QUIT CHASING HYPE! 10 Bourbons and Ryes You Need To Try! 

For those short on time, the recommendations start at 15:15. You're welcome. Still...there is good background information leading up to this.

I started buying Blanton’s years ago at the Class Six on base. I have always just really loved it. I never figured it would get so crazy hard to get.

Great suggestions, thanks for posting them. WT Rare Breed Rye is really awesome, and I like WT 101 Rye, as well. Jack Daniels Rye and Single Barrel Rye are awesome, as well. I have Pikesville and Makers Mark 46 on my list to buy as well…

I loved #1, I was drinking it while watching. And I loved the nod that Woodinville Whiskey got. I'm less than 10 miles away from the distillery. Great product. Great people.

Spot on...it’s all about accessibility, value and of course quality. Thanks for presenting a common-sense approach to selecting whiskies.

I have been exploring whiskey for about 7 years. My method is to buy what attracts me for whatever reason; do detailed tasting notes; which adds to my pleasure of enjoying a whiskey. I will then watch a review to compare notes. I am also a big fan of Bottled-in-Bond, because they seem to be of constant quality at a good price.I am always on the look out for Bottom Shelf Gems. An example of my method: I am revisiting Four Roses, since Brooklyn Brewery aged their Imperial Stout in barrels of all the recipes and bottled the result for the last 2 years. The aging adds an extra-bourbon sweetness to this malty beer. The Four Roses basic expression really pairs well with the beer for obvious reasons. I am now revisiting both the Small Batch and the Single Barrel and I will pick up a bottle of the Small Batch Select to complete the Flight. It is fun exploring the nuances of aroma and flavor. Keep up the good work!! Mike

Thank you Kenny for doing this video! I'm all about finding less expensive and more accessible whiskeys that are great drinkers. I agree with everything on your list except EC18. I also think Redemption Wheated Bourbon in the $40-$50 range is absolutely killer and readily available at least where I'm at (Chicago area). They're on their 4th batch of it right now and all of them have been incredible! Love Boubron Pursuit and all that you do!!

Brand new subscriber!! Great video. Looking forward to exploring the rest of your content.

I have several different bottles of the Maker's Private Selection...there are vast differences between certain bottles. Makes for an entertaining collection.

This is a GREAT video! Extremely solid advice. Very well done!

Agree!! Especially with Wild Turkey!!!

I agree on almost every one of those. The woodenville cask strength Bourbon is amazing.

Great video. One of the best and informative presentations I have seen. Thanks!

Great list, thanks for the video! Most are pretty available in the Dallas area except for the EC 18, never seen it. Man I bet that JD SBBP Rye won’t be any good at all when it comes out, probably going to taste terrible! But I will buy all 10 sitting on a shelf when I see them and won’t pass up on them. LOL I did pass up on a shelf full but was able to buy 2 at msrp at a later date once the hype got out. It sure is delicious. On another note, besides the exquisite Pursuit United, I would throw the Remus Repeal Reserves 3 & 4 and although pricey, also the Bardstown Discovery series 3 & 4 up there as fairly available and delicious bourbons that don’t require too much hunting like all the Buffalo Trace stuff.

Great list! I’m from CT and Have not seen Early Times BIB, Chattanooga and Woodenville but hope to see them soon as they are newer (except Early times - I don’t expect so see them soon). Love all the others!!

I got lucky right before Christmas with an Eagle Rare and Blantons. I dont expect to find either of them more than once or twice a year and thats if I really look. I definitely think bourbon enthusiasts and bourbon experts doing blind picks and ratings, best to worst drive the FOMO. Dont get me wrong, I love watching those and if I can find a #1 on the shelf I consider it a "big win". But seeing reviews and hearing about limited releases definitely drives the hunt. Otherwise, I think what you did here is spot on. You give guys like me who don't dive as deeply into the bourbon scene (but still want good whiskey to drink) some great info to work with. Good to see I have 4 of your suggestions on my shelf and I double down on anything Wild Turkey. 101 and Russells right now. Cheers.

Great info Kenny! Appreciate the candor.

I don’t chase unicorn anymore and for me most findable and affordable whiskies are : evan williams white label bottled in bond , knob creek small batch , four roses small batch , wild turkey 101 , buffalo trace bourbon , Elijah craig small batch , old grand dad bottles in bond . I promise u can’t go wrong with these mentions .

Really enjoyed this discussion!

