I hope it is.. got a Russell's 10 and the first night sipping it had a scotch like finish and ended up giving me a ragging headache. I'll try again tonight. The noise was incredible. I could have been dehydrated or had the taste of something else on the palate. I'm the type of person who believes you can't know a whiskey by sipping it in a tasting you got to take a bottle home for 2-3 nights to truly get to know it and see if it calls back to you. The Jack Daniels bonded 100 I recently got the first night sipping artificial banana completely wasn't liking it the next couple nights at grew on me more and more I absolutely love it now
With Early Times BIB, you mentioned the percieved taste difference between the Brown-Forman and Sazerac bottles, but left out one huge point. Everything out right now was still produced by Brown-Forman. Sazerac announced where they would start making their own in 2021, so that has not been released yet. The big test for any changes in taste won't happen until 2024 or 2025.
For sure. We're still a ways away from having to cross that bridge. Right now the big difference is the folks at Sazerac blending the Brown-Forman whiskey rather than the folks at Brown-Forman. We've tried three bottles of each side by side and preferred the Sazerac bottles every time, but based on what we've heard we're convinced there are some bad Sazerac-blended bottles out there as well.
I am hoping it was some of the first bottles they blended where the Sazerac blenders weren’t up to speed with the Brown Forman product. I won’t know with out trying so I’ll have to try it.
Such a great list. Goes to show that you don’t have to spend a lot to get great pours. Perfect for daily sippers and mixing. Also, congrats on 10k subscribers
Josh here. Direct Erin quote: “If people are counting on me to speak, we won’t have a channel. You do the nerdy talking. I’m just here to drink.” Just sayin, I’m abiding by my wife’s wishes. 🤷🏻♂️😂
Just had a Jack Bonded - will be grabbing a few more of those… OF rye is probably my favorite cheap pour. Love that dance in the tongue - I think you guys turned me on to it.
I agree that 4 roses 🌹 single barrel is probably the best easily attainable $40 bourbon. Eagle rare and 1792 bottled in bond are also great , if you can find them .
Woodford IS good. It’s sweet and friendly. It’s very beginner friendly. It IS overpriced though. I’d take Wild Turkey 101 over Woodford any day though… Edit: How does the Four Roses Single Barrel compare to the Small Batch? I DID NOT like the Small Batch. I DO like Wild Turkey 101.
Based on your preferences, which align with ours, you’ll like the Four Roses Single Barrel a lot more than the Small Batch. It’s got a lot more character and flavor.
All Green River offerings are more fruit-forward with less baking spice than Wild Turkey 101. All are great and we gravitate toward one or the other depending on our mood that day.
Pretty sure I have most of these in my cabinet haha. Solid picks. That Coopers 100 is a surprise hitter for us. It was #1 or #2 for every person in my tasting group here lately in multiple blinds. Also love Four Roses small batch in this price range, I know my wife prefers it slightly to the Elijah Craig SB, so that's one we usually instantly rebuy. Shockingly I don't have any WT101, I feel like I should fix that. But I often enjoy Russel's 10 yr and SiB and I adore Rare Breed. Thanks!
Maker's Mark 46 is really good... and if you get the cask strength..oh boy... but that is well over 40 bucks... of course the truth is regular Maker's is really good.... Russel's Reserve 10 Year is strong...I will always have it on hand... I don't love Four Roses... mainly because I hate the labels, the bottles and such.... your eyes can play a part in enjoying food and drink.... they make good stuff, but I always find something similar that I like better.
As always, great video! Really appreciate this topic and the effort you put into this! Great stuff. I’m excited to see you talk about Bowman Brothers Small Batch. I don’t see many folks talk about it. I really enjoy the older brother of John J Bowman Single Barrel, but never tried the small batch. Plan to do so now! Thanks!
Great list y’all but I’m gonna agree to disagree with the 4 roses SiB. To me tastes very 1 dimensional, like cinnamon and simple syrup lol. I definitely prefer the small batch (love the small batch select but that’s a different price range lol). Don’t get me wrong I like a little bit of cinnamon kick in my bourbon like WT101 has but the wild turkey imho has way more depth if flavor in there. Man coopers craft is so good but I can’t seem to find it anywhere in SoCal 😢
I probably would have swapped out JD Bonded for Larceny Small Batch, otherwise our lists would be very very similar. I even agree on the Dickel Bourbon. Great list, and very well presented.
Excellent review. Thanks. I highly agree on the 101. There is a bourbon that we have started liking that I do not see in video reviews - Jim Beam Double Oak. At 43 % it might be below a cut-off. It comes through very smooth for the price. Good nose and smooth taste. Fairly balanced taste. My wife and I enjoy it straight. We keep coming back to it.
I'm in an ABC state and 4R is $45 and 101 is $25, I would easily flip that ranking. And I would still have ER in the list ($37 after recent price bump) but knock it down 2-3 spots for being harder to find in most areas. Redwood Empire also needs to be on the list, either the Pipedream or the Lost Monarch.
