Do You Ever Go Bottom Shefing?

[cdcdguy]

 While I can absolutely appreciate some of the higher end bourbons, I am starting to try some of the lowest end stuff.  Some of it is pretty bad but some is better than expected and most is pretty good quality. There are many more I'd like to try that I can't get here such as cabin still or Ancient Age 90.  I realize these will likely be one dimensional and nothing exciting. I would also like to try mellow corn and I have seen it on websites in Kentucky for under $10. I draw the line when it has nuetral spirits.

 

Do do any of you occasionally shop the lower shef? What do you like?

[justataste]

Sure.... Old Benchmark and EWB are a couple of my faves.  Benchmark does not have that musky Jim Beam flavor and mixes well with everything.

 

Stay away from the blended stuff and just try straight Kentucky Bourbon.

[GeeTen]

OGD114 & WSR when my Grandpa Weller's Four Grain vatting gets low.   

 

[kcgumbohead]

57 minutes ago, cdcdguy said:

 While I can absolutely appreciate some of the higher end bourbons, I am starting to try some of the lowest end stuff.  Some of it is pretty bad but some is better than expected and most is pretty good quality. There are many more I'd like to try that I can't get here such as cabin still or Ancient Age 90.  I realize these will likely be one dimensional and nothing exciting. I would also like to try mellow corn and I have seen it on websites in Kentucky for under $10. I draw the line when it has nuetral spirits.

 

Do do any of you occasionally shop the lower shef? What do you like?

You could invert "higher end" and "lowest end stuff" and the statements that follow would still apply. Shelf location and price hi or lo is not necessarily indicative of quality. SB.com to the rescue I would think for anyone that would take the time or express the interest to investigate the bourbon landscape in these heady times.

 

Bottom shelf likely has different definitions to different folks. My cutoff is 100p and I stick mostly to the BiBs. EW White, HH6yr, OGD Bib (sorry GeeTen 114 is a cut above IMO :), FC, VOB BiB, Dant, WT101, and I am sure a few others I am forgetting. These are bourbons I very much enjoy and I would take them over many 50+ dollar bottles out there clogging up store shelves. Just good, satisfying, tasty, basic bourbons, I never regret pouring or buying them. VIVA la bottom shelf!!

[FasterHorses]

58 minutes ago, justataste said:

Sure.... Old Benchmark and EWB are a couple of my faves.  Benchmark does not have that musky Jim Beam flavor and mixes well with everything.

 

Stay away from the blended stuff and just try straight Kentucky Bourbon.

Benchmark isn't a Beam product. BT correct?

[jvd99]

I did before I met my wife  

 

As far as bourbon goes, WT 101, Old Fitz BiB & VOB BiB are my regular bottom shelfers nowadays 

Edited February 22, 2018 by jvd99

[CUfan99]

1 hour ago, FasterHorses said:

Benchmark isn't a Beam product. BT correct?

Yep.

 

EW White and can I call WT101 Rye a bottom shelfer since I can get it for $24.99 

 

[Harry in WashDC]

OGD BIB, JB BIB (which is under $20 lots of times), WT 101 (although the locals have been bumping it up a little),  and VOB BIB when it appears which is occasionally.  Sub-100 proofers - HH white label 80, EWB 86, JB "double aged" on occasion.  JW Dant BIB handles can be found at a few stores not so near me, so when I'm driving that way . . .

 

I'm sure I forgot a few.  Too tired to go look - PT today.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Harry in WashDC

[dcbt]

EWSiB is about the farthest down I go (or maybe MM I guess depending on which you consider farther down the shelf).   I did buy a Tom Moore BiB on a whim but I haven't opened it yet.  I do buy the EWSiB regularly, though, for a nice easy sipper that can also serve as a mixer for those who want that.

Edited February 22, 2018 by dcbt

[Surtur]

I enjoy the bottom shelf, or some of it at least. For my own personal definition, I would say under $20 per 750 ml which doesn't leave me a ton of options; WT101, EWB and BiB, Fighting Cock, and OGD BiB. Less than $10, Old Crow Reserve is a decent value but also the only bottle I would buy at that price point. EWB used to be there but recently went up to $11.99.

 

[kevinbrink]

I don't think of WT101 as bottom shelf it is between $23 and $27 here which is the same as BT, it's still my favorite in that price range though OE 7yr and DN are close. Of what is actually available on the shelf here below $20 Dant is probably my favorite since the current iteration of FC seems to have lost it's luster but I can't think of a Straight Bourbon sub $20 HH product that I find particularly offensive and would take most maybe all over Makers or Woodford. 

[DCFan]

1 hour ago, Harry in WashDC said:

Too tired to go look - PT today.

Me too. So all this talk of bottom shelfers I reached for my absolute bottom shelfer - VOB BiB which isn’t that bad.

[Mako254]

I don’t consider the following bottles to be ‘bottom shelf’ however they are available at just about any ol bottle shop and are $25 or less and I will offer them to non bourbon types for high balls. These are the pours that go in the yeti tumbler over a big ice cube while I walk the dog or if I’m hanging out on the porch not really thinking about what I’m drinking:

 

Old Forester Signature 

Evan Williams single barrel

Wild Turkey 101

 

 

 

[justataste]

6 hours ago, FasterHorses said:

Benchmark isn't a Beam product. BT correct?

