Value for the money

[RedVette]

As I was enjoying tonights pour of Old Grand Dad BIB, I was thinking that this has to be the best $15 Bourbon out there. Then I got to thinking about the other values in my collection regardless of price points. Here goes, my best for the money list;

$10 Old Forrester
$15 Old Grand Dad BIB
$20 Buffalo Trace (this one is hard)
$25 EWSB
$30 Sam Houston
$35 WT Rare Breed
$40 Bookers
$45 GTS
$50 Eagle Rare 17

Ok, have at it. Oh yeah and for you guys overseas, sorry to rub it in.

[bluesbassdad]

(this one is hard)

Please explain. Do you mean hard to obtain?

Yours truly,
Dave Morefield

[jeff]

$11 Ancient Ancient Age 10yo
$15 Weller 12yo
$16 Buffalo Trace
$22 Old Charter Proprietor's Reserve
$23 ORVW 10yo 107 proof
$29 Rare Breed
$35 Pappy 15yo
$39 George T. Stagg (any Year)
$42 Eagle Rare 17yo
$42 Kentucky Spirit

That's a rough cross-section of what I consider "value bourbons", that is, bourbons that are well worth what they cost. Prices are local to Lexington, KY and are all within easy driving distance of the Bourbon Festival.

[RedVette]

(this one is hard)

Please explain. Do you mean hard to obtain?

No I meant that there are a lot of very good $20 Bourbons, Corner Creek and WT101 and Knob Creek are all excellent too.

[Nightcap]

$11 Ancient Ancient Age 10yo
$15 Weller 12yo
$16 Buffalo Trace
$22 Old Charter Proprietor's Reserve
$23 ORVW 10yo 107 proof
$29 Rare Breed
$35 Pappy 15yo
$39 George T. Stagg (any Year)
$42 Eagle Rare 17yo
$42 Kentucky Spirit

How sad. Of the bourbons listed here, only ONE, Rare Breed, is available to me in Washington.



My favored "budget bourbons" are:

$11.95 Evan Williams 7YO
$13.95 Old Ezra 101

These two are decent bourbons with bottom-shelf price tags. EW7, imo, is an unpretentious liquor, but one of the best values on the shelf. Sometimes it's hard to resist the temptation to spend just a few dollars more on something truly GOOD, like Elijah Craig 12YO (which can be had on sale for $16.95 here.)

People define "budget" differently, I guess. I envy those who consider Rare Breed a budget bourbon... I'd have it in my house all the time, but at almost $35, I can't justify it.

[bluesbassdad]

Ah ha! I see. I missed your focus on price points. I should have realized that those regular $5 increments weren't an accident.

Yours truly,
Dave Morefield

[wrbriggs]

No I meant that there are a lot of very good $20 Bourbons, Corner Creek and WT101 and Knob Creek are all excellent too.

You can find Knob Creek for $20? It's around $28 for me.

[camduncan]

Ok, have at it. Oh yeah and for you guys overseas, sorry to rub it in.

Of all of these, the only ones available down under are (with approximate prices):
$25 EWSB - $45au
$30 Sam Houston - $80au
$35 WT Rare Breed - $55au
$40 Bookers - $85au
To compare, a 700ml bottle of Jim Beam White Label retails for around $25-35au depending on whether it's on special..

My current list of Australian bargains would be as follows -
$25-35au Jim Beam White Label
$45au EWSB
$50au EC 12yo
$55au WT Rare Breed
$55au Woodford Reserve
$90au ORVW 13yo Rye (plus approx $13 shipping, and the stock is fast running out )

$11 Ancient Ancient Age 10yo
$15 Weller 12yo
$16 Buffalo Trace
$22 Old Charter Proprietor's Reserve
$23 ORVW 10yo 107 proof
$29 Rare Breed
$35 Pappy 15yo
$39 George T. Stagg (any Year)
$42 Eagle Rare 17yo
$42 Kentucky Spirit

Do any of these stores (that sell at such a good price) have online ordering?

[Nightcap]

Yipes! I thought I had it bad. Those are some steep prices, down there... But then, I suppose Bourbon is a somewhat exotic import in Australia, eh? Tell me, is Scotch similarly priced? In the USA, good Scotch is typically much higher priced than good bourbon.

BTW, Cameron, I grew up in Brisbane. Your name is very, very Australian. Brings back memories of all the Camerons and Duncans I knew as a kid.

[pete_d]

Scotch gets far worse, however like everything, you'll have your bottom-shelf scotches at the same price as your JB white, JD#7 etc around the $25 mark.
Here Lagavulin 12 costs $89, Dalwhinnie costs $69, Highland Park 12 costs $60, Laphroaig costs $90, and Oban costs $79. Jonnie Walker black costs $40, Johnnie Walker Blue costs $299.

Some of Cam's prices are cheap, but I can get Small Batch cheap nearby (just haven't done it yet)

My price killers:
$29 - EW7/JBBlack
$35 - WT86
$39 - EC12
$45 - EWSB
$50 - WT8 101
$55 - Knob Creek
$60 - Rare Breed/Bakers
$65 - Woofford Reserve
$70 - Bookers