Wild Turkey 101, Old Granddad 114, Old Forester Rye, Buffalo Trace are all around $25 and really solid pours.
Edit to add WT 101 Rye is really good too.

That EC and Larceny are seriously underrated I think. Larceny has a barrel proof coming out early 2020 which I can't wait for.

Evan Williams single barrel@ $24 with an 8 year age statement is hard to beat.

OG 114 is seriously underrated...of course, so is the original.

Four Roses is another excellent pour on a budget. Also these under $40 with a 13 year age statement BIB.

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Never seen that particular Dickel around here. I used to be a big fan until on 2 seperate occasions from 2 different locations I had bottles that were undrinkable. It was awful and tasted like metal and left an even worse taste in your mourh. I had a similar experience with Jeffersons once and I haven't been back buying any of their products since that happened either. Since Jefferson's sources all of their whiskeys from other manufacturers I always drew a conclusion that perhaps they sourced it from Dickel for that batch.

Beer just sayings lt

There are numerous "craft" distilleries sourcing from Dickel. Heavens Door being one of the big ones. I've got a bad bottle of Angels Envy right now. Everybody raves about it but mine tastes like straight ethanol. I've let it sit to oxidize for a few months and its still undrinkable. Can't get past it. It's sourced as well but it's never been determined from who. Also had a horrid bottle of Makers 46 awhile back that worked well as drain cleaner. Tasted like a 2x4 soaked in gas. I think it happens to every distiller from time to time.First of the run,last of the run who knows? I learned my lesson and avoid anything sourced. The Dickel is a limited release. Check it out. Its got alot of rewards and accolades and it's smooth and clean.

This why I don't fault batching to an established flavor profile...

Not really comparable, but I've had side by side by side by sided Crown Royal expressions from 1960/1974/1993/2017 and they were essentially identical.

As much as I bitch about Heaven Hill removing the 12 year age statement from Elijah Craig, they did the smart thing and stopped limiting themselves to the barrels they could use in making it, and now batch to a particular flavor profile with a mixture of barrel ages.

This is why I also give extreme praise to consistent single barrel offerings; it's VERY difficult and expensive to quality control individual barrels on the scale of say, Buffalo Trace, in regards to Eagle Rare or Blanton's to maintain their flavor profile consistency. I don't think I've ever had an "off" bottle of either, and I've had plenty of both.

Store picks, which are almost always single barrels, (unless we are talking about the new "micro" batches we see from time to time) are where I enjoy the variations from the old standbys. I had an ER store pick last year that was so different, yet so "Eagle Rare" at the same time (if that makes sense) that it was mind blowing. It had the oiliest, velvetiest mouth feel I've almost ever had (outside of super premium/limited offerings), and an almost earthy, Werther's caramel taste, but by god, was it AMAZING. Of course when I opened the bottle, the store was long sold out of that particular pick, as I would have bought a case of it...

Of course, this very variation in barrels from essentially only a few distillers making only a few different mash bills gives us the incredible variations in brands that we have all come to know and love.

Cheers all!

This is why I'm becoming a scotch head more and more. You know what you are getting when you buy it. Whether it be an Islay, Highlands, Speyside. Having that age statement is important to me.You know what to expect with the flavor profile and it rarely disappoints. Bourbon has become a crap shoot with all the craft bottles when it comes to a good bottle for your money.

Can't go wrong with these 1792 offerings I haven't had a bottle I haven't liked.

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This showed up locally today. Don't know anything about where it's sourced but if you have Walking dead pin you almost have to try this one .

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Never tried 1792. My local honey hole has Jefferson Presidential. He was selling it for $299. I know it's not easy to get but no way in hell I'm dropping that.

Santa came early this year!

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What price point are ones seeing this?

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$119

$190-200 around here.

Thank you!

For Confiscated? Yikes.

Mine was 119. I have seen the rye for more

I just got one for $99, not cheap but really good.

