In this article, we are going to discuss the 20 most underrated Bourbons on the market. You can skip our detailed analysis of the Bourbon industry in Kentucky, the rise of Bourbon tourism, and the recent acquisitions in the Bourbon industry, and go directly to the 5 Most Underrated Bourbons on the Market.
While there’s no definitive date of when Bourbon first began being distilled, historians agree that it started in the 18th century as Scottish and Irish immigrants settled in the New World and brought with them their distilling arts and equipment. Since corn was abundant in America, that was the main grain of choice when it came to making whiskey. It took until 1964 for the U.S. Congress to officially declare Bourbon a ‘distinctive product of the United States’.
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.
The Rise of Bourbon Tourism:
Inspired by the success of California wine country, the KDA founded the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 1999. While it launched with less than 10 distilleries, all located within an hour’s drive of each other, Bourbon tourists can now visit 42 distilleries across the state as part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour. A record 2.1 million tourists made visits in 2022.
Spirit companies have invested huge sums into new or expanded visitor centers to play up the industry’s heritage and allow guests to soak in the sights and smells of Bourbon-making. During the height of the pandemic, distilleries in the region were closed temporarily to visitors. Some producers eased back into tourism by allowing limited numbers of visitors and once virus restrictions were lifted, Bourbon tourism bounced back with a full resurgence.
Research shows that Bourbon tourists tend to be younger, spend between $400 and $1,200 on their trip, travel in large groups, and stay longer than the average visitor to Kentucky. More than
70% of visitors are from outside Kentucky.
Recent Acquisitions in the Bourbon Industry:
In August 2023, 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 last year that it had acquired Penelope Bourbon in a deal worth $215.8 million, including incentives. The acquisition added 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 some Surprisingly Good Bourbons in 2024.
20 Most Underrated Bourbons on the Market
Methodology:
To collect data for this article, we have referred to a number of sources, such as Liquor, VinePair, Men’s Journal, Reddit etc., looking for the Most Underrated Bourbons. To make sure we only give you the best of the best, we shortlisted 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 or more Bourbons had the same score, we ranked them by their prices on Wine-Searcher.
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20. Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve
Insider Monkey Score: 3
Produced at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon is hand selected, barrel-by-barrel, to bring a robust, mature flavor. Aged for 9 years, this whiskey is bottled at 120 proof so it's an even bigger expression of Knob Creek.
Knob Creek is included among the Most Sought After Bourbon Brands in the U.S.
19. Bulleit Bourbon
Insider Monkey Score: 3
Bulleit Bourbon is inspired by the whiskey that was pioneered over 150 years ago. Only ingredients of the very highest quality are used. The complexity of Bulleit Bourbon comes from its unique blend of rye, corn, and barley malt, along with special strains of yeast and pure Kentucky limestone-filtered water.
Seagram acquired Bulleit in 1997 and the brand was subsequently passed down to the spirits giant, Diageo plc. In 2017, Diageo invested $115 million to build the brand new Bulleit distillery on 300 acres in the Louisville suburb of Shelbyville, Kentucky.
18. Very Old Barton 100 Proof
Insider Monkey Score: 3
Very Old Barton is a Kentucky straight Bourbon that has been matured for an average of four to six years in charred, American oak casks before being bottled at 100 proof. As a result, the whiskey has a rich amber color along with an aroma of vanilla beans and chewy leather.
Very Old Barton is owned by the New Orleans-based Sazerac Company.
17. Henry Mckenna Single Barrel
Insider Monkey Score: 4
Henry McKenna Single Barrel is the only extra aged Bottled-in-Bond Single Barrel Bourbon, indicating it meets exacting U.S. government standards for age and proof. This is one of the longest aged Bottled-in-Bond whiskeys available today, resting in the barrel through 40 Kentucky seasons.
Belle Meade Reserve is a bold, high-rye-content, premium expression of the multi-award-winning Belle Meade Bourbon, crafted to meet the growing demand among aficionados for elite, high-proof Bourbon. It's smooth through and through with tastes of caramel, vanilla, and a little bit of oak.
15. Cooper’s Craft Barrel Reserve 100 Proof
Insider Monkey Score: 4
Crafting great Bourbon starts with the barrel. After all, half of a whiskey’s flavor and all of its color come from the barrel. At Coopers’ Craft they raise their own barrels by hand, then toast and char them to bring out the unique characteristics of their Bourbons. This bold and complex Barrel Reserve whiskey is born from their one-of-a-kind, chiseled, and charred American White Oak barrel.
Coopers' Craft was first released in 2016, and was the first new product from the Brown-Forman Corporation since it launched Woodford Reserve in 1996.
14. Early Times Bottled-in-Bond
Insider Monkey Score: 4
Early Times Bottled-in-Bond is crafted with pure water, a mash bill composed of 79% corn, 11% rye, and 10% malted barley, fermented with a proprietary yeast strain and carefully distilled.
During the turbulent 1940s, Early Times proudly introduced Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon to the satisfaction of the heroic, hard-working men and women of that era. And in the decade that followed, the brand became America’s top-selling Bourbon.
The Brown-Forman Corporation sold off the Early Times brand to the Sazerac Company over three years ago.
13. Eagle Rare 10 Year Kentucky Straight
Insider Monkey Score: 5
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 Eagle Rare brand was acquired by The Sazerac Company in 1989, and is distilled and distributed by the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky.
The Eagle Rare 10 Year is among the Smoothest Sipping Bourbons in America.
12. Maker’s Mark Cask Strength
Insider Monkey Score: 5
A small-batch, cask-strength Bourbon from Maker's Mark that offers notes of caramel, cinnamon, vanilla, and tobacco on the palate.
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.
With 2.8 million 9-liter cases sold in 2022, Maker’s Mark is one of the Biggest Bourbon Brands in the World.
11. Jim Beam Bonded
Insider Monkey Score: 5
At 100 proof, this bonded Bourbon is created from the highest quality ingredients and adheres to the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. It was discontinued in 2022 and replaced in the brand lineup by Old Tub, a bottled-in-bond whiskey using the same mashbill.
Jim Beam was among the Most Popular Whiskey Brands in the World in 2022, with 16.7 million cases sold around the world. Founded in 1795, the brand has been operated by the same family for seven generations now.
10. Larceny Small Batch
Insider Monkey Score: 5
Discover a taste worth stealing. Made with wheat instead of rye as the secondary grain, this wheated Bourbon delivers a smoother taste that’s hard to resist.
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.
At $27 a bottle, Larceny Small Batch is a highly underrated whiskey at this price range.
9. Benchmark Bourbon
Insider Monkey Score: 6
Benchmark Bourbon is made from the same low rye mashbill for which Buffalo Trace and Stagg are famous. Sweet, spicy, and approachable, it makes for a great entry-level bourbon and a wonderful introduction to American whiskey.
At a measly $12 per bottle, Benchmark is one of the Best Underrated Bourbons to Invest In.
8. Evan Williams Single Barrel
Insider Monkey Score: 7
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.
Evan Williams SB sits among the Top 10 Underrated Bourbons in America.
7. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
Insider Monkey Score: 8
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.
6. Old Grand-Dad Bonded
Insider Monkey Score: 8
Old Grand-Dad Bonded is aged for a minimum of four years before being bottled at 100 proof. Made from Jim Beam’s higher rye Bourbon mash bill of 63% corn, 27% rye, and 10% malted barley, it is the product of one distillery and one distiller in a single season.
Old Grand-Dad Bonded ranks sixth in our List of the Most Underrated Bourbons in 2024.
