The Best Budget Bourbons

George Dickel Bourbon is a permanent offering in the brand's portfolio released under the leadership of General Manager and Distiller Nicole Austin. It is made with the same mash bill as the other Tennessee whiskies in its portfolio: 84% corn, 8% rye, 8% malted barley. It is also charcoal-chill filtered. Aged for 8 years, this bourbon is bottled at 90 proof. Availability begins in select markets as of June 2021.

Wild Turkey is known to barrel its whiskey at a lower entry-proof, meaning the product is a lower proof as it comes off the still prior to maturing. That lower entry proof lends to more flavor from the mash bill (corn, rye, and malted barley). Wild Turkey Bourbon 101 is pulled from the barrel at 109 proof before being proofed down only a touch.

Bowman Brothers Small Batch Bourbon is labeled as being “produced in Virginia”. While distilled a third time in copper stills at their Virginia distillery, this is high-rye mash bill rumored to be purchased as new make distillate twice distilled from Buffalo Trace in Kentucky. It is aged and bottled in Virginia at 90 proof.

Benchmark is a sub-brand from Buffalo Trace Distillery honoring the McAfee Brothers, who were the land surveyors who discovered the property where the distillery now resides. The bourbon is bottled at 125 — the same proof as initial barrel entry.

This Kentucky straight bourbon from Heaven Hill is named after the year Evan Williams first opened his distillery on the banks of the Ohio River. For this brand, small batch means the bourbon is the result of a mingling of 300 barrels or less. The mash bill here is Heaven Hill's traditional mash bill of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye. The age is said to be from 6-8 years. In May 2021 this brand was repackaged and bottled at 90 proof rather than the previous 80 proof.

The name Old Forester was allegedly chosen in honor of a doctor named Forrester, who regularly prescribed the bourbon to his patients at a time when it was still sold in pharmacies "for medicinal purposes." However, the signature for which this bourbon gets its name and which is displayed on each bottle, is the founder of the brand, George Garvin Brown. This is made in both 86 and 100 proof versions.

The "Old Grand-Dad" this Kentucky straight bourbon is named for is none other than Basil Hayden. Created by Basil's grandson, Colonel R.B. Hayden, this bourbon utilizes a high-rye mash bill. Sold in a variety of proofs, this is the 114 proof. Old Grand-Dad is part of "The Olds" in the Jim Beam portfolio which includes Old Overholt ryes.

Early Times first released a bonded whiskey back in the 1940s — this is a "revival" release to be available in select US markets beginning in July 2017. This straight bourbon has a mash bill of 79% corn, 11% rye, and 10% malted barley like the standard Early Times Bourbon. And, like all bottled-in-bond releases, is aged for at least four years in a bonded warehouse, is the product of one distillation season, distilled by one distiller at one distillery, and is bottled at 50% ABV.

Coopers' Craft Barrel Reserve 100 Proof is the second release for Brown-Forman in the Coopers' Craft line-up which pays homage to the coopers who create the barrels used in whiskey production. This Kentucky straight bourbon matures in new American white oak barrels which are chiseled and charred allowing more contact with the liquid. Available beginning January 2019 in 12 markets in the US including Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Florida among others primarily in the south.

Knob Creek Small Batch Bourbon was first released in 1992 as part of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection. It also had a 9 year age statement. But in 2016 the brand removed the age statement while still aiming to achieve the 9 year flavor profile. As of April 2020, the 9 year age statement has returned. The bourbon is still bottled at 100 proof.