In this article, we are going to discuss the 15 top rated Bourbon whiskeys under $100. You can skip our detailed analysis of the Bourbon industry in Kentucky, the new positive development for Bourbon distillers, and the recent acquisitions in the Bourbon industry, and go directly to 5 Top Rated Bourbon Whiskeys Under $100.
Bourbon – It’s about as American a drink as apple pie is a food. For the popular spirit to earn its name, it must be composed of at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak barrels, bottled at 80 proof or higher, and – this part is important – produced in the United States.
The country of origin distinction came from a 1964 congressional resolution that declared Bourbon whiskey as ‘a distinctive product of the United States that is unlike other types of alcoholic beverages, whether foreign or domestic’. Ever since, it must be made on American soil in order to legally bear the name ‘Bourbon’.
The Bourbon Industry in Kentucky:
Although the popularity of Bourbon, America’s only native spirit, has risen and fallen throughout the past 100 years, it is experiencing a resurgence today like never before in history. Major distilleries have been expanding operations at a feverish pace to keep up with demand, and new craft distilleries are popping up all over the United States. Experts and industry insiders agree that this so-called ‘Bourbon Boom’ is here to stay, and whiskey lovers around the world wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kentucky is the birthplace of Bourbon, crafting 95% of the world’s supply. Only the Bluegrass State has the perfect natural mix of climate, corn, and pure limestone water necessary for producing the world’s greatest Bourbon.
As we mentioned in our article – 20 Highest Quality Bourbon Brands in the US– Bourbon is a $9 billion signature industry in Kentucky that generates more than 22,500 jobs. And if we’re looking at production and consumption, the state receives more than $286 million in tax revenue each year from its signature whiskey.
Since 2000, Bourbon production has skyrocketed more than 360% thanks, in part, to the premium brands driving the Bourbon boom. Also making history last year, the number of Bourbon barrels aging in Kentucky reached a record 11.4 million – that’s around two barrels per every Kentucky resident.
Good News for Bourbon Distillers:
The Kentucky legislature voted last year to completely phase out the barrel tax, marking a big relief to the Bluegrass State’s booming Bourbon industry. The barrel tax is a property tax on whiskey aging in rick houses. The state rate is small at just 5 cents per $100 in value, but for an industry that is rapidly growing and counties that have hundreds of barrels of Bourbon aging in warehouses, that amount adds up. It's a tax that distillers say might slow the future growth of the industry and threaten to chip away at the state's status as the Bourbon industry epicenter. The phaseout is expected to begin in 2026 and should be completed by 2039.
However, the industry’s victory has come at a potential cost – leaders from some of the top Bourbon-producing counties argue that the barrel tax phase out will take away an important source of revenue for local governments. Over 25 counties in Kentucky stand to lose an estimated $30 million in annual revenue that goes to fund county libraries, schools, and emergency services from property taxes generated on the value of barrels of aging spirits. A fiscal note included in the bill shows that local governments could potentially lose more than $232 million in tax revenue by 2039.
Recent Acquisitions in the Bourbon Industry:
In August last year, the brewing giant Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP) made its first spirits acquisition with the purchase of Bourbon and rye whiskey producer Blue Run Spirits. The Chicago-based brewer said that the deal marked another step in its ‘evolution’ into a total beverage company. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The addition of Blue Run expands the Blue Moon maker’s footprint in spirits as it seeks to premiumise its portfolio. Furthermore, Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP) has established Coors Spirits Co. to house its existing spirits business, which includes Five Trail Blended American Whiskey, Barmen 1873 Bourbon, and ‘future innovation’.
Similarly, MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) announced in June that it had acquired Penelope Bourbon in a deal worth $215.8 million, including incentives. The acquisition will add to the Indiana-based company’s extensive portfolio of award-winning Bourbon, whiskey and coarse rye, giving it control over one of the most recognizable new brands in the industry. Penelope Bourbon will continue to operate independently from MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) and will maintain its existing team, structure, and production standards. This ensures that the brand’s iconic products can still be enjoyed by whiskey enthusiasts around the world.
With that said, here are the Top Bourbons Under $100in 2024.
15 Top Rated Bourbon Whiskeys Under $100
Pixabay/Public Domain
Methodology:
To collect data for this article, we referred to a number of sources, such as Liquor, VinePair, Men’s Journal, Reddit etc., looking for the Best Bourbons You Can Buy Under $100. We picked whiskeys that appeared multiple times in the aforementioned sources, assigned them a score based on their number of appearances, and ranked them accordingly. When two Bourbons had the same score, we ranked them by the price of their 750 ml bottles.
Note: Prices have been sourced from multiple sources, including Wine-Searcher, Total Wine & More etc. As liquor prices can vary greatly across the United States, we cannot guarantee their accuracy.
