top of page

Want This? Buy That - Bourbon Edition


Want to have a flight of Pappy Van Winkle tonight? You and me both, although we know that isn't happening for us or the vast majority of people, even dedicated whiskey fans. The last five to ten years have seen a thermonuclear explosion in interest in America's whiskey -- which is great news for the distilleries and, in some ways, for us. There are more expressions than ever being released each year, and bars and restaurants are stocking far more interesting bottles than when I graduated from college (not saying how long ago).

The downside is that exceptional bottles of whiskey are becoming harder to find on the shelves of our local stores and, when they do show up, they cost an arm and a leg. There are even popular Instagram accounts nowadays that track #overpricedbourbon.

With that in mind, here's a list of some coveted and insanely priced bourbons, along with some bottles that are going to give you a similarly delicious drinking experience and a much thicker wallet at day's end.

Want: Pappy Van Winkle, William Larue Weller

Let's just start right where it hurts. Everyone wants to try the legendary Pappy Van Winkle. Alternatively, those who gain a little more exposure to the hobby quickly learn that Buffalo Trace Distillery also releases William Larue Weller, an ultra-premium, 12-year, cask-strength, wheated bourbon. That's now a $600 to $700 bottle on the secondary market, about half to a third of the price of those hunted Pappies, which go from $1,500 up for the 15- to 23-year editions.

But you don't need to pay anywhere close to those amounts to drink exceptional wheated bourbon. Maker's Mark Private Selects are available all over the country, with different liquor stores making their own unique picks. As with any store pick, you're taking a gamble by buying one and trusting in the selector's taste profile and palate. That being said, the three or four Private Selects that we've tried have ranged from very good to spectacular. They won't have the same rich, deep oak or cinnamon notes that one finds in Pappy or Weller, which age for much longer; Private Selects reach the bottle somewhere between their 5th and 7th birthdays. But they will have that characteristic wheat fruit and dessert sweetness, with flavors of orchard fruits, berries, stewed fruit compote, cappuccino, and caramel. Doesn't that sound pretty tasty?

Buy: Old Forester 1920 ($48-60)

George T. Stagg is one of the best bourbons I've ever had. It's also in that unattainable $500-plus range with the rest of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Again, it's hard to match its flavor profile given that it's a barrel-proof, 15-year old bourbon; the nuttiness, dark caramel, and chocolate that comes out of it is unmatched. But Old Forester 1920 rises to the challenge, or at least gets quite close. It has a similar fire due to its 57.5% ABV, but its racy heat reads as chili-laced chocolate. Best of all, it's universally available and fairly priced. It's the best bourbon that Old Forester makes right now.

Want: Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond

For years, Old Fitzgerald was a bottom-shelf wheated bourbon. Two years ago, Heaven Hill smelled all that money in the air and decided to release some older barrels of wheated stock under that venerable brand name. Issued twice a year, the batches have varied in age -- ranging from 9- to 14-years old -- but always weigh in at 50% ABV. By all accounts, they're quite excellent. They're also $130 at the distillery, and marked up to $200+ on the secondary market.

Thankfully, for discerning and cost-conscious bourbon lovers, there's an excellent alternative. Lux Row bottles its well-reviewed and respected Rebel Yell 10-Year Single Barrel using stock that they purchase from Heaven Hill. In other words, Rebel Yell (the 10-Year Single Barrel version, not the low-end expression) is more or less the year's third release of Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond. It's the same mashbill, distilled by the same people, aged for roughly the same length of time, and also released at 50% ABV. We enjoyed a pour of the 2018 edition that stunned us with its carrot-cake and tart citrus fruit character, and later acquired a 2019 bottle that I'll review soon and that features unique, powdery floral notes.

William Heavenhill is exclusively available at Heaven Hill's Bourbon Heritage Center and costs a pretty penny. Actually, 25,000 pennies. ECBP is not always the easiest bourbon to find, but there are always a decent number of stores willing to ship it all around the country for $80 a bottle.

How do the two expressions compare? I'll admit that they're not interchangeable, exactly. Elijah Craig's signature is a rock-ballad duet of unctuous vanilla and dry, charred oak, with a supporting cast of cinnamon, butter, caramel, and tea. Heavenhill features more fruit and hazelnut while still retaining some of those oily, oaky echoes of its sibling. Nonetheless, if you want to experience the best that Heaven Hill has to offer, $80 is all it'll take. Best of all, ECBP has multiple releases a year, each of which varies in proof and flavor profile, so it combines consistently high quality with novelty.

Four Roses' most expensive bourbon is its annual Small Batch limited release, which typically consists of a blend of different recipes selected by master distiller Brent Elliott and aged for between 9 and 14 years. Even at MSRP, they're $125, and it's rare to find a liquor store willing to part with their bottles for MSRP. In many states, the Limited Edition is an allocated product, meaning that the state or private liquor stores hold a lottery for the privilege of paying for it. Thankfully, the distillery just released a new addition to their standard lineup, the so-called "Fourth Rose." Small Batch Select has many of the same recipes as the distillery's acclaimed 130th Anniversary release. It's not my favorite, but it's undeniably a well-crafted product and, at 52% ABV, it's not going to feel far off from the cask-strength limited editions. Another way to indulge in the best that Four Roses has to offer is their single-barrel Private Selection releases, which show up in high-end liquor stores throughout the country. They keep climbing in price and are now around $80 a pop, but they represent the only way to try each of the distillery's ten unique recipes and learn what distinguishes them.

This is yet another bourbon that has become impossible to find. Of all the bottles listed above, however, it's the only one that I wouldn't purchase at MSRP. Old Forester is a scrumptious bourbon at 5-7 years. Birthday Bourbon, an annual release each fall, is the only Old Forester expression aged in the double digits, but that extra time in the barrel does not benefit it. It's dry and overly woody. It's hard for me to recommend a perfect substitute, given that I'm not Birthday Bourbon's biggest fan, but here are two options at opposite ends of the price spectrum -- both superior in my mind. Jim Beam Devil's Cut is an eminently affordable offering and has a dry profile that emphasizes oak over other flavors. Similarly, Smooth Ambler Old Scout represents some of the best barrels of sourced bourbon on the market today, and recently they've released a raft of 13-year-old bourbons that are sure to have a strong cedar, tobacco, and oak profile thanks to their advanced age.

McKenna is the newest and least expensive of the unattainable bourbon club, but it's main problem at the moment is availability. In March 2019, it won the Whiskey of the Year award, and ever since then, bourbon fanatics have frantically gobbled up all bottles available at a reasonable price. On our most recent trip to Kentucky, we had a dram of McKenna alongside a pour of New Riff's brand-new Bottled in Bond expression. Honestly, I did not notice a huge difference between the two of them and, if anything, preferred the New Riff more. It's much younger, currently just four years old, but I'm incredibly excited to see what this up-and-coming craft distillery releases in the next decade. If I had to pick anyone to win some big awards and surprise the world in that time frame, New Riff would be the horse I'd bet on. Best of all, did I mention you can pick up a bottle for under $35, and a single barrel for under $45? It may be the best value in bourbon today.

bottom of page