Nice to see some new characters on a budget list - Wheel Horse, etc. I appreciate your tasting notes. I think they are very accurate and helpful to folks. Good stuff!
Awesome video you two!!! There are so many decent, quality pours on your list that I can't think of anything to add in this price range other than maybe Wild Turkey Rare Breed which is about $55.00CDN ($40.00USD) but it is not for the beginner being a high proof Bourbon. Erin, your marriage comment reminded me of a joke my Wife used to tell just after we were married (it is kind of crude though) Why are Men like floor tiles?? Because if you lay them right the first time, you can walk all over them for years!!! Thank-you folks, I'm here all week!! Try the Veal and please remember to tip your waitress or waiter!! lol Take care guys - Dave
Love this video! Such great advice! Its not until you blind taste many yourself that you realize that the FOMO and hype are just that, and yes there are some really good bourbons over $50 and over $100, but if you can't get them at MSRP, they aren't worth buying (unless you have money to waste, in which case, give me some).
Love you two, but Four Roses SiB @ #1??? It is the single worst bourbon I’ve had. Noxious weeds & flowers in that juice - so not for me. Great job on the others though!!
We’ve never had a single barrel that tastes like that, but it can certainly happen. Single barrel roulette is real but it’s a bummer when you get a dud.
I’ve been chasing Cooper’s ever since I got into bourbon. This is a fun list. I would probably have a few differences: •Larceny •Old Tub •Benchmark •Old Grand-Dad Bonded Four Roses is not under $40 in my area, but Buffalo Trace is.
With Green River being acquired by Bardstown it should be hitting all of their current markets(24) within the next year and it sounds like Bardstown has a lot of fun things planned for the brand. Definitely one to watch.
Maker's CS can be great for sure! 46 is a whole different ball of wax being much lower proof and softer. Maker's 46 CS is the real winner but quite a bit higher priced than this list.
Really appreciate the review of these bourbons. With the cost of bourbon continuing to go up it makes it hard for many of us to purchase the traditional bourbons we look for. Love Cooper's craft and hard to find where I live. A lot of great options. Thanks.
Glad you guys did this list I know one other whiskey RU-vidr not going to mention his name or channel. He had a video a couple weeks ago saying not to buy budget bourbon. I disagree with that statement. Buywhat you want to buy. His video was just rampling on and on and was a bore fest. I'm glad you guys made this video for new whiskey drinkers and even guys like me who are seasoned drinkers. There were some on the list that I haven't ever tried. Totally agree with #1 and #2. I would have put KC 9 Year and Makers Mark 46 though higher both are very solid🥃
The funny thing is that this was originally supposed to be a Top 10 list. There's just too many good value budget bourbons out there to limit it to 10 only, so we went to 15, and then had to expand to 20. Could've easily taken it to 25-30+ actually but didn't in the interest of time. It's always nice to have a reminder that you don't need to spend a ton to get a good bottle of bourbon.
Don’t sweat it. We’re that way with coffee. Best we can give you there is light roast, dark roast, nutty or fruity, and bitter or not. We don’t think about flavors in coffee as we simply drink it and enjoy it. At the end of the day all that matters is if you like something or not. Cheers and thanks for watching!
when God gives someone wealth possessions the ability to enjoy them to accept their lot be happy in their toil this is a gift of God they seldom reflect on the days of their life God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart
Could not agree more! I drank whiskey for years before I actually tried WT101 - thought it would be too hot with the proof. Evan BIB, Early Times, and 4 Roses are my suggestions to anyone wanting to step out of the Jack and Cokes! - great list!
Knob Creek 9 is a great bottle to buy by the half gallon for a daily. Works great as a mixer, especially in Diet Dr. Pepper. Works great as a sipper. I recently found a half gallon of Old Forrester 100 and it was $47.99.
We know it's a crowd favorite, but there's a funky sour note on the last two bottles we've got that is not our jam. Silly stores in our market are also advertising it as allocated now. What is the world coming to?
All depends on the market (distribution varies state to state), but like we said if these are in your market then they should be on shelves rather than having to have a hookup to get your hands on them.
I went on the Bowman distillery tour in January and the tour guide repeatedly stated, "In case any of you have heard any rumors, we do NOT buy distillate from anyone else, everything we sell is distilled/aged/bottled by us."
The interesting thing is that both could be true if they’re talking about the parent company Sazerac. In that case they’re not “buying” from BT, they’re simply using Sazerac-owned distillate. If they’re actually distilling on-site then that’s a different ballgame. Either way, it does taste remarkably similar to Buffalo Trace and serves as a great substitute.
I've never seen Green River or Wheel Horse in my area, but I really like your list and agree with your choices wholeheartedly. On the other hand, the Blue Note Uncut is only $39 here. The only one I am a little lukewarm on is the Four Roses Single Barrel. The cork broke off in the last two I bought, and they just weren't that good. I'll probably still give it another try. Cheers!
