Best bourbon for the money?

[jeff]

OK. We've talked about our top 5, our bottom five, and everything in between. What I want to know is: What do you think is the best bourbon for the price thats being asked for it? I mean, what bourbon provides the best flavor profile for its price. It could be Kentucky Spirit for $40 or Ten High for $5.95. What do you think?

My personal preference, as I'm sure you know by now, is OF 100 proof. This bourbon packs the most flavor for the best price. I think what makes it my choice is that I would easily pay $20 for this one. At $15 it's a steal!

[kgiammarco]

I would have to say virginia gentlemen 90 proof... mid/bottom shelf price, top shelf taste...

-Chris

[bobbyc]

I don't know if Murphydawg is gonna be with me here but I'll say Ezra 7 year 101 packs the best bang for the buck. We need to quit doing this however , they may raise the price!

[MurphyDawg]

Yep its a dead heat with Old Ezra 7/ AAA 10 in my book, on the high end I thing Wathens (@ 22 when I bought it) is a great value.

TomC

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Jeff the best bourbon is whatever tastes best to you for the amount of money you are willing, and able to pay. You're trying to kill me here! The bourbons that I like best are unaffordable to me as an everyday choice, but I have a 'short list' of about 20 bourbons that I keep on hand at all times. I can't afford to drink them everyday, but I sacrifice in other areas of my life in order to do so. Many bourbon drinkers simply can't do so for various reasons. We should be mindful of this. That being said - yes I think that Kentucky Spirit is the very best bourbon going and worth every penny. I only wish that I could afford to drink it any time I wanted it.

[CL]

EWSB for $22. It wasn't too long ago it was $20 with occasional specials to $17.

[hollywood]

All, Here is my vote and/or two cents! I believe it was Jeff who voted for the OF 100. I do believe this pour is one of the better for the money. ie: A quality bourbon that is affordable. I am a WT fan, and do believe they make the best bourbon for the money although. All of their bourbons...from the 80 proof (great sippin' whiskey) to the WT Rare Breed and Kentucky Spirit. Even though these last two are higher priced than many (as has been discussed), are still arguably the best bourbons going! So, if your pocketbook is light...drink the 80...or if you just got paid...reach for the top shelf. By the way, I don't feel I'm settling a great deal if I reach for the 80 anyway! See ya, H'wood

[MurphyDawg]

There is but a mere $2.00 difference between the 80 & 101 proof WT bourbons at my local store, and for that price I will skip right to 101!

TomC

[jeff]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

the best bourbon is whatever tastes best to you for the amount of money you are willing, and able to pay

Linn, I think this is understood, but for the sake of entertainment and banter I thought it would be fun to hear what others thought was the best taste:dollar ratio. I mean we can all sit around and post "hey, I like what I like beacause I like it" but if we don't tell each other what that is and why, we would likely stop talking

To me Booker's at $40 is a better value than Russell's Reserve is at $23. OF 100 at $15 is better than AAA at $12. KS at $40 is better than most everything else

[ratcheer]

I will name three, I can't really choose between them. So, in no particular order: Wild Turkey 101 @ $19, Old Forester 100 @ $16, and Old Grand Dad 114 @ $22 (from out of state).

Tim

[jeff]

The thing I like about WT 80 is that you can drink more of it comfortably at one sitting

I tend to like WT80 a lot. I think it is a very smooth pour. I think WT101 is more like RB and KS, but it lacks a certain smoothness that the others have. Meijer's hat WT80 on closeout for $9.50 while supplies lasted...Lets just say they didn't

[hollywood]

Rat, I have bought OGD 114 in MS, and in GA. I think you're right at $20-23. I like the taste, and Yeaaaah its strong! Maybe somebody can shed some light...both of my bottles have a Lot # of 1 on the back. Is there any other Lots? Is this like a Rick#? Thanks, H'wood

[hollywood]

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT! Do I dare say that my point was well received! Salute!! See ya, H'wood

[MurphyDawg]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

To me Booker's at $40 is a better value than Russell's Reserve is at $23. OF 100 at $15 is better than AAA at $12. KS at $40 is better than most everything else

[Blackkeno]

EWSB would probably be my current top choice for best value. My all time best value would be Weller Centennial--but it's not generally available now. (I've also heard the last release might not be up to previous standards.)

[jeff]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

Is one bottle of Bookers worth 3 bottles of Jim Beam Black??

IMHO: Absolutely Not that I am buying Booker's or KS as an everyday bourbon, but I reckon I do get about three times the enjoyment out of a glass of Booker's as I would say JB black. The WT bourbons are a little trickier. I might have to think twice if I could get 2 bottle of Rare Breed or 1 bottle of KS...but I can't. RB is $30 while KS is $40. Is it worth $10 more to me...yes. Is it worth $17 more than RR...to me yes. Do I drink it everyday? I wish

[bluesbassdad]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

Is one bottle of Bookers worth 3 bottles of Jim Beam Black??

[hollywood]

B'B'D, What flashbacks! You took me back to the days of college Economics! ...or was it Philosophy!?...Hmmm....Milton Friedman, or Plato? Anyway, nice angle to ponder. See ya, H'wood

[submarine]

"One additional dollar means everything if you're starving, but practically nothing if every need is already satisfied."

You know,

I used to see this homeless guy with one leg begging for money and on occasion I'd give him a buck.

One day found myself in line behind him at a hamburger place. I was wondering what he would order perhaps a few $ .99 burgers? Nope, he ordered a $6.00 chicken, bacon, and avocado sandwich. Given a choice between six burgers or one tasty "California Chicken" sandwich the homeless man went for the goods.

That being said best bourbon regardless of money is not the same thing as best bourbon "for the moneyâ€.

My novice vote goes to OF 100 or 86 I like them both .

John F

[bobbyc]

Dave, If I may, I will not attempt to cover all of your post because you have left quite a bit to ponder. First of all , while everything you are saying is valid , I think you've jumped threads a bit here. It seems that it would go better in Linn's poll about the billion dollars, and what that would change. Bill Gates isn't a good example either . I used to get Zooba sent to me and they had a thing about Bill's house and how one would get a wristband and program their preferences of art and Music etc , so if I was his guest I would be listening to The Moody Blues and seeing VanGogh thru out as I moved from room to room. While You may listen to The Beatles Or Frank Sinatra and see works by Michealangelo, And Murphydawg may listen to Nirvana and view Peter Max . Linn would have handlily have found the Liquor Cabinet by this time and wondering when in the hell someone would turn on the music.......but I digress. ( by the way I think this is a very cool setup, and probably some form of it will be available to us low rent smucks in 10or 20years)( Also has sound in the swimming pool) The whole spread set ol' Billy back about 28 million I think.Relative to what he is worth that represents what 500 bucks is to you and I.Not even a Months rent on a 2 bedroom Apartment and he has housing bought and amortized for a lifetime. What would Bill Drink? He's probably too busy pinching himself to see if it is all real and giggling to bother with drinking any of the aged byproduct of cattle food made in Kentucky!( If we are going to get this in perspective , might as well begin by calling it what it is)

Yeah when we get to the point , And Dave your point is well taken on this, where money is no object , One might as well drink the good stuff , Or expensive as per this example.

I think the intrinsic value is the same , It's just going to be worth a lot less to Bill than it is to me and Tom( Probably wondering why he even mentioned this by now)C. I think that on some other level the value is going to be static ( in a relative way) ( there I go again) ( Does anyone besides the core group here really read this) ( does anyone besides me think this is funny?) . A bottle of Wathens will always be better and 90% of people who have tasted these Bourbons will agree than a 19 YO Weller that costs 2 times as much.( I Should not have compared a wheater to a rye That's not the point of this comparison ) And If ( God Forbid ) that My house were burning, my 2 cats and a box of family photos is worth more than all the juice in the cellar.

Neither of our posts ,Dave, really answer Tom's question but it does seem like while we are both off on tangents here,there is more than one way to look at all this. I'm going to begin another thread elsewhere ( Do we really need that?) You'll know it when you see it and It will hopefully give us a little more to think about .

[jeff]

Hmm, Have you ever had an idea that you thought would be interesting, but either you could not properly convey what you meant, or it was taken out of context and blown out of porportion?

[bluesbassdad]

Jeff,

If you knew me on a face-to-face basis, it wouldn't surprise you at all when I take something out of context or blow something out of proportion. I don't set out to be tangential; it's just my nature. ("That's just Dave being Dave", one might say.)

To get things back on track here, I'll state for the record that given my bourbo-economic status the best bourbon for the money is Wild Turkey 101.

However, if the stockmarket takes another hit, my choice of best bourbon for the money may become Old Rite-Aid Pharmacy (bottled in San Jose, CA) . (And if I hit the Lotto, y'all be watching for a case... make that a bottle ... of Kentucky Spirit via UPS. )

In all seriousness, I offer my apology for diverting your thread from your original intent.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[MurphyDawg]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

That being said best bourbon regardless of money is not the same thing as best bourbon "for the money"

[MurphyDawg]

I am sorry we digressed so much, but dont you think the fact that it has generated so many well thought out responses IS interesting?? I mean you can learn a lot about fellow members socio-economic position as well as what we may define as "value" from the responses here. . . . fascinating stuff.

TomC

[MurphyDawg]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

so if I was his guest I would be listening to The Moody Blues and seeing VanGogh thru out as I moved from room to room. While You may listen to The Beatles Or Frank Sinatra and see works by Michealangelo, And Murphydawg may listen to Nirvana and view Peter Max .