$119 for that one. The rye is a 12yr and it goes for $210 and the few places I have seen it.

Pretty much this in Yankeeland at TW and any of the other big boys, usually +$10 at the good mom-and-pop shops, and +$80/$90 at the less-than-scrupulous stores that know suckers will see it based off the reputation of the first releases and think it's gold...

Talking bout suckers or just jackasses I've been to 3 TW store openings and at each one theres this same group of 4 guys and they are always 1st or 2nd in line. So aggravating to see these doushebags rush in and snatch up the limited high end stuff. There were 4 bottles of weller 12 and 4 bottles of weller full at this lsst TW opening a couple weeks ago. No way the average person can even score 1 when you have these bourbon whores running around in a gang snatching the shit up.

This is why building relationships with the smaller places has worked well for me through these recent years...

I have about 3 places that will literally call me when something "new and interesting", or "old and revered" comes in to

1: ask my opinion about it
2: offer it to me first

Don't want to curse myself here, haha, but I can practically depend on getting a couple bottles from the antique collection and a bottle of PVW/LOTB/ORVW every season. Takes the urgency and anxiety out of "the hunt" this time of year, which is a good thing.

These were the places I used to order cases through in the days when you could get cases of OWA/ETL/W12 for less than $200 because they sat on the shelves for months. I'm in my mid 30's and I shudder to think that I used to mix W12 with diet coke because it was cheaper than JD, lol.

I've been searching for a barrel select of the Full Proof. Is it possible to have you ship me one?

1 I haven't seen it out in the wild in some time now I have a bottle that's open and I have one full one in the reserves if I come across one though I will keep you in mind

T

Goes GREAT with cooking some Sichuan.

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Im not a rye guy but my nephew brought me back a bottle of their bourbon last year and it was phenomenal. Very good stuff!

I bought the rye over the bourbon 'cause it was "kick your ass" barrel strong. (:

Hard to go wrong with a bottle of "Kick your Ass" rye or bourbon or whatever for that matter

I need to revisit my Wilderness Trail bourbon because everyone loves it but me. Grabbed this today, I’ve heard it’s amazing from some several trusted bourbon buddies.

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Damn...another one I have to find.

1st time i've seen this on a shelf at any of my stops and a year since I've had any.

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Saw a bottle of this today for $125. What’s the actual going price?

Just saw it today for $99 but I had to pass on it cause this bad boy was 3yrs older and $10 cheaper.

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I miss the days of collecting whiskey...now I just sip what I have and shop vicariously thru this thread. This bottle seems very nice

Found Houston for $105
And the Kentucky Owl rye $210

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Found this bottle today..

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Went to Costco today and strolled by the liquor department to see if they had anything interesting...they had regular buffalo trace for $22.99 again. There were only 3 bottles on the shelf, limited to 1 per customer again, so I bought one. I think that's a pretty solid price. One of the local liquor stores did a barrel selection of Buffalo Trace and has it for $29.99. Not sure a specifically selected barrel is worth $7 more per bottle...

At any rate, it was dumb luck that they had it when I was there so I bought it.

Now thats a nice find

I think its a very good solid daily sipper for the money.

Also found a bottle for Birthday if you’ve got $500 laying around...

Wow that is just nuts. Some of these prices are just getting completely out of control. I used to pay $14.97 for a bottle of old weller antique just 5 years ago. Prices keep trending up the way they are I may just cash out my whole collection and make a fortune

Bookers ‘country ham’ is a must buy. Best batch in a while. I will be in Kentucky in a week,hope I can come back with something special.

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First bottle of EH Taylor and it's a winner

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Speaking of nuts, saw this on the shelf.
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I paid $5700 for a NIB Tron LE a few years back so I guess it's all relative.

I saw an 8yr Parker’s Rye for $200 today...
still trying to track down some Stagg... missed out on Weller Barrel Proof that had an announced timed release at a local store last weekend.