The Top Ten Bourbons For Less Than $60

By Richard Thomas

Sixty bucks is a pretty useful price divisor for Americans, because for a couple of decades it was been the standard “Fast Cash” amount used by most ATMs. When applied to bourbon, $60 seems to be a widely agreed upon ceiling for what most enthusiasts are willing to pay for a “go-to” bottle. If it’s more expensive that $60 for a full-sized bottle, said whiskey is less likely to be consumed freely. Finally, the clear majority of premium brands commonly cited as “go-to” bottles by enthusiasts sit in the $30 to $60 price range. Below $30 is the realm of the bargain and bottom shelf buy.

So, under $60 is the sweet zone for bourbon, and we used national average price points in drawing a Top 10 up. Blanton’s has been a popular choice, practically since it’s inception in 1984, but these days it typically goes for $70 a bottle. Likewise, while Booker’s might still be priced at around $60 in some areas, the official retail price is now $75 and one often sees it marked at exactly that.

As usual, we composed this list based on the feedback of our readers, the expertise of our team and the advice of outside experts and notable enthusiasts. Our Top 10 for bourbons under $60 are presented in alphabetical order.

1792 Full Proof ($45)
For most American bourbon enthusiasts, higher proof means better whiskey, which probably explains the popularity of 1792 Full Proof. It’s not quite a cask strength whiskey; the “full proof” refers to bottling the bourbon at its entry proof, or the strength the new make spirit is cut to for pouring into the barrel. At Barton 1792 Distillery and for this line of bourbon, that is 125 proof. The result is a big bodied, mature bourbon that makes for outstanding rocks drinking.

Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch ($50)
The Taylor line from Buffalo Trace is known for it’s mix of regular and limited release whiskeys, tied together by being entirely bottled in bonds. The Taylor Small Batch has the virtue of being in regular release, generally available and reasonably priced compared to the other Taylors, which are so often hunted to death. As a bottled in bond, Taylor Small Batch is 100 proof, but it’s aged for approximately seven years rather than the minimum four. Despite the market price rising some $10 in the six years since it was introduced, it’s still a pretty good buy.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Old ($35)
Another offering from Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare remains a popular and quite reasonably priced alternative to the spiraling market cost of the distillery’s bourbons, such as Blanton’s (now priced off this list) or the aforementioned Taylor Small Batch. In fact, there are really just a few 10 year old bourbons so reasonably priced at all.

FEW Spirits Bourbon ($50)
Although there are better craft bourbons on the market, FEW Spirits Bourbon is the best at this price point, and it’s not here because there was a craft slot to fill or something like that. This item from Chicago came up quite a bit in polling, so it got in the Top 10 for the best reason of all: folks who like bourbon put it there.

I think one of the keys to FEW Spirits success was hitting upon using oak from Minnesota, which has a tighter grain that the more common oak from the mid-South. That tighter grain restricts the absorption of wood flavors in maturation, which counter-balances some of the downsides of using small barrels, as FEW does. It was an early example of some of the outside-the-box methods that now characterize American craft whiskey.

Four Roses Single Barrel ($35)
Four Roses is famous for their five yeast strains and two mash bills creating ten distinct bourbons, and the way you get to try each of those ten on its own is through Four Roses Single Barrel. The problem there is that if you are picky about what you like in your whiskey, you may come away disappointed with some of those ten versions of Four Roses. “It’s always a toss up as to what single barrel you’re going to get,” says Katie Buchanan, New York-based blues rocker, producer and bourbon enthusiast.

Knob Creek Single Barrel ($45)
This one is another high octane fan favorite. Much like 1792 Full Proof, it’s not actually cask strength, but instead pegged to a stable 60% ABV (120 proof). This expression has two big selling points beyond being as big and ballsy a Jim Beam expression as Booker’s, and for thirty bucks less. It’s a single barrel at a time when single barrels are getting pricier, and it’s also still a 9 year old, that following the main Knob Creek Small Batch expression going no age statement (NAS).

Michter’s Toasted Barrel Bourbon ($50)
Double barrel aging, or the use a new barrel to age whiskey and a new barrel to finish it, has firmly caught on following the introduction of Woodford Reserve’s Double Oaked. Michter’s Toasted Barrel is certainly among the most popular expressions in the double barrel vein. The problem is that it’s a limited edition and not always released annually. It’s some very good, super vanilla sweet stuff, but only if you can find it.

Old Forester 1920 Prohibition ($60)
Brown-Forman created this stuff to approximate what the company was selling as medicinal whiskey during the Prohibition years. The result was a bourbon made from a mash bill of 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley and bottled at 115 proof. According to wine writer Michael Cervin, Old Forester 1920 has “plenty of fermented stone fruits, fruit, browned butter, cocoa crème brulee, and a potent nuttiness, and it just lingers, hovering around in your mouth.”

Rebel Yell Single Barrel 10 Year Old ($50)
The Rebel Yell brand is associated with bottom shelf whiskey these days, so their 10 Year Old Single Barrel came as a surprise to just about everyone. It’s a fully mature, wheated bourbon bottled at a respectable 100 proof, and those qualities send enthusiasts scurrying when a new batch is released each year.

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel ($50)
The Wild Turkey fan favorite in this price range, Russell’s Reserve delivers on all points for fans of that distillery. It’s unmistakably Wild Turkey bourbon, coming from butter barrels and bottled at a markedly high, but not actually rocket fuel strength of 110 proof.