12 Best Bourbons Under $40 To Drink in 2023
Last Updated on December 29, 2022 by Lydia Martin
News Flash: You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a sip of the best bourbon!
Yes, you read that right. You can definitely try the truest American drink without breaking your bank.
In fact, you can easily get the best bourbon under $40 without doing any blind tastings – we’ve already done it for you, so keep reading to check out our reviews.
Top 12 Must-Try Bourbons Under $40
12. Jeffersons Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Average Price: Around $37.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 41.15%
What We Considered: Jeffersons Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey is made from three hand-selected straight bourbon blends of different ages and mash bills.
This straight bourbon whiskey is best for sipping because of its smoothness and creamy caramel, corn, and vanilla palate.
When sipping this Kentucky straight bourbon, expect a hint of citrus with brown sugar and a medium, delicate finish.
11. Noble Oak Double Oak Bourbon
Average Price: Around $37.25 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 45%
What We Considered: Noble Oak bourbon comes with a sherry oak finish and hints of ripe cherries and honey.
The best masters of wood source this bourbon whiskey at Edrington, the producer of some of the world’s finest single malts.
This golden chestnut-colored bourbon also has hints of dried fruit, vanillas, and warm spices. Expect lingering palatable flavors of cherry and wood finish upon sipping this bourbon.
10. High West American Prairie Bourbon Whiskey
Average Price: Around $38.99 (Total Wine)
Alcohol Content: 46%
What We Considered: High West American Prairie bourbon whiskey is blended from two, three, six, and thirteen-year-old bourbon blends.
It comprises 21% rye, 75% corn, and 4% malted barley sourced from Midwest Grain Products (MGP) [1].
This MGP-sourced bourbon whiskey is excellent in cocktails because it has complex flavors.
9. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Average Price: Around $39.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 45.2%
What We Considered: Woodford Reserve Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey offers a chewy, well-roundedly smooth, rich palate.
Woodford Reserve straight bourbon whiskey also has distinct hints of mint and oranges, cocoa, baking spices, and tobacco spice.
The Woodford Reserve straight bourbon whiskey has a warm, long, and silky smooth finish, almost creamy at first sip.
8. Buffalo Trace Bourbon
Average Price: Around $34.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 45%
What We Considered: Like Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace bourbon whiskey is another bourbon under $40 that offers a complex layer of flavors and aroma of mint, vanilla, and molasses.
Buffalo Trace bourbon is your best choice if you are into pleasant-tasting bourbons.
This Buffalo Trace Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey has pleasant flavors of brown sugar and oak spices, partnered with dark fruit, toffee, and anise.
This bourbon from Kentucky also has a long, silky smooth finish.
7. Old Forester 100 Proof Signature Bourbon
Average Price: Around $26.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 50%
What We Considered: Old Forestester is a 100-proof bourbon whiskey specifically crafted to honor the legacy of George Garvin Brown, its founder.
Old Forester is the first-ever sealed bourbon in a bottle.
This 100-proof bourbon whiskey was made from handpicked select barrels, so it has full and complex flavors. It also has the right kick of spiciness, maintaining its distinct flavor profile.
Surprisingly, this bottle also has a strong but candied coffee and chocolatey, creamy butterscotch tasting notes.
This is obviously cheaper than Old Forester Bottled-in-Bond bourbon, which has a caramel and fruity flavor.
6. Larceny Small Batch Bourbon
Average Price: Around $28.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 46%
What We Considered: Larceny small batch bourbon whiskey is a wheated bourbon made by Heaven Hill that you can score in measly $30.
This small batch whiskey uses wheat instead of rye as its secondary grain, so expect it to deliver a smooth taste.
This bright new copper-colored small batch bourbon whiskey offers a note of butterscotch, toffee, and a fresh bread aroma with a long, gentle, savory finish.
Read: Top Bourbons For Weddings
5. Redemption Straight High-Rye Bourbon
Average Price: Around $29.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 46%
What We Considered: Redemption Straight High-Rye bourbon whiskey comprises 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley.
Because its rye content is high, it offers a unique layer of complex sweetness flavors punctuated by rich rye notes.