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15. Evan Williams Single Barrel
Insider Monkey Score: 4
Price: $53
Evan Williams Single Barrel is the only vintage dated single barrel Bourbon on the market. Similar to the way vintage wines are selected, the company’s distillers hand-select individual barrels that meet the specifications they've established. Then each bottle is marked with the vintage date it was put into oak, along with the year it was bottled, and the exact barrel number of the single barrel that the Bourbon was drawn from. The Even Williams brand is also owned by the family-owned Heaven Hill Distillery
14. Larceny Barrel Proof
Insider Monkey Score: 5
Price: $88
Larceny Barrel Proof offers a new opportunity to experience the brand’s acclaimed wheated Bourbon mash bill in its purest form – non-chill filtered and bottled at full barrel proof. Released three times per year, each offering is a bold yet balanced special Small Batch Bourbon rich with depth and distinction.
Larceny is the heir to the wheated Bourbons that make up the historic Old Fitzgerald franchise that Heaven Hill acquired in 1999. In fact, it is the somewhat controversial history of John E. Fitzgerald and his eponymous Bourbon brand that provides the story, and name, to Larceny Bourbon.
13. 1792 Full Proof
Insider Monkey Score: 5
Price: $70
Bottled at its original 125 barrel entry proof, this Bourbon underwent a distinct filtering process, forgoing the typical chill filtration and passing only through a plate and frame filter. This allowed the High Quality Bourbon to maintain a robust proof for bottling, as well as a full, rich, and bold flavor.
1792 is a premium Bourbon owned by the Sazerac Company, a global beverage alcohol giant that took over the brand and its distillery in 2009.
12. W. L. Weller Special Reserve
Insider Monkey Score: 6
Price: $89
The original wheated Bourbon whiskey features an exceptionally smooth taste, substituting wheat for rye in the mash bill. Bottled at 90 proof, this expression stands out with its burnt orange color. Its softer flavor notes make this Bourbon great for sipping or making cocktails.
Produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY, the W. L. Weller brand has been owned by the Sazerac Company since 1999. The Frankfort facility is the oldest continuously operating distillery in America, and even became a National Historic Landmark in 2013.
Weller Special Reserve is counted among the Best Bourbons Under $150.
11. Eagle Rare 10 Year Kentucky Straight
Insider Monkey Score: 6
Price: $69
Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is masterfully crafted and carefully aged for no less than ten years. The rareness of this great breed of Bourbon is evident in its complex aroma, as well as the smooth and lingering taste. The 10 Year Old Eagle Rare is one of the Best Bourbons for An Old Fashioned.
The Eagle Rare brand was acquired by The Sazerac Company in 1989, and is distilled and distributed by the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky.
10. Maker’s Mark 46
Insider Monkey Score: 6
Price: $43
Originally released in 2010, Maker's Mark 46 starts off as standard Maker’s Mark, which is a wheated Bourbon made in batches of less than 1,000 gallons. Then, ten heavily seared French oak staves are placed in just-emptied standard Maker's Mark barrels, which are then refilled and returned to the warehouses to finish aging for an undisclosed amount of time (estimated to be 2-3 additional months).
The Maker's Mark Distillery is the sixth-largest Bourbon distillery in the world. Located in Loretto, Kentucky, the distillery produces 16 brands, labels, and variations of Bourbon. The Maker's Mark brand is owned by Beam Suntory, Inc.
At $43 a bottle, Maker’s 46 is one of the Best Bourbons for the Money.
9. Elijah Craig Small Batch
Insider Monkey Score: 6
Price: $33
Ranked among the Best Bourbon Whiskeys Under $50, Elijah Craig Small Batch is distilled, aged, and bottled in Kentucky from a traditional Bourbon mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley, and then aged for 8 to 12 years in Level 3 charred oak barrels.
8. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
Insider Monkey Score: 7
Price: $58
The true, bold spirit of Wild Turkey has been captured in this authentic barrel proof whiskey, creating one of the Best Value Bourbons in the World. Uncut with water, this whiskey is a blend of Wild Turkey’s finest selection of 6-, 8-, and 12-year old Bourbons.
In 1980, Wild Turkey’s original owner, Austin Nichols & Co., was sold to the French spirits conglomerate Pernod Ricard for a reported $100 million. In 2009, the distillery changed hands again, when Italy’s Gruppo Campari acquired it for a staggering $575 million.
7. Michter’s US★1 Small Batch
Insider Monkey Score: 7
Price: $48
Michter’s US★1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon is made from a carefully selected mashbill that features the highest quality American corn. It is then matured to the peak of perfection. Truly ‘small batch’, each batch of this iconic whiskey is batched in a holding tank sized to fit a maximum of twenty full barrels, leaving no margin for ‘blending out’ imperfection and thus necessitating excellence from every barrel.
6. Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
Insider Monkey Score: 8
Price: $58
An innovative approach to the twice-barreled Bourbon creates the rich and colorful flavor of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. During the first aging process, the Bourbon is matured in new charred oak barrels. It is then transferred to a second barrel that has been heavily toasted and lightly charred, which imparts additional flavors of caramel, vanilla, and toasted oak.
Woodford Reserve is a product of the Brown-Forman Corporation.
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked ranks 6th in our List of Best Bourbon Whiskeys Under $100.
