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You could make the case that the best bourbon is whatever bottle you have readily available, because a moment spent with a glass of something is better than a glass of nothing. But let's not settle. Whiskeys broadly, from Scotland's peatiest to Japan's smoothest to Kentucky's best, have gone nuclear in the last decade or two, expanding in brands, varieties, adventurousness, and rarity—and bourbons haven't been immune. What were once strong values are now scarce grails; hidden treasures are harder to discover than ever. (Though not impossible—more on that to come.) To find the best bourbons, we’ve polled bartenders, whiskey writers, and obsessive bourbon drinkers about the top pours for your home bar, at every price point and for every occasion.
Table of Contents
What Even Is Bourbon?
Best Everyday Bourbons
Best Really Cheap Bourbon
Best $50-$100 Bourbons
Best $200 Bourbon
Best Blended Bourbons
Best Mixing Bourbons for Cocktails
Best Underrated (for Now) Bourbon
What makes bourbon, you know, bourbon?
Legally, bourbon whiskey has to tick a few crucial boxes. First, it has to made in the United States (not just Kentucky, although the state does produce 95 percent of all bourbon in the country). The whiskey's “mash bill,” or the mix of grains that are cooked and fermented before being distilled, must contain at least 51 percent corn. And the new make spirit must be aged in new, charred oak barrels. It’s those charred new barrels that are responsible for the sweetness—the caramel-esque and vanilla flavors—most closely associated with bourbon. (Contrast this with, say, Scotch whiskeys, which are aged in old sherry casks, port pipes, and all those spent bourbon barrels that have already pulled aging duty.)
There are various other rules about proof and labeling: bourbon must be bottled at 80 proof or higher, the labels of blended bourbons must reference the youngest bourbon in the blend, those sorts of things. But it's the mash bill makeup and fresh, charred barrels that really define the bourbon experience.
The Best Everyday Bourbons
What you’re looking for in a no-occasion-needed bourbon is not stunning complexity. You want a bourbon that's interesting enough to sip neat, versatile enough to mix in cocktails, and cheap enough to splash in a pan of caramelized onions. All five of the bourbons below fit the bill. And if you come to really enjoy one, here's an easy bourbon hack: consider an upgrade from the same distillery. If you like the liquid to begin with, you’ll probably love a sister expression that features a secondary barrelling or a higher proof.
The first of our recommended everyday bourbons is the venerable Wild Turkey 101, which brings spicy notes and aromas of brown sugar and toffee vanilla. “Wild Turkey 101 is often overlooked, even with Matthew McConaughey as its spokesperson,” says bourbon writer and reviewer Susan Reigler, the former president of the Bourbon Women Association. “People think of it as a rough and tumble cowboy whiskey, but it’s very beautifully balanced.” Journalist Becky Paskin, formerly the editor of scotchwhisky.com, agrees, favoring its punchiness in mint juleps and Old Fashioneds.
The “101” refers to the Wild Turkey's proof—on the high, end as-is—but if you want an even more potent bourbon, Reigler recommends Wild Turkey's Rare Breed, which is a high-proof option with a 58.4% ABV. “It’s dangerous,” she cautions. “It doesn’t taste like a barrel-proof bourbon, though. It’s smooth with just the right touch of oakiness.”
Graham Files, veteran bartender and co-owner of Someday in Portland, stocks Jim Beam in his well and recommends it for the home bar, praising its quality, price point, and versatility. “Beam works well as a tall drink stretched with soda, a shot with a beer back, in mixed cocktails, and in hot drinks like toddies,” he says.
For the level-up, Young Kim—beverage director and whiskey sommelier at New York’s The Flatiron Room—likes Jim Beam Devil’s Cut, which blends 90-proof Beam with liquid extracted from the barrels themselves. Expect a woodier, more robust flavor with hints of spices, brown sugar, caramel, and butterscotch.
Old Forester is a solid, well-balanced everyday option that Reigler is partial to for old fashioneds. “An orange peel garnish plays really nicely with the bourbon’s orange notes,” she says.
The Best Bang-For-Your-Buck Bourbon
You may be familiar with Evan Williams' Black Label bourbon from the well at your local bar. It’s a solid bourbon—“a stalwart everyday option at a phenomenal price,” says H. Joseph Ehrmann, proprietor of San Francisco's Elixir saloon. But the brand's Bottled-in-Bond is sneaky good for less than the cost of a middling montepulciano.
“This is a $17 bottle,” says Samara B. Davis, founder of the Black Bourbon Society, “but when we do blind tastings against high-priced bottles, every time it comes out a winner." Davis adds that when she sips it, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” plays in her head. “It’s caramelly, nutty crackerjacks.”
The Best $50-to-$100 Bourbons
Old Forester 1910, released in 2018, is secondarily aged in barrels so deeply charred that, Reigler says, they would have fallen apart if not for the iron bands holding the staves together. Six to nine months later, Old Forester 1910 emerges smoky and complex, perfect for pairing with some dark chocolate and a crackling fire.