This bold straight bourbon whiskey also offers a strong aroma of red berry fruitness, with light oak hints and sweet vanilla.
This straight bourbon whiskey has fennel-like notes of black pepper and light licorice from its rye spice content.
Read: Popular Bourbon Smoker Kits
4. Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
Average Price: Around $39.59 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 45%
What We Considered: Four Roses small batch bourbon whiskey, bottled at an affordable price, sports a mellow but perfectly balanced array of full-bodied flavors.
You can enjoy this 90-proof Four Roses small batch bourbon whiskey on the rocks or straight up. You can also mix Four Roses with your favorite bourbon mixers.
3. Wild Turkey 101
Average Price: Around $26.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 50.5%
What We Considered: Wild Turkey 101 bourbon is a bold bourbon with an impossible-to-miss character.
This Wild Turkey bourbon is aged six to eight years in American white oak barrels. It’s also coated with the deepest alligator char, resulting in its bold, candied, but smooth palate.
This Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey has a high-rye content, so it carries a bit of a bite. It tastes like Cinnamon, maple, and charcoal.
This is not overly sweet, so you can always enjoy this delectable drink neat, in a cocktail, or on the rocks.
Read: Our Top High-Value Bourbons Today
2. Evan Williams Single Barrel
Average Price: Around $31.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 43.3%
What We Considered: Evan Williams single barrel is an 86.6-proof bourbon whiskey that tastes lush but spicy. It also comes with hints of apple, oak with honey, and orange notes.
Evan Williams single barrel bourbon, with delicate amber-gold color, has a long, elegant finish.
This Evan Williams single-barrel bourbon is the first and only vintage-dated single-barrel bourbon whiskey. It’s also a five-time Whiskey Of The Year award winner.
1. Bulleit Bourbon
Average Price: Around $32.99 (Drizly)
Alcohol Content: 45%
What We Considered: Bulleit Kentucky straight bourbon is one of the best bourbons that only use the highest quality corn, rye, and malted barley.
This Kentucky straight bourbon has a recipe inspired by the whiskey recipe used over 150 years ago.
Bulleit Kentucky straight bourbon has a subtle, complex, unique mash bill, special yeast strains, and pure Kentucky limestone [2] filtered water. You’ll notice its medium amber color, honeyed oak, and gentle spiciness aroma.
Because this Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey has a high content of rye, it also comes with a bold character and spiciness with a distinctively smooth, clean finish.
FAQs
Are there high-quality bourbons under $40?
Of course, there are high-quality bourbons under $40. In fact, you can shell out the best bourbons for at least $30, like Knob Creek, Bulleit, and Buffalo Trace.
What’s the best bourbon under $40 best drank neat?
The best bourbon under $40 best drank neat is the Four Roses small batch bourbon whiskey. It comes with a soft nose, yeast-ly, almost like baking flour, and strong whiffs of burnt sugar and vanilla.
It has a smooth finish and versatile character, making it perfect for any cocktail.
Final Thoughts
Based on a series of blind tastings our team made, Bulleit Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey emerged as the best bourbon under $40. We liked its subtle but complex flavor and spicy and bold flavor profile.
The high rye content of this Kentucky straight bourbon also became our deciding point because we loved its surprising kick even right after the first sip. Its smooth and clean finish also sealed the deal.
However, despite having to choose one victor among the 12 bottles we had to choose from, we discovered that there are actually a bunch of high-quality bourbons under $40.
The contenders on the list are almost as equally excellent as the Bulleit Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.
You can easily pick one from our list if you want honeyed, smooth, or bold bourbons.
References:
- https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/midwest-grain-products-inc
- https://www.uky.edu/KGS/rocksmineral/rm-rocks-limestone.php#
Lydia Martin hails from Redmond, Washington, where you’ll find some of the best cocktail bars and distilleries that offer a great mix of local drinks. She used to work as a bar manager in Paris and is a self-taught mixologist whose passion for crafting unique cocktails led her to create Liquor Laboratory. Lydia can whip up a mean Margarita in seconds! Contact at [email protected] or learn more about us here.