Great info! New subscriber and new to bourbon/ whiskey/ scotch sipping! Elijah 18 around here is 300.00 and up:( I really enjoy the Sagamore Rye’s, all Turkey’s especially Both Rare Breeds and Russell’s 10, 6yr Rye, and barrel strength. My go to lately has been a Sam Houston 14, and Doc Swinson (triple cask), and Smoke Wagon, Eagle Rare, 1910 & 1920, and many more! I’m all in! Looking forward to watching more videos this weekend!

Just buy Wild Turkey 101. Put it in a decanter and everyone will think it's a premium bourbon.

ALRIGHT. From the beginning. Excellent guitar music from tha git-go.

Great video and loving that I have all of these on my shelf except 2 and I agree with how great these are. The 2 I don't have - Woodinville Rye - not available in Ohio, but do have the regular Woodinville Bourbon, which is really great. Also the EC 18, also not in Ohio, but I do have 2 ECBP which are both great. If I see a Blanton's on the shelf at retail, I'm going to buy it cause its cute, but I'm not standing in line at 6am hoping to score a bottle. Old Forester 1920 and Rare Breed are 2 of my favorites by far!

I find Stagg, Blantons, Taylor and Eagle Rare all the time.....250 to 299 for Stagg, 200 to 240 for the Blantons, 159 to 699.99(Im not joking) for the Taylor, and 70 to 100 for the Eagle Rare. Im not paying those prices. I also didn't have the heart to tell one store owner that $1,100 price tag on the Rip Van Winkle wasnt Pappy Van Winkle

I’m a Scotch guy and believe me I bought all the good bourbons ppl rave about and hated every single one till I tasted Weller Special Reserve and Makers 46 so yes I’m a Wheated Bourbon lover..Wheated saved me from hating bourbon 🥃

This was a great video and an even better presentation!

wild Turkey and Old Forrester products are all you need. This is a good list though.

Great list. REALLY wish people would stop talking about the JD barrel proof and the pikesville rye lol

Great list! Thanks.

This list is basically my liquor cabinet

I scored a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 for $15.41at Vons/Albertsons. An amazing price for a mind-blowing flavor experience. How could something this good be so cheap? All hail the chicken! I'm going for the Rare Breed Rye next. Bourbon Pursuit is the place for Whiskey/Whisky knowledge. Thanks for doing, what you do.

I feel lucky because I found 4 Wild Turkey Diamond editions on the shelf in small town Iowa for $120 per bottle. I think the latest hype has increased the the quantity over quality, The proof hounds are also making things difficult. The older lower barrel entry proof Wild Turkeys are hitting my palette in a good way! You aren't going to get the crazy burning 120+ proof barrel proofs out of them but they are super delicious even if they don't fair as well in the side by side comparisons. Don't burn your palette thinking that is the way to get more "flavor". The 108.2 proof rare breeds show a quality the current 116.8 proof ones never will.

I had a glass of E.C. 18 and to my palate it was like tasting charred wood, but that is just me. The old 12 yr. age stated was the second bourbon in my bourbon journey after Four Roses Yellow Label and I obviously Love ECBP. I currently have Batch# 519 on my shelf, my third bottle of ECBP. SLÁINTE Mike

I thought Weller 107 was hype until I tried it. OUT-FREAKIN-STANDING

Great video! I like your transparency and picks! Another sleeper is Coopers Craft!!!!

Early Times 100 proof is a nice whiskey. It is smooth and drinkable and one I'd give to a first time bourbon whiskey drinker.

I'm still a relatively novice bourbon drinker, and usually don't spend more than $40 per bottle. As much as I want to deviate from Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and Weller's Reserve, I keep going back to them after not really enjoying some alternatives. I do like Elijah Craig, but not as much. As I develop the palate and move to higher proof, hopefully that changes!

Thanks for the info!

Am I correct that the Small Batch Select from four Roses was sort of a “mass market” follow up to the 2018 limited edition? A friend of mine has the 2018 and we are going to do a side by side in a couple weeks. And yes, I am bunkering the Early Times. It is good. Love the list.

Good list...i'd add something from Wilderness Trail on my list.

ET BIB is, indeed, a winner. I've found it really opens up after the neck pours, so if your first glass doesn't wow you, don't give up on it. Gotta diverge from you on 4 Roses, though: never had any that I cared for in the least. The small batch select was the worst waste of $60 I've ever experienced. Maybe it's just me, butt that's why we try 'em all for ourselves.

Chattanooga 111 is decent but there’s stuff I’d put before it on this top 10. Big yes to 4R small batch select. Such a hitter at 54.99!