Hillrock Solera Aged Bourbon is the first bourbon to be aged using the solera system, a process that involves siphoning off younger liquid from the top of a pyramid of barrels and adding it to casks containing older liquid in the next tier down. The bourbon is then finished in Oloroso sherry casks—fitting, since solera aging is most commonly associated with sherry production.
Kim picks this as her favorite bourbon to sip neat: “High rye in the mash bill gives it spicy notes, the solera process gives it complexity, and the sherry cask adds flavors of dried fruit, raisins, plums, and nuts to bourbon’s more traditional caramel and vanilla notes.”
As far as step-up bourbons go, Files notes that buying a bottle of Blanton’s always makes him feel like an adult. (Kinda like upgrading your sheets or towels, but with a nicer buzz.) “Blanton’s hits all the notes of really good bourbon: smooth with some sweetness, balanced with a little bit of heat, rich and complex vanilla and caramel notes." he says. "It’s an investment that I never regret.”
The Best $200 Bourbon*
Yes, that's an asterisk. We'll explain in a minute.
W.L. Weller, made by Buffalo Trace, is a wheated bourbon—meaning that in addition to the 51 percent required corn, you’ll find wheat on the mash bill instead of the more typical rye. “The 12-year used to be easy to find,” laments Susan Reigler, “but then Julian Van Winkle let slip that he chooses barrels of Weller to make Pappy Van Winkle." If you've been drinking whiskey at all in the last 15 years or so, you know Pappy as the once-cult, now-impossible-to-find status bourbon.
The Flatiron Room's Young Kim agrees that W.L. Weller is a solid fallback if you want Pappy flavors but don't have an in with a distributor who gets an allocation (or you can't blow a grand or more on a bottle of bourbon). “Pappy Van Winkle and W.L. Weller are the same liquid with the same mash bill,” Kim adds. “Of course they’re different if you try them side-by-side, but they have a similar flavor profile.”
Now, technically Weller 12-year has a list price of only $40—but the association with Pappy means it's impossible to find anywhere near that number. (Thanks, Julian!) If that means the W.L. Weller 12 is too rich for your blood, then Weller's Special Reserve, available for around $50 bottle, is a worthwhile consolation prize.
The Best Blended Bourbons
Until recently, this would not have been a viable category. Blended whiskeys like Ireland's Jameson and Japan's Hibiki have always commanded respect and market share because of their quality. But very lax U.S. liquor laws mean a blended American-made whiskey need only be 20 percent actual whiskey to carry the “whiskey” title. The other 80 percent can be neutral grain spirit, and, historically, the resulting watered-down blends have been 100 percent nothing to write home about.
But lately, a few U.S. producers have brought some respect to American blended whiskeys. Reigler points to Texas-based Milam & Greene, which sources its bourbon from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee, as well as distills its own. Of Milam & Green's co-CEO and master blender, Reigler has this to say: "Heather Green has a fabulous palate, and she learned the art of blending while training in Scotland.” That shows in Milam & Greene’s Triple Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey, a blend of three bourbons: two from Tennessee and one produced in-house in Texas.
Barrell Bourbon’s founder, Joe Beatrice, sources whiskeys from across the United States and as far away as Poland, bringing them back to Louisville to age and blend in small batches. He releases numbered, limited-edition blends every few months, which have won multiple awards for the best small batch bourbon at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Samara B. Davis loves sampling these bourbons neat. “Each one is so unique because of the selection process and the blending,” she says. She calls out the Dovetail expression, which features whiskey finished in rum, port, and Cabernet barrels, as a particular favorite.
The Best Bourbons for Cocktails
When looking for something that’s a step up for making a cocktail, Files reaches for Buffalo Trace. “It’s a bit spicier and proofier, which makes it a great option for everything from a shot with a beer back, to sours, to stirred, spirit-forward cocktails,” he explains. And Reigler prefers Buffalo Trace in her Manhattans, finding that its spicy herbaceousness keeps the sweetness of the vermouth in check.
Samara B. Davis praises Woodford Reserve’s versatility in cocktails and beyond. “This bourbon tastes older than it is because Woodford Reserve uses a process called ‘heat cycling’ during aging,” says Davis. “As a result, you’ll find rich, charred oak notes that can really stand up to other ingredients in a cocktail, but it’s reasonably priced enough that you won’t feel guilty using it in recipes, too.” She recommends mixing some into your French toast batter for a boozy kick.
The Bourbon You Better Keep a Secret
Every since Pappy turned into the Patek Philippe Nautilus of whiskeys, bourbon hounds have been on the hunt for the next great, underrated bottle. Here's one: “People pay double for bourbon that isn’t as good,” Reigler says of Johnny Drum Private Stock, a 101-proof bourbon out of the small, family-run Willett Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. “Johnny Drum doesn’t have a big budget for advertising, so while people may have heard of Willett Family Reserve, they may not be aware that Johnny Drum comes from Willett too. It has a wonderful profile with baking spice and fruit and vanilla—subtle and complex.”
