OT-bourbon help?

[MexicoHusky]

Basil Hayden if I'm sipping. It's slightly lower proof than many of the fancy american whisky brands. For me that's cool. I like the burn, but only to a point. Bulleit if I'm making cocktails. Also, stick to American Whisky. We do it so well and have such a cool culture of making it...sometimes illegally.

 

[MCNPA]

Plenty in that range

-Blantons is good and should be easy to attain
-Elijah Craig 12 yo is a notch below that price point but very tasty
-Four Roses - Small batch and single barrel, there is about 10 different mash bills so depending on if you like a wheated bourbon or not is where the mash bill comes into play
-Rock Hill Farms
-Breckenridge is good a bit on the lighter side, but very surprising for a Colorado product (I know people love Bullet, but I personally don't understand it)
-Leopold Brother out of Colorado makes some incredible whiskeys and as much as I hate to admit it their fresh Georgia peach, Rocky Mountain blackberry fruited products are amazing.
-EH Taylor good and while there is a fuss about the tornado surviving lot it's just like their other product.
-Wild Turkey Tradition - that's probably a touch outside of your price point but its tasty
-Parker reserve - you might be able to get a bottle of this at the upper range of what you want to spend. It's high proof.

There's a ton more, and I'm happy to help and even give you some thoughts on where to find some stuff if you need more info PM me.

Excellent list from a person who definitely knows his bourbon. My two cents, if you can find some Elmer t Lee, it's the big brother to rock hill farms and blantons and worth it for about 85 bucks. Not always easy to find. As far as EH Taylor goes, the only one I truly think is worth the money is the EH Taylor Barrel strength, also about 80$. Breckenridge is a great choice. I still don't know how they cram that flavor in there with only 3-5 years barrel aging but it's good.

 

[MCNPA]

I've got four bottles of it, but you know if you ever drink it it's almost unattainable unless you buy a lot or know someone. I've got an unopened bottle of 20 that I'm seriously considering putting in eBay. It'll get close to a grand. Stupid people pay stupid money when there is a ton of good stuff available for reasonable price points. Don't get me wrong Julian does great stuff, but there are plenty of options that are equal and some that dare I say are even better

The best Pappy is the younger stuff, bourbon typically when it gets to that 20 yo range can get overly oaked and overpower the glass, it's what happened to the Elijah 20, but the 21 is supposed to have a more balanced flavor profile which I'll confirm tomorrow when I still in from turkey hunting and open that bottle.

By the way 99 there are some good Ryes out there in your price point if you want something lighter. Whistle Pig is great at between 55-70 bucks. Handy Rye is high proof 134-140 but great if he likes high proofed stuff that probably tips your price range a bit and it might be hard to track down as I've not tried to find it in a whole as I've still got a bottle left.

I'll take this back to the bourbon enthusiast site so we can get back to hoops.

The best bang for the buck bourbon with a little bit of searching, is Weller 12 year. Expanding on your point, lots of the best bourbons are actually a tad younger. Weller 12 year is the same juice aka distillate that is Pappy. Same exact stuff. Only difference is the part of the warehouses that the barrel is stored. The result is something that is strikingly similar if not almost the same as Pappy 12. It will be hard to find Weller 12 now, but after release in the fall it isn't that bad. Prices usually between 90$-150$ but it's spectacular for that price.

 

[UConnfan4ever]

If you want to blend a bit of historical trivia, try Buffalo Trace - the only US distiller that produced legally during prohibition - for medicinal reasons.

Woodford very smooth

Bullit not bad (90p).

100p Wild Turkey always a good fall-back

In the end, I mix it with Vermouth for Manhattens - as in msg 12/8.

The best Woodford is the Double Oak. A little more expensive but well worth.
The Buffalo Trace is one of the few distilleries that offer free tours and one of the most informative.

 

[UofCT]

WOODFORD RESERVE

 

[Northbound]

The best bang for the buck bourbon with a little bit of searching, is Weller 12 year. Expanding on your point, lots of the best bourbons are actually a tad younger. Weller 12 year is the same juice aka distillate that is Pappy. Same exact stuff. Only difference is the part of the warehouses that the barrel is stored. The result is something that is strikingly similar if not almost the same as Pappy 12. It will be hard to find Weller 12 now, but after release in the fall it isn't that bad. Prices usually between 90$-150$ but it's spectacular for that price.

The Old Weller Antique 107 is about as good as it gets, seriously. It's the same mash bill at the Pappy and it's the exact proof as the Pappy 15 year......having had them both and likely for my wife far too often, they are strikingly similar. It can be hard to find, but I ran across a stash at a small town liquor by me in upstate NY and I was shocked they had it and shocked that they kept the price point where it was supposed to me. I've got two small bottles and a 1.75 in storage of this and I'm going to get more next weekend. I'm not as big a fan of the Weller Special Reserve (90 proof) it's a short finish on that, but I think it's a great bourbon for folks that aren't used to drinking a lot of bourbon, it won't knock you on your hind end with a huge finish.

I get the Old Weller Antique 107 very very inexpensively.

I'm actually now loving the 1792 Reserve, it's got a sweet finish that is really nice for me right now.

I will say that Heaven Hill isn't bad for what it is, seriously. People will scoff at a cheap bottle and never give it a chance, but it's a nice Julep bourbon.

The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC) is great stuff if you can find it - William LaRue Weller, Handy Rye and the George T Stagg are all great and high proof (130 - 141 or so) which is right up my alley. I grab them whenever I find them, but they can be spendy. I've not had the Sazerac 18 or the Eagle Rare 17, because I've not been places at the right time.

I picked up two bottled of the Parker's Limited release of their wheat whiskey a few months back, but haven't tried them yet.

Sorry, could go on for hours on this topic.