
Palate: The palate has a soft creamed honey sweetness with a twinge of Cherry Coke next to buttery toffee dipped in crushed roasted almonds with a hint of Mounds Bar and chewy caramel. A good dose of ABV heat kicks up on the mid-palate with a mulled wine spiciness and a touch of sour cherry.
Finish: The end is nutty and full of dark cherry tobacco just kissed with dark chocolate and dark brown spices.
Bottom Line:
This is another whiskey that hits the balance of ABVs, bourbon sweetness, and woody spice out of the park. While it’s easy to sip slowly (especially with a big rock), it also makes a killer Manhattan.
8. Penelope Architect Straight Bourbon Whiskey French Oak Staves
ABV: 52%
Average Price: $71
The Whiskey:
This bourbon is all about precision blending. The MGP barrels create a four-grain whiskey that’s finished in oak staves from Tonnellerie Radoux in France. Those staves are added to the barrels to create a unique finish that’s part Kentucky and part France.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This starts fairly familiar with notes of sugar pie and vanilla cream with orange spice and a hint of dried florals that then veers into dried mushrooms and firewood bark with a bit of black dirt.
Palate: The palate circles back to the sweetness with a big pile of pecan waffles covered in vanilla/maple syrup before soft orange-infused tobacco leads back to that wet firewood and black dirt on the backend of the sip.
Finish: The very end has a touch of charred oak that’s more like singed red-wine-soaked-oak staves.
Bottom Line:
This is subtle and enticing and kind of funky. I really dig it. This is also the kind of whiskey that benefits from a proper tasting experience with nosing, resting, and watering to really let it bloom in the glass to find the nebulous and creamy depths hidden within.
7. Yellowstone Hand-Picked Collection Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel
ABV: 57.5%
Average Price: $71
The Whiskey:
These bottles are part of an exclusive run of bourbon barrels that are “hand-picked” by Steve Beam out at Limestone Branch Distillery (from sourced barrels). Beam pulls these exceptional barrels in and releases them for special retailers, bar accounts, and collections. Each release is around 200 bottles and they tend to be rare finds.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Stewed pears and spicy dark chocolate open up the nose toward hints of cedar and vanilla oils.
Palate: The palate is kind of like a vanilla candle next to almonds toffees with minor notes of orchard bark and old moss.
Finish: The fruit comes back around on the mid-palate and finishes with leather apricot and pear tobacco layering into the nutty toffee and moss.
Bottom Line:
This is a great fruity/sweet bourbon with an edge. You really feel the pear orchards next to a wonderful sense of moss, bark, and dirt. It feels a little offbeat but in all the right ways, especially with a little water or ice to let it open up.
6. Lost Lantern Starlight Distillery Indiana Straight Bourbon
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
Starlight Distillery in Indiana is quickly becoming the whiskey insiders’ favorite craft distillery. This single barrel pick for Lost Lantern is from a cask that aged for four years in a 53-gallon barrel. The juice inside that barrel was made from a mash of 60% corn, 20% malted barley, 10% rye, and 10% wheat. The whiskey was then bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Apple strudel with rich and frothy vanilla cream sauce mix with ground cinnamon and caramel drizzle on the nose.
Palate: The palate has a lemon cream pie vibe that gives way to a little bit of wet cedar bark, dark fruit leather, and fresh bales of straw.
Finish: The end has some notes of apple cores and cherry bark next to a creamy backbone of vanilla pudding and chewy malted root beer tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent barrel pick from an excellent distillery. Get it if you can.
5. Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 60%
Average Price: $72
The Whiskey:
This single-barrel bourbon is from Beam’s private barrel pick program for retailers/bars/etc. at the distillery. That means your local retailer goes out to Clermont, Kentucky, and picks a single barrel for their store only. Beam then cuts the bourbon to 120 proof (if needed), bottles it, and delivers it to the store. That also means these will vary from store to store ever so slightly.
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 that leads to a big ABV warmth with sharp peppery spice.
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:
The best thing you can do when shopping for whiskey these days is to look for in-store barrel picks. These will be the single barrel bottles to nab as they’re often the best — at least the most refined — the brand has to offer. The best part of these Knob Creek barrel picks is how versatile they are.
This works as a neat sipper, over some ice, or in a great whiskey-forward cocktail.
4. Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $77
The Whiskey:
This year’s Remus Reserve is a mix of six to 14-year-old bourbons. Buckle in. The blend is made from 2% of a 2008 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 27% from a 2012 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 29%from a 2014 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 17% from a 2012 bourbon with a 36% rye mash bill, and 25% from a 2014 bourbon with that same very high rye mash bill. Once vatted, the whiskey is just touched with water for proofing and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one is complex and meaders through mint fields and caramel apple stands as hints of old boot leather, plum jam, winter spice, and a hint of sweet oak round things out.
Palate: The palate opens with a rich toffee before a warmth takes over with a soft spice (nutmeg and allspice) before woody vanilla and creamed honey take over.
Finish: The end feels like a handful of candied fruits wrapped up in leathery tobacco leaves with a hint of cedar bark and dried mint in the background.
Bottom Line:
Remus Reserve is MGP of Indiana’s signature expression via their Ross & Squib Distillery brand. This whiskey is truly a special expression that’s always delicious.
3. Barrell Vantage
ABV: 57.22%
Average Price: $77
The Whiskey:
This new release from Barrell Craft Spirits really leans into unique and rare finishings. The blend is a mix of Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky bourbons finished in three different oaks separately before blending. In this case, that’s Japanese Mizunara casks, French, and American oak. Different toast and char levels were used for the barrels to achieve a unique palate that builds on the heritage of Barrell’s other triple cask-finished whiskeys (Dovetail, Seagrass, and Armida).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of chili pepper-infused dark chocolate pudding next to a hint of toasted coconut, dry ginger next to root beer, and an echo of pineapple stems.
Palate: The palate is full of orchard wood and espresso cream next to a hint of lush eggnog with plenty of nutmeg and a dash of some green, herbal, and savory — kind of like tarragon.
Finish: The end lets the spice amp up toward red peppercorns as plum cake counters with a soft and sweet finish.
Bottom Line:
Barrell Craft Spirits doesn’t miss. This complex and fun bourbon from 2022 is another big win for the brand and bourbon fans. It’s classic yet funky, bringing great balance and true depth that kind of keeps going and going.
2. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Tennessee Whiskey
ABV: Varies
Average Price: $72
The Whiskey:
Where the Single Barrel Select is cut with soft limestone water to bring it down to proof, this is the straight whiskey from the barrel. These barrels are all hand-selected from the vast Jack Daniel’s rickhouses. What’s left from the angel’s share then goes straight into the bottle. That means the ABVs and tasting notes for this bottle will vary depending on which bottle you snag.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Expect an experience that’s full of rich vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak, next to a rush of cherry-spiked spice.
Palate: The sip should have a mix of that vanilla, oak, and rich wintry spices with a nice dose of bright red fruits and a texture that’s more velvet than liquid.
Finish: The end really holds onto that vibe as the mild spice, toasted oak, rich vanilla, and almost maple syrup sweetness slowly fade across your senses, leaving you with chewy cherry tobacco stuffed into an old cedar box.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the best versions of Jack Daniel’s that you can actually buy. This release is refined and deeply built to give you a striking version of the well-known brand. It’s easy-going over some ice and makes a nice sipper on a slow day.
1. Peerless Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 54.65% (varies)
Average Price: $74
The Whiskey:
Kentucky Peerless Distilling takes its time for a true grain-to-glass experience. Their Small Batch Bourbon is crafted with a fairly low-rye mash bill and fermented with a sweet mash as opposed to a sour mash (that means they use 100% new grains, water, and yeast with each new batch instead of holding some of the mash over to start the next one like a sourdough starter). The barrels are then hand-selected for their taste and bottled completely un-messed with.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Expect notes of blackberry next to worn leather, rich toffee, vanilla oils, and wet tobacco leaves.
Palate: The taste holds onto the toffee and vanilla as the tobacco dries out and spices up, with touches of cedar bark and a few bitter espresso beans.
Finish: The end is long, holds onto the vanilla and tobacco, and touches back on the berries as it fades through your senses.
Bottom Line:
This bourbon comes from a true craft distillery in Louisville, Kentucky that leans into optimal Kentucky bourbon vibes. You feel the love and expertise in this bourbon from first nose to last sip. The kicker is that this was made by a fresh-faced 25-year-old kid who’s only now 30. It’s magical stuff and feels like both the future of bourbon and its past (it’s so classically built) in every single pour.