Bourbon is an interesting spirit. There are seemingly countless bargain bottles and just as many hard-to-find, expensive offerings. And when it comes to the good stuff, the hype machine and high markups on the secondary market make it difficult to tell if you’re actually getting a good value for your money.
When we talk value per dollar, we like to think of it as a way to gauge the quality and enjoyment to dollar ratio. How much quality and overall enjoyment are we getting out of an expression for each dollar we spend to buy it? The higher the quality and overall enjoyment per dollar the better.
This means that if you overpaid for a hard-to-find bottle and then didn’t think it was really worth all the hype, your value per-dollar ratio is totally out of wack. But the same can be true for a bottle that cost $40 and turns out to be swill.
To find these can’t miss bourbons that excude “value per dollar” we went to the professionals who spend their days pouring drinks for help. We asked a few of our favorite bartenders to tell us about the best value per dollar bourbons available today. Keep scrolling to see them all.
Old Grand-Dad Bonded
Mike Liay, beverage director of Jester Concepts in Minneapolis
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $27
The Bourbon:
For my money, it’s Old Grand Dad Bonded. Super affordable, it stands up well in cocktails, and with the same mash bill as Basil Hayden, it’s a great bargain compared to other bourbons considered more ‘high-end.’
Tasting Notes:
A high-rye mash bill gives this 100-proof expression a nose of cinnamon candy, oak, and toffee. The palate is centered on dried fruits, baking spices, peppery rye, and more cinnamon. It’s sweet, spicy, and an absolute bargain.
Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond
Eric Smith, assistant director of restaurant and beverage at The Kimpton Shane in Atlanta
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $50
The Bourbon:
Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond provides a high-quality experience at a down-to-earth price. Heaven Hill is a golden amber-hued sipping whiskey that was matured for a full seven years in a Federally bonded warehouse and bottled at 100-proof.
Tasting Notes:
It’s known for its warm notes of vanilla, honey, and a rich caramel sweetness. It’s smooth, warm, and sweet with a subtle re-spice mingled with just enough oak and char to round out the richness.
Buffalo Trace
Tony Edgerton, beverage director for Breva in Minneapolis
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $32
The Bourbon:
As far as ‘bang for buck’, I would have to give this one to Buffalo Trace Bourbon. This bourbon sips well on its own, or in a cocktail. It can be difficult to get in bulk due to popularity but there is a reason it’s so popular.
Tasting Notes:
It delivers sweet tones of brown sugar and spice and then finishes with a depth of oak and toffee. At its price point, it’s pretty hard to beat.
Bib & Tucker 6-Year-Old Small Batch
Christian Taibi, bar czar at Mahina & Sun’s at The Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club in Waikiki, Hawaii
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $49
The Bourbon:
Bib & Tucker 6-year-old Small Batch. There’s just no other bourbon that will provide the amount of age and flavor for the price. This 6-year-old whiskey is dark and rich with a smooth velvety texture that just doesn’t exist under $100.
Tasting Notes:
Crafted from the perfect ratio of corn, rye, and malted barley, this small batch bourbon offers up aromas of caramel and toasted oak on the nose, while on the palate, it accomplishes all the toffee and spice of an otherwise elite whiskey.
Eagle Rare 10-Year-Old
Brandon Spann, head bartender at Kimpton Gray in Chicago
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $43
The Bourbon:
I’m a big fan of Eagle Rare 10. It has a great price point compared to the other expressions from the same distillery. It has a great bottle shape for the well and is very recognizable to guests.
Tasting Notes:
Eagle Rare 10 has a complex profile with flavors of charred oak, mild molasses, lingering caramel, and baking spice.
New Riff Bottled-in-Bond
John Filkins, corporate beverage director for Clyde’s Restaurant Group in Washington, DC
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $37
The Bourbon:
New Riff Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon. It feels like, over the past couple of years, every really great value bourbon has either gone up in price or become allocated and difficult to get. This is a great, affordable bottled-in-bond bourbon that flies under the radar.
Tasting Notes:
It has a higher-than-normal percentage of rye in the mash bill and is non-chill filtered. You get the heat, the sweetness, and the spice alongside baking spices and chocolate.
Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon
Victoria Foster, bartender at Refinery 714 in Fort Worth, Texas
ABV: 45.2%
Average Price: $37
The Bourbon:
Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon is difficult to beat. As a bartender, it is our responsibility to take into account the product’s nuances. A true bourbon drinker will seek out certain flavors of their liking whether that’s nutty, caramel, toasted notes or peppery, oak forward, vanilla notes. Woodford Reserve is a quality product with a range of flavors perfect for a cocktail or easily enjoyed neat, providing the desired drinking experience without costing an arm and a leg.
Tasting Notes:
Woodford Reserve is frequently requested due to its blend of sweetness and spice, slight smoke, vanilla, and a hint of leather.
Evan Williams Black Label
Jim Lunchick, mixologist at Merriman’s Waimea in Waimea, Hawaii
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $19
The Bourbon:
Without a doubt, the best bang per buck in bourbon is simple old Evan Williams Black Label Bourbon. It is slightly more expensive than water, but not much, and compared to competitors in its price range, it over-delivers with classic bourbon flavors that make it great.
Tasting Notes:
The palate is filled with oak, vanilla, caramel, and just enough spice from the bit of rye in its mash bill. Inimitable.
Old Forester 1920
Eron Plevan, USBG bartender at Tartan House in Louisville
ABV: 57.5%
Average Price: $58
The Bourbon:
Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Series 115-proof bourbon is an excellent value. This prohibition-style bourbon is bottled at a higher proof because it was crafted to pay tribute to the bold, complex whiskeys that were made over 100 years ago.
Tasting Notes:
Great flavor. It’s sweet and spicy, with lots of vanilla, and caramel. A very balanced bourbon for being 115-proof.
Larceny Small Batch
Sean Mack, USBG bartender at Branch Line in Boston
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $28
The Bourbon:
Larceny Small Batch. This is my go-to for whiskey cocktailing. The almost even-keeled blend of corn and wheat gives a constant that lets you riff as a home bartender or professional. If you want one that always performs in all classics, choose Larceny.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of caramel, vanilla, and oak makes way for a soft whiskey with notes of honey, toffee, dried fruits, and oak. The finish is sweet, and mellow, and leaves you wanting more.