Oh snap, Blue Note Uncut for $39 is a STEAL! Congrats on that pricing! And it's possible that Four Roses may not be for your palate. It can be pretty polarizing for sure. The quality is there for us to put it first but that said, if you don't like it, you don't like it. We feel like that could also apply to Russell's 10.
What are your favorite liquor stores in Nashville? I just bought the Early Times B&B and paid 31.99 you paid 25.00 where please? It's worth 32.00 all day long but hey, every dollar counts!
Decided to buy some bourbons this year. My beginner buys were Russell 10yr and then 1792 Small Batch. Going to try Four Roses next. My nice bottle is a Makers Private Selection that I bought on vacation. When I got home I noticed it is bottle #1 of 246. Profile is 4,0,0,4,2. 109 proof. Haven’t opened it yet, will open for a special occasion
I didn't know that Bowman Bros. is BT distillate. Nice to have that alternative. Most of these are on the shelves in NC. Sadly, Early Times BiB isn't, for some reason.
Likely distribution on the Early Times. You'll be passing through Nashville soon and should be able to easily find one though. That would be a fun bracket to be sure!
Really? That's interesting. Wonder if it was a bad/tainted bottle. It's not amazing top tier whiskey by any means, but it's a long way from "spit it out it's so bad" whiskey too, and it's a very solid bottle given the price point. Could also be that the Jack flavor profile just isn't for you as well.
Lol. I have 2 1/4 bottles of that 4 roses and one store pick of it. Not even a chance of running out for me. It’s the same for Bakers 7, Eagle Rare and OF 1910. If I see them at a good price I’m grabbing one. 😂
Love this list. Everyone seems to love buffalo trace because the internet tells them to. I've had most people choose WT101 when blind compared. I actually live near a liquor store that has BT in stock with a couple of cases at a time, and I stopped buying it. It's not bad, but it's not amazing by any stretch.
Erin is so cute. She makes me want to buy all 20 bottles. Lol. Awesome content. You got a new subscriber in me. Keep up the good work. I’ll be watching.
Okay, okay, Elijah Craig, Blue Note, 1792, I need to try also… Russels is ABSOLUTELY great pour! Wild Turkey 101 a great buy and pour, LOVE IT!! I also lone the 101 Rye.. 🥰. 4 🌹…. ❤
FRSB is $50 in our market but I agree with it being on top of this list. We do not have a lot of these in our market but the ones we can I agree are all good. We can get WT101, ECSB, 1782SB, KC9, WR, OF86 not the 100, EWBIB, and MM46. I have not opened the MM46 yet. I would put EWBIB and WT101 closer to the bottom of this list or actually add Four Roses and Buillett to the list and WR closer to the top. I hope at some point to pick up some Cooper's craft and RR 10 year, They seem to be on a lot of best of lists.
Think I’ve only had 6 or 7 of these…Wild Turkey 101 is the bench mark for me. Makers 46, Coopers Craft & Russels Reserve…all good for the $. But Wild Turkey 101 is always on my shelf.
Personal opinion: I would have been hard pressed to leave Old Grand Dad 114 & Larceny Small Batch off a list that I put together. While I might quibble over exact placement, you've put a good group together. I'm not familiar with Green River products, so can't comment on them.
I'm amazed at the prices in your neck of the woods. You're rattling off prices at 30ish bucks that run me 40-45 where I am. It's not just availability that varies so much by region, but the cost often enough, too.
Just came across your channel and I love it. Been binge watching your 18 blinds. Awesome. One comment, the 20 bottles under $40 video posted in early March 2023 - your sound on the microphone sounds tinny or tunnely. Not sure if it is due to new equipment or location change. Anyway, love the channel, you guys are great!
Great list. Fan of quite a few of those. I am a sucker for the value proposition. Warning, coming at you in the comments. I have an Early Times BiB blue cap and I think it's very good. Would definitely rebuy
Totally agree with you on the Four Roses SiB!! It to me is the best SiB on the market for the price!! I recently purchased a Barrel Strength SiB and was blown away...I will hunt those to ends of the Earth!! Great video!
I know exactly what you mean when you say Green River has the characteristics of yesteryear. It totally reminds me of the now discontinued Heaven Hill green label. It really is good.
Cannot argue with any of your picks. Early Times BIB is the one I always want to drink at least once a week. Cooper’s Craft 100 is just a fantastic bottle. You could have had a Top 25 and added Old Grand Dad 114, New Riff, Bulleit, Larceny, and Redwood Empire Pipe Dream or Lost Monarch.
Wild Turkey 101 is my daily pour and, as you say, the distillery does an amazing job of putting out good, affordable bourbons. How they've managed to keep up with demand but Buffalo Trace and others haven't, I don't understand. Wheel Horse is allocated here in Virginia. Blue Note and Green River aren't available here at all; must not be on the distribution list.
