Top Five Under $20.00

[jkiiha]

Enough of this bourgeois snobbery. I think most, if not all would agree that Old Rip Van Winkle, Brooker's, Blanton's and their ilk are fine Bourbons. Accounting for taste, I have had few poorly made whiskeys of upwards of $50.00/bottle. Let's hear some real debate on value whiskey.

Setting the limit low (under $20.00), let's hear your top five. In no particular order, here are mine:

1. Wild Turkey 101.

2. Evan Williams, 7 y.o.

3. Four Roses (Perhaps the best whiskey out there for the price. Too bad it's only available in KY & IN.)

4. Jim Beam Black, 7 y.o. (Sadly, I never did get to try the eight y.o. I have heard from various folks that it was a great bang for the buck.)

5. Ancient Ancient Age, 10 y.o.

J. Kiiha

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

That's an easy one J! Many of my picks are under $15! Here they are in order:

1) Elijah Craig 94 proof 12 years old.

2) Old Forester 86 proof is less than $15 & the 100 proof is less than $20.

3) Ancient Ancient Age 86 proof 10 years old.

4) Wild Turkey 101.

5) Jim Beam Black 90 proof 7 years old.

6) Old Grand-Dad 86 proof is less than $15 and the 100 proof is less than $20.

I know you only wanted five picks but I couldn't leave out either JB Black or OGD.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

It's hard to argue with your choices, although I personally can do without Four Roses (isn't taste wonderful; 4-R is about at the bottom of my list). Jim Beam black doesn't thrill me all that much either. By the way, the 8-year-old IS available, but you have to find a duty-free store that sells it. I believe the one at Rainbow Bridge (Buffalo, NY to Fort Erie, Ontario) has it. Also, since you indicated that you wanted to get away from the heavy-hitters, I didn't include it, but Old Rip Van Winkle 10-year-old (and its alter-ego, Old Commonwealth) qualifies well within your price bracket.

Okay, mine (and these are arbitrary, since there are many others that could appear here -- so many good bourbons; only five slots)

<TR><TD>1. Buffalo Trace </TD><TD></TD><TD>15.99</TD></TR>

<TR><TD>2. Old Forester 100 proof bonded</TD><TD></TD><TD>15.89</TD></TR>

<TR><TD>3. Elijah Craig 12-year-old</TD><TD></TD><TD>12.99</TD></TR>

<TR><TD>4. Wild Turkey 101 proof</TD><TD></TD><TD>13.99</TD></TR>

<TR><TD>5. Old Weller Antique</TD><TD></TD><TD>17.95</TD></TR>

</TABLE>

Please understand that it would be easy to add another five to this list( Old Grand Dad, Maker's Mark, Kentucky Pride, etc.)

=John=

http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey

[Creggor]

Hello. I have not tried many Bourbons under $20 but for thoses I have tried here my list.

1. 1990 Evan Williams I can get it here in Florida for $19.95

2. Elijah Craig 12yr Old

3. Old Grand Dad 100 prood

4. Wild Turkey 101 proof

5. Buffalo Trace

Creggor.

[MashBill]

Here's my top 5 for less than an Andrew Jackson in no particular order:

1. Buffalo Trace

2. Eagle Rare 101, 10 year old

3. Weller Antique 107

4. Old Charter 10 year old

5. Old Forester 100, bonded

(In my opinion, for what little it's worth, I don't believe that the various Old Charter bottlings get enough respect on this list. I find the 8, 10, & 12 year bottlings all superior to the the basic Beam bottlings and they sell for about the same price.)

Bill

http://home.kc.rr.com/mashbill/

[cowdery]

Bill,

My list would be pretty close to yours, though I would want to get Old Fitz BIB in there somewhere. Also, I agree with you about Old Charter. I wish it were easier to find. I would regularly buy the 12 year old if I could find it.

--Chuck Cowdery

[texascarl]

My top 5 under $20 would be:

Knob Creek $18.50

Old Grand-Dad BIB $16.50

Old Weller 12 year $16.50

Elijah Craig 12 year $16

Eagle Rare 10 year $15

If we listed more than 5, I'd say Old Forester 100 @$13.50, and at the other end Elmer T. Lee just misses making the cut, since it costs $20.50.

[ratcheer]

Prices are so high in Alabama it would be difficult for me to name a top-5 under $20.

It is interesting to me that I pay about the same as you for Elijah Craig 12-yo (I think it is either $15.99 or 16.99), but Knob Creek costs $32, here.

I could put some very good whiskeys on my list if I were talking about 375 ml bottles : ) But, that wouldn't be fair.

The only two I know of for my list would be Old Forester 100 proof and Elijah Craig 12-yo. I haven't yet tried the recommended Ancient Ancient Age 10 yo, although I used to drink it sometimes about 30 years ago.

Cheers, Tim

[kitzg]

Those are good prices. KC is not under $20 here

Greg

kitzg

[texascarl]

Managed to try a few more bottles and found a few good sale prices since I first wrote my list and I wanted to update it to reflect evolving tastes and prices.

My current top 5 under $20:

Knob Creek -still find it for $18.50 or less here...$16.83 lowest sale price

Elijah Craig 12 year $14.50

Old Charter 12 year 'The Classic' $15.50

Old Grand-dad 114 $19.50

Van Winkle 10 year $19.99

I live within 5 miles of the Kansas/Missouri state line, there's some interstate competition between the distributors, different prices on either side of the line even within the same retail chains. I take advantage of sale prices on either side of the state line and stockpile good buys when I see em. For instance, I grabbed 1.75 jugs of 10 year Old Charter for $22 this week. Hard to beat at that price.

[cowdery]

It sounds like you live in bourbon heaven.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://cowdery.home.netcom.com>--Chuck Cowdery</A>

[ratcheer]

Carl, the vagaries of pricing are really getting to me. We pay the exact same for Elijah Craig 12 YO, but Knob Creek is $32, here. You only have to pay 58% of that.

Weird!

Tim