Great Value Bourbons in 2025
There’s a huge variety of bourbon available in the modern whisky market, and it can be hard to know what to spend your money on. At spirits shops or big box retailers, you’re faced with hundreds of options - which bottles present the best value, the best bang for your buck?
Prices are also inflated in the market, but there is still plenty of value to be found on both the affordable end of the spectrum, as well as the premium end. We’ve chosen our top 10 value bourbons, as well as some additional premium options ($75+), which present some of the best value propositions in the bourbon world.
This is a budget bourbon ($22 in our area) from the Jim Beam distillery - it’s bottled-in-bond, so we get a proper strength of 50% ABV (100 proof), and we know that this is aged for at least 4 years. This bourbon has a high-rye mashbill, which adds some spice to the flavor profile, but that’s nicely balanced by sweeter fruits and baking spices.
Some flavors you can expect: Caramel and peanut brittle; cherries and cream soda; vanilla, almond, and cinnamon.
Heaven Hill's Evan Williams is one of the bestselling brands of bourbon, and the backbone of the line is the entry level black label bottling. It doesn’t carry an age statement, and it’s bottled at a relatively low strength of 43% (86 proof), but the price is hard to beat: it costs $11 to $15 per bottle.
Some flavors you can expect: Citrus and brown sugar, nutty flavors; soft oak, vanilla, wood smoke, and pepper.
Check out our full review of Evan Williams Black Label here.
The first repeat entry from our 2024 list: this is Wild Turkey 101. It’s one of the most well-known Kentucky straight bourbons. It’s known for its solid character and presenting a great value proposition due to its reasonable pricing. It's bottled at 50.5%, which makes it even better value, and the cost sits around $21 to $23.
Some flavors you can expect: Brown sugar and some drying oak; dusty grains and hints of peanuts; pepper, clove, sweet vanilla and cinnamon.
Early Times Bottled in Bond Bourbon
Another bottled-in-bond bourbon, and this one sells for $25 to $30, but you get a larger 1 liter bottle. In 2020, this brand changed hands, moving from the Brown-Forman (owners of Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester) portfolio into the hands of Sazerac (owners of Buffalo Trace, 1792 Barton).
Some flavors you can expect: Cherry and brown sugar; molasses, some oak, corn grain; vanilla and grain.
Benchmark is one of the budget brands of bourbon produced by the Buffalo Trace distillery. Full Proof refers to the bottling strength, which matches the entry proof when they are first filling the barrels: in this case, 62.5% ABV, or 125 proof. That's the maximum strength allowed for barrel entry proof in the bourbon regulations; it's the most economical, as it maximizes the amount of spirit that can be aged in each barrel, which saves on oak costs. In our area, this bottle comes in at just under $20.
Some flavors you can expect: Caramel, plum, cherry, and orange; peanut butter, brown sugar, leather, and baking spices.
This is the entry level bourbon bottle from Heaven Hill’s Elijah Craig brand – a non age stated whisky bottled at a strength of 47% ABV (94 proof). We like that we get a slightly higher-than-average strength here compared to a lot of peers in the affordable bourbon category. The price generally floats between $25 and $30 per bottle.
Some flavors you can expect: Peanut, vanilla, caramel corn; hints of cherry, oak tannins, and leather.
Another favorite returns from our 2024 list: Jim Beam's 'Old Grand-Dad' brand, named for Basil Hayden Sr., is made using a high-rye recipe: 63% corn, 27% rye, and 10% malted barley. For a bourbon that costs under $30, the bottling strength of 114 proof (57% ABV) makes this a good deal.
Some flavors you can expect: Baking notes like caramel, cinnamon and a hint of cherry; there’s leathery oak, peanut brittle, and spicy pepper, as well.
Yet another bourbon from the Jim Beam distillery makes it to our list. This Knob Creek small batch bourbon carries a great 9 year age statement, and it’s also bottled at a stronger 50% ABV. The Knob Creek brand uses a high-corn bourbon mashbill, with 75% to 77% of the grain being corn; this means that it's likely that 10% to 15% of the grain is rye, which makes this a 'low-rye' bourbon.
Some flavors you can expect:
Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon
The first wheated bourbon entry on our list - Maker’s Mark, out of Loretto, Kentucky, uses 16% red winter wheat to add a softer, sweeter side to its bourbon. This bottle and brand are famous for the red wax seal on the top of the bottle - each is dipped at the distillery, making each bottle slightly unique.
Some flavors you can expect: Mellow, toasty, and oaky, with baking notes of vanilla, caramel, and clove. A little earthy at times, with brown sugar, more drying oak, and maple syrup.
Another wheated bourbon option in our value list - this time, from Green River, an old revived distillery in Owensboro, Kentucky. It uses a mashbill of 70% corn (all grown in Kentucky), 21% wheat, and 9% malted barley; it comes with a middling proof point of 90 (45% ABV) and a price of $30 to $35.
Some flavors you can expect: Light sweet butterscotch and vanilla; caramel, subtle cherry; cinnamon spice, licorice, floral notes.
Check out our full review of Green River Wheated Bourbon here.
And now, those premium options we mentioned earlier:
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof
Each year, three batches of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof are bottled: A1XX, B5XX, and C9XX, with the final two digits corresponding to the year of release. These are generally in the 120+ proof range, and while the standardized 12 year age statement has been dropped as of 2023, the batches still have all been 10+ years old. These are powerhouse bourbons, and at $65 to $80, they offer great value for a barrel proof whisky with a higher age statement.
Some flavors you can expect: Dark and rich, molasses and caramel; red fruits of cherry and strawberry; aged notes of tobacco and leather; sometimes, a bit of orange fruit or baking spice.
Check out our full reviews of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof batches here:
Review #586 - Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 11
Review #528 - Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C924
Review #415 - Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch C922
Review #368 - Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch B524
Review #298 - Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A122
Review #297 - Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A121
Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Strength
This is a single barrel product from Old Forester, so your results may vary from bottle to bottle; that said, these pack tons of flavor, especially strong oak and sweet notes. The price generally falls around $90 to $100, but they can be worth the splurge for their unique character.
Some flavors you can expect: Dessert notes like banana bread and tiramisu; brown sugar, strong oak, and coffee; vanilla, molasses, and cinnamon.
Check out our full reviews of Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Strength bottles here:
Review #534 - Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Strength Bourbon - Kroger Pick
Review #443 - Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Strength - 'Nothing Better in the Market'
Russell’s Reserve Single Barrels
Russell’s Reserve is bottled both as a ‘standardized’ single barrel, and as a store-pick single barrel; both versions are very good, but the price will range from $75 to $100 depending on which version you find. These single barrels offer a nice mixture of fruit flavors, strong oak, and baking spices; they’re bottled at a higher strength of 55% ABV (110 proof), as well.
Some flavors you can expect: Cherry cola, brown sugar, molasses; wood smoke, berries; strong oak, candied pecans.
Check out our full reviews of Russell’s Reserve Single Barrels here:
Review #376 - Russell's Reserve 9 Year Private Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Solitary Confinement'
