I went back and read the original post from dang near seven years ago. According to original criteria, we were looking for whiskey $35 or less. One of my favorites, Eagle Rare, could easily be had for that price seven years ago, but it has become unobtanium these days. Makes me wonder what a bottle of Blanton's cost that long ago. I doubt it was much out of the range back then. One can't even dream about finding Blanton's on an actual shelf these days either.
An observation: long lived threads like this are a lot of fun.
"Rich," the Old Man said dreamily, "is a little whiskey to drink and some food to eat and a roof over your head and a fish pole and a boat and a gun and a dollar for a box of shells." Robert Ruark
I’m going to go work my way back through this thread, but hoping I can shortcut a bit by just asking for a recommendation. I’ve been drinking mostly bourbon for a couple of months now and find myself always buying the same thing - Wild Turkey Rare Breed. I don’t know if that is widely considered “good” or not, but I like it and can always find it so I’ve been hesitant to experiment with others I’ve never tried. With that as my “go to,” where should I go next to try something new?
Rare Breed is pretty solid. If you look up David Jennings, aka Rare Bird 101, he's a Wild Turkey superfan who has some pretty deep dives into looking up bottle codes to see where in the distillery they came from, which is handy to know if you find yourself going through a lot of it.
How about Rare Breed Rye? Grab it if you see it; there are certainly better rye whiskies out there, but this is the best one when also considering price and availability.
Have you tried a Russell's Reserve private barrel/store pick yet? I'm going to second recommending this as your first choice.
The weather's getting warmer soon. Longbranch is meant to be taken with a lot of ice.
Some folks really liked the bourbon-rye Forgiven releases and had good results mixing something similar with Wild Turkey 101 and Wild Turkey 101 Rye somewhere around 70-30 to 60-40 percent.
Old Forester best value and depth in their entire lineup is 1920 'Prohibition Style', at 115 proof. Being that it's a Brown-Forman product, there's a banana note in it that some people don't like.
With the exception of the 101s (I've seen them anywhere from $15-$35) and Longbranch (around $40) you should be able to find all of the above at $60-$70.
Specs and Totalwine both have a healthy selection of mini bottles that rotate through as they become available. A very inexpensive way to experiment. I check for anything new and interesting whenever I shop. The basics from Maker's and Woodford are often available. Total is good about having minis of the stuff they're promoting. Oregon Spirit stuff is interesting, for example. And a lot of the Balcones (Waco) stuff is available as well. It's way more enjoyable tossing out a miss on a $2 mini than looking at a $45 disappointment sitting on the shelf. DAMHIK.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
Took some suggestions (and got a spare bottle of Rare Breed just in case). Will try Longbranch next.