What are your reasonably priced gems?

[Stormeh]

Hey guys,

I'm a relatively new whiskey drinker (a couple years) and new to the forum, but I've really been enjoying my time here. Recently, the WT Rye thread and the "mind=blown" thread have had me trying some lowish priced Bourbons/Ryes that are very, very good (OWA, WT Rye.) This started me thinking: What other low priced gems have I missed? What do you guys consider the best bang for your buck whiskies?

Another question sparked by the announcement of OWA being discontinued: What whiskies being made today are you guys bunkering as the great dusties of tomorrow?

Stormeh

[Young Blacksmith]

Elijah Craig 12 - age stated, great taste, what more is there to say? Probably going to kill this bottle tonight, and it will be replaced ASAP.

Very Old Barton 86 - same as above. I like it better than the VOB 100 I have tried. Does not smell like bananas to me.

I only bunker dusties right now, so nothing that's currently being produced. I do have a 4R1B and a Woodford Reserve held over for my girls when they turn 21 in about 17 to 20 years.

[Hershmeister]

Elijah Craig 18 has got to be one of the best values for such an old bourbon. It's in the mid to high 50s in my area (Nashville). Other comparable aged bourbons are easily hitting the 70-100 range.

[JayMonster]

Do a search for value pour and/or QPR in the title and you will find a plethora of threads on this topic. Of course what you consider "value" or "reasonable" varies greatly from person to person.

That being said, I am hard pressed to come up with a better bang for your buck than OWA. There are things that are cheaper, but the drinkability comes into question more than the savings is worth. (in my less than humble opinion of course)

At the slightly higher range, WTRB and KCSB are my goto bottles. (It is nice to get barrel strength flavor without having to ORVW 10/107 would be there if it was a bit easier to obtain. pay a fortune for it.)

[LostBottle]

High West Rendezvous Rye - better than many bottles double its price.

[Lazer]

Rittenhouse Rye Bottled In Bond. EC12. Old Grand Dad 114. :cool:

[Parkersback]

RittBIB

EC12

OE 7/101

Weller 12

OGDBIB (ND if you can find it, but Beam's not bad at all)

Any of the Heaven Hill BIB's

[trumpstylz]

Reasonably priced-

Rye- willett single barrel rye, rittenhouse 100 prf or wild turkey 101 proof.

Bourb- Very old barton 100 prf, evan williams 100 proof, heavenhill 100 proof (either color)

[Stormeh]

How are the current Old Fitz, any bottling?

[Clavius]

VOB BIB for sure

Weller 7yr (or at least, it used to be 7yr!)

[pfiest]

The current Old Fitz BIB is terrible in my opinion. Even as a mixer I can't mask the "dirty" taste and harshness.

[c2walker]

Virgin Bourbon 101. A steal at $11.95 ($10.95 on sale)!

[stiffchainey]

Buffalo Trace

Old Grand Dad

Just can speak in terms of €, though...

[grubbster]

Buffalo Trace

Old Grand Dad

Just can speak in terms of €, though...

[dridge11]

For me, it's ORVW 10/107. It's got age, higher proof, and it's $35-$40.

[stiffchainey]

I can't compare the prices...for me, Johnny Drum/Ezra Brooks/Evan Williams/most of the Beam stuff is under 20 €, which I would consider still "cheap"...the WT Rare Breed is in Germany 23€, and it is a very good bourbon, but still hard to get...so, it depends. :cool:

I thought bourbon is a lot cheaper in the US???

[JayMonster]

Buffalo Trace

Old Grand Dad

Just can speak in terms of €, though...

[stiffchainey]

OGD - I first bought it cuz it was Bukowskis favourite bourbon...then I really got used to it, and then I realized, that OGD has a very special taste. Maybe it is just my personal experience, but I always had the feeling that OGD is an old fashioned bourbon. I like the idea: sippin a OGD, listening to Tom Waits and feelin' like it's the Beat Generation...sounds silly, I know...but, I guess, you get it...

[stiffchainey]

"For me, it's ORVW 10/107. It's got age, higher proof, and it's $35-$40"

This is the best bourbon I have ever tasted. I still have two bottles left which I will not open til it's my last day, probably. It is up to 50 bucks (€) a bottle, when available (!) - NOTHIN to share with your friends at least!:cool:

[dridge11]

This is the best bourbon I have ever tasted. I still have two bottles left which I will not open til it's my last day, probably. It is up to 50 bucks (€) a bottle, when available (!) - NOTHIN to share with your friends at least!:cool:

I share everything with friends, that is the most fun part!

[stiffchainey]

Sure, it was meant as a joke, you know...it is pretty hard, because in europe everybody is going nuts about malt whiskey. Bourbon is pretty much non existent.

[JayMonster]

For me, it's ORVW 10/107. It's got age, higher proof, and it's $35-$40.

Now this is an excellent example of the questions when it comes to QPR. (for those of you playing along at home and wanted a better example than I gave earlier about QPR, not necessarily at dridge11, though I thank him for the example).

ORVW 10/107 vs OWA NAS/107

I will not dispute that most people feel (most likely because of age) that the ORVW is better than OWA... but is it TWICE as good, considering it costs about twice as much as OWA.

I am not going to answer it, because where it fits along the QPR line is entirely up to you.

[dridge11]

Fair enough, just offering another suggestion. ORVW and OWA are my biggest bunker holdings, love them both and think they are both good deals for the money. Can't wait to try the SB OWA/Weller12 blend.

[JayMonster]

Fair enough, just offering another suggestion. ORVW and OWA are my biggest bunker holdings, love them both and think they are both good deals for the money. Can't wait to try the SB OWA/Weller12 blend.

I understand... and I completely agree. After I mentioned QPR earlier and gave a more generic example I got a few PMs for a more specific example, and when you brought up ORVW, I thought it made a good example.

Personally, I like both as well, and would happily drink more ORVW 10/107 if it wasn't so damn hard to find.

[sob0728]

For under $20 I like: Buffalo Trace, Elijah Craig 12, and Maker's Mark.

For under $30 I like: 1792, ORVW 10/90, Elmer T Lee, and Woodford Reserve.