The Absolute Best Bourbons Under $125

The Absolute Best Bourbons Under $125

Forget fancy bottles and tall tales – when you're spending over $100 on bourbon, the taste needs to be incredible. This curated list highlights 15 exceptional bourbons, all priced between $100 and $125, offering a range of unique flavor profiles to satisfy both bourbon enthusiasts and those seeking a truly special gift.

Barrell Bourbon Armida

Barrell releases many whiskeys each year, making it hard to keep up (we barely can!). This edition is a blend of whiskeys finished in pear brandy, Jamaican rum, and Sicilian Amaro casks, then batched together. The uncut bottling highlights the unique yet similarly cozy flavors imparted by each barrel. Buy it now!

291 Colorado 'Bad Guy' Bourbon Whiskey

Bad Guy, originally crafted as an experimental batch, is a wheated four-grain bourbon that became 291’s first award-winning whiskey. Known for being bold, rich, and complex, it is made from a mash of corn, malted wheat, malted rye, and beech smoked barley. Despite its high proof, this whiskey leans towards the sweeter side and is always presented at barrel proof. Buy it now!

Penelope Rio Cask Finished Bourbon

This year’s Rio, now nearing classic status, continues Penelope’s tradition of a four-grain bourbon blend (74% corn, 14% wheat, 9