I grabbed Blanton yesterday for 69.99 here in mass and there was an entire case on the shelf.

Baker's SiB + ECBP B520 + RR SiB + KC store pick...I'm happy 👍

Russell's Reserve 10 year is such an incredible value. Was $35 but the price has gone up recently here in Oregon.

EHT is my favorite line, I'm really trying to find some similar items to enjoy. Lots of bottles on the shelf to try out. Always on the hunt for EHT though

Just having a dram of wild turkey rare breed this is fantastic stuff. I would probably give a 90 out of 100 for £50

I agree with all of these except the EC 18. I've never even seen a bottle and at that price it ain't affordable. You should have picked the EC 12 yr barrel proof. Those are absolutely fantastic bottles at good prices. Also agree with the comments about Wilderness Trail, they are great values and available. Knob Creek should at least get an honorable mention.

Going to total wine today and this is a great video for the occasion. I need to grab more from Old Forester. I really want to try the 1920. Seems like a solid choice

Started my pursuit last June. Really wanted to try the Early Times BIB but never ran across it in Southwestern Ohio. Seemed that only Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo seemed to have any. Just looked at the OHLQ site and it appears only Cleveland has it. Maybe I'll run across it in the future. Totally agree with WT 101, Rare Breed and Russell's Single Barrel Reserve. Can't say any more because that's all I've had. 57 years old and never drank any liquor since bad high school experiences lol. I was really surprised at the flavors Have not tried any Rye yet. Liking this Belle Meade Reserve. Thanks for the info. I'll try not to turn into a tater. Available seems to be the key word.

“Sazerac bought it”... meaning its not going to be available to anyone, anywhere, ever.

I have 5/10 of these. Will have to look into the others

the 1st one is hilarious, and i totally agree with you. Rarebreed is for me especially

Early Times BiB has become tougher for me to find of late. It’s not Buffalo Trace product hard to find, but “occasionally not on the shelf” hard to find.

Last weekend I purchased a 750ml bottle of Wild Turkey 101. I was the first time that I have had any Wild Turkey product in over 20 years. I bought it because various RU-vid whiskey review channels had as a go to budget Bourbon. I have to say that I was not disappointed. It is a great Bourbon, not only for the price, but also for pure whiskey sipping pleasure. It's my new favorite go to Bourbon.

Awesome stuff. And right on the money. Pardon the pun. :)

I have been drinking bourbon since 75 and when I see people buying dusty Turkey that I bought for less than $20 I just have to laugh. I tried a store pick rye from a local craft distiller and it was some of the best whiskey that I have ever had, keep missing out it is my gain.

Totally Agree with Wild Turkey! I have the 101 on my shelf and my last glass was everything one would want in a bourbon. I also enjoy Rare Breed and Russel Reserve 10 Mike

Rare Breed Rye stacks up to Pikesville in my opinion. It's fantastic!!

Would also add pretty much any makers other than the base offering and the $35 George Remus

Very good video with well explained reasoning in regards to over-hyped brands. Most of us have them, most of us like them but I won't go out of my way to chase them and I will never pay secondary prices for them. Give some love to local and regional distilleries as well as some of the national and not over-hyped brands. Personally I would challenge any bourbon drinker to add Old Grand Dad 114 to a blind tasting against any of the over-hyped bottles. It's surprisingly good and extremely affordable.

A lot of stores are required to sell/buy certain bottles (fireball) in order to get allocated items from BT. It’s like that everywhere. That’s the main reason that the prices are so high. They know it’ll take forever for them to sell those cases of fireball

Just about shed a tear when I saw what #1 was. I will never not have a WT product in my bar, they’re the only bottles I immediately replace.

We don't get Early Times in South Florida. The only thing is Master's keep and EC 18 is very allocated

Got to #2 and I was thinking to myself "#1 better be anything from Wild Turkey..."

Great video. JD Barrel Proof rye is coming? Is this news? The Rye heritage barrel proof is all sold out. Are they doing a new release?

Great video

very interesting opinion about EC18. I have heard very mixed reviews of it.

When you talk about the 3 tier system around the 14 minute mark, I think a lot of what's going on is centered on leverage. I'm using BTAC as an example here, but those are hardly the only products we see it happening with. I should preface this by remarking that it's merely speculation on my part, I have no special insider knowledge. Store owners want BTAC because it generates attention and hype around their store. Distributors know this and can use this as leverage to offload a boatload of cheap vodka or whatever to a store that wants that GTS or ER17 as part of a package deal. This makes BTAC valuable to distributors and Sazerac knows this and this gives them leverage when negotiating contracts.

Great list thank you for not including ECBP 👍🏼

Hey Kenny I'm from So. Illinois and you know that we are all just displaced Kentuckians so send some of that United our way please.

Just bought my first bourbon tonight, went with four roses small batch select. Is this a good place to start??

JD barrel proof the only one I need a little ice for the one I got is 134.5 proof

I laughed out loud at, “Joined Bourbonr!”

Early times BIB is impossible for me to find here in Tn I have to drive close to Atl to find a bottle

We all R experiencing inflation. Save $ by education, watching your show. Thank U!!!

I'm really not trying to be rude when I say this but speaking for the "newer, younger" bourbon guy its usually the people who have already found and had/have the bourbons in their collection that are saying its not worth it. I understand that secondary isnt always worth it but we still want to be able to try it.

Great advice - bought a pour of Blanton’s on the weekend, and reminded myself that better whiskey is sitting on the shelf at the local store...but that cool bottle though...🙃

I learned ro drink bourbon back in the mid 60's from a grandfathe who liked Four Roses. I haven't had it in years, but that is about to change.r

Hi there! You mentioned that Jack Daniels is making a barrel proof rye. Are you referring to the limited release green cap or are they adding a barrel proof rye to their core line up? That limited release is hard to get where I'm from!

Eht and Weller are top notch.

Wish I could find early times anywhere

I think everyone needs to give Chattanooga a try. Just go in without the expectation it has the typical bourbon taste. That malt profile is really something to behold!

I agree that Wild Turkey 101 is a terrific bourbon, but I don't think it's available anywhere for $15-$18. It's more like $22-$25. (But it's a value at that price.)

"The only thing worse than the parasites who hoard for selling at secondary market markups are the fools who PAY secondary markups." -me

6:10 into the video we finally get to what the video is about... come on man! Nope... actually 15:15 as Tim mentioned already.

I would say anything Jack Daniels above the old number 7. Don’t get me wrong but the old number 7 and coke was made for one another but the Jack Daniels Black is an easy sipping whiskey.

Not so long ago I started my whiskey journey and I made a list of stuff to try which has over 200 bottles that are actually accessible in my area. I could stick with Wild Turkey 101 for the rest of my life, because it's a safe bet. It's one of the if not the best, no doubt. Or even vodka with orange juice just to get hammered, who cares. But where's the fun? I'm not looking for the best. I'm exploring new stuff. And that's a completely rational reason to try a bottle of overpriced or overhyped whiskey.

No three tier system here. Sat in Michter’s bar at Ft Nelson and saw the 1200/pour for Michters Celebration. Once I saw the distillery would screw the end customer, it was time to move on. Happily drinking 40 year old scotch where a bottle is less than a Ft Nelson pour.

So I just saw a bottle of Blanton's at my local grocery store. Should I not have picked it up, lol.

Tennessee Whiskey is absolutely a Bourbon

I opened my bottle of Blanton's last night and it was good but my God is it way over hyped. I have bottles in my collection that are far superior in taste and price. I paid 54 or 55 for it here in VA. I think that is even too high a price and people are paying up to $400.00 in some states. While people are breaking their necks to buy it I'll continue to reach for things like Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve, Old Forester 1910, 1920, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Baker's, Russell's Reserve and John J. Bowman Single Barrel which is supposed to be the closest thing to being Blanton's itself.

Jack Daniel’s single barrel select barrel proof

WIld Turkey Rare Breed just doesn't cut it for me, I wanted to like it but just it wasn't good(to me). The Russell Reserve was definitely better but not great. These are 2 highly rated items I just don't get. SO more for everyone else!

this episode was, i felt, bordering dangerously close on snobbery and it seems to ignore the simple fact that no one enjoys anything in a vacuum. part of the enjoyment of whiskey is its packaging, the hunt for it, the price you paid for it. it is impossible to remove the contextual surrounding from the bourbon so saying it didn't score well in blind tests might mean something, but it is by no means the be all end all in defining how someone enjoys what they drink.

I lost my want for getting the BTAC. After collecting enough points for a raffle and never ever being able to get one I'm done. I'll stick with Woodford, best bourbon on the market. If I want George t Stagg I'll just go get a pour for 30 bucks at the bar

I wish I could get WT 101 for less than $30~

Nvm it was #6 so im stoked

lol says the guy with a shelf full of hype behind him...

I saw 6 bottles of Elijah Craig 18yr old in a PA wine and spirits store. They were $199.99 each!!!! WTF!!! Haha