That's right.  Buffalo Trace.

[Richnimrod]

I'm certain you mean lowest priced when you say 'bottom shelf'; just to clarify my understanding (because I see HMcK 10-yr. BIB next to it's poor brother on bottom shelves around here, as well as OGD 114).

Anyway, the cheapies I keep (generally at least one each) are several:

Evan Williams Black Label

All the HH BIB brands (& there are several of 'em besides HH 6-yr.), though I don't always have JTS Brown BIB

OGD BIB

Evan Williams 1783

VOB BIB

4-R Yellow Label (sometimes)

 

Note: I used to find WSR on the bottom for reasonable coin.    Nowadays, I often find that in a damned cabinet !

 

[Harry in WashDC]

Oh, and I forgot all about my favorite when I'm cleaning up the yard in the Fall - Old Ezra 101 7 year.  Its sooty, earthy, muddy, woody essence reminds me of, and gets me through, raking and burning half-rotten oak leaves.  YUM!  And, I am not kidding.

 

EDIT - Especially on showery/misty/lightly rainy days.

Edited February 23, 2018 by Harry in WashDC

[Mako254]

6 minutes ago, Harry in WashDC said:

Oh, and I forgot all about my favorite when I'm cleaning up the yard in the Fall - Old Ezra 101 7 year.  Its sooty, earthy, muddy, woody essence reminds me of, and gets me through, raking and burning half-rotten oak leaves.  YUM!  And, I am not kidding.

 

EDIT - Especially on showery/misty/lightly rainy days.

 

Misty/slightly rainy days are some of the very best bourbon sipping days. 

[PaulO]

The three brands mentioned in the original post - you should try.  Mellow Corn is bonded corn whiskey.  The Cabin Still and AA 90 are not very complicated, but not bad.

In unknown territory, I pass on the 80 proof stuff.  I pass on the "blended whiskey" too.  I guess that almost goes without saying. 

The bonds rule the bottom shelf for me.  I don't even consider it bottom shelf.  

 

[flahute]

59 minutes ago, Harry in WashDC said:

EDIT - Especially on showery/misty/lightly rainy days.

 

52 minutes ago, Mako254 said:

 

Misty/slightly rainy days are some of the very best bourbon sipping days. 

 

This is why we drink so much bourbon here in Seattle.

[Jfletchgu]

6 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

I don't think of WT101 as bottom shelf it is between $23 and $27 here which is the same as BT, it's still my favorite in that price range though OE 7yr and DN are close. 

DN1843 and OE 7yr are my two favorite 20 and under bottles. Sounds like we have similiar palates. 

[musekatcher]

Bottom Shelf means inexpensive KSB to me.  I was using $15 as a threshold.  Its important to have a few reliable bottom shelf bourbons on your list.  In addition to all the good suggestions, I'll add EW1783 and VB as worthy, and I'll throw out a sleeper Kentucky Tavern. 

[GaryT]

Early on my bourbon journey, I tried to explore everything.  I found that I really liked AAA 10*, as well as Ezra Brooks 7yr 101.  Today - I've got so much "stock" in better stuff, I don't buy those anymore.  Although I still inexplicably pick up HH6yr BIB whenever I'm on Kentucky.  I like that only a little less than WT101, but at half the price - just can't help it!

[GeeTen]

Found an opened handle of J. W. Dant in the back of The Bunker last night and poured a wee dram.  I'd forgotten how much I liked this easy drinking BIB bourbon for $30.99/1.75L.  It's gotta' qualify as a favorite ":Bottom Shelfer" for me.   

 

[cdcdguy]

Thanks for all the replies guys. When I said lower shelf I was indeed talking about lowest price bourbon. Old Ezra 7  is a great bourbon but I've only seen it around here for $25. Kentucky Tavern is one I'm going to pick up in Kentucky. OGD and WT are good and well made, but especially OGD, I am not a rye fan, much more a wheater.

[mikeydk]

I've been on a similar journey the last few months, trying out stuff I either turned my nose up at because it was under $20, or I hadn't had since my early days of bourbon school.  Oh, it's not $40?  Pass.  I decided that once I broke through paying $100 for a bottle that I couldn't sustain this long term.  

 

So I've pretty much bought one of well, almost everything that comes in a glass bottle to try to find daily drinkers that won't break my bank (looking at you KY Owl).  

 

Some favorites under $20 that are available in my part of Northern California-

Jim Beam Distillers Cut 

Jim Beam Devils Cut

Jim Beam Double Oak

Evan Williams BIB (white label)

Evan Williams Black

Two Stars

Fighting Cock

 

Some that aren't available in my part of California-

Heaven Hill Green Label

Heaven Hill White label

 

Frankly I've been pleasantly surprised that I am enjoying so many of the Jim Beam offerings.  I had a glass of the white label just to check and see if I hadn't been harshly judgmental over the years (I wasn't, I still don't enjoy it), and it provided a nice contrast to some of the interesting things Jim Beam is up to.