Game Day Drams Under $30

Four Roses Bourbon is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon and the brand’s entry-level expression. It is made from a blend of two mash bills—60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley, and 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley—using all five of the distillery’s proprietary yeast strains. Formerly known as “Yellow Label,” the product was renamed Four Roses Bourbon in spring 2018.

This is the flagship bourbon from Buffalo Trace, made from a traditional low-rye mash bill and bottled without an age statement at 90 proof. The former George T. Stagg Distillery was renamed Buffalo Trace when Sazerac Company took over ownership in 1999. Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee played a key role in the creation of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, which was released later that year.

Redemption High-Rye Bourbon is produced and bottled for Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits under the direction of Master Blender Alan Kennedy. Its mash bill features 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. The whiskey is bottled without chill-filtration and is now offered in updated packaging as part of the brand’s 2026 refresh. Available nationwide beginning April 2026. (SRP $29.99)

Aged a minimum of 5 years in new American oak barrels with an "alligator char" (char no. 4). Formerly known as Wild Turkey 81, a package redesign and straightforward name change to Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon occurred in 2016.

Old No. 7 (sometimes referred to as Black Label or just Jack) is made from a mash bill of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye. Limestone-filtered water and a starter mash (aka sour mash) from previous batches are added for fermentation to allow for consistency. After a six-day fermentation, the mash is distilled to 140 proof. The new-make whiskey is then charcoal-mellowed through 10 feet of maple charcoal prior to aging. Aged at least four years in new, charred American oak barrels which the distillery makes itself.

That's right, folks, a Bonded version of Old Overholt. Distilled in one season, at one distillery, and bottled at 100 proof. This straight rye whiskey is aged for four years in new, charred American oak. Product launched in February 2018 with availability limited to the US.

Larceny Small Batch is a brand extension of Heaven Hill's Old Fitzgerald line. According to their story, back in the day, John E. Fitzgerald used his privilege of holding the keys to Pappy Van Winkle's bonded warehouse, where the Old Fitzgerald bourbons were kept, to steal the best casks for himself. These became known as the "Fitzgerald Barrels." Larceny is a wheated straight bourbon made from a blend of selected barrels made in honor of this legend. It bears no-age statement and is bottled at 92 proof. Note: Packaging update in summer 2024 to feature the key and keyhole as well as the wheated bourbon mash bill.

Old Forester 100 Proof Bourbon is part of Brown-Forman’s historic lineup, a brand first introduced in 1870 as one of the first bourbons sold exclusively in sealed bottles. The name is often linked to a doctor who prescribed whiskey for medicinal purposes, though the signature on each bottle belongs to founder George Garvin Brown. It is bottled at 100 proof and is also available in an 86 proof version.

George Dickel No. 12 is made from a mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% barley. Of course, as this is a Tennessee whisky (their spelling), it does go through the Lincoln County process of filtering through sugar maple charcoal. However, instead of the whisky being continuously dripped through a large vat of charcoal like Jack Daniel's, Dickel distillate is placed in a vat along with the charcoal and allowed to sit for a few days before it is drained. Aged for an unspecified amount of time in new, charred American oak before bottling at 90 proof.

"Bottled in Bond" used to be a code for "the good stuff." Bonded whiskey is subject to regulation and production rules above and beyond those that normally govern the production of whiskey. Aged at least four years, with a higher proof, and in strictly controlled warehouses, this bottle is a return to a classic expression of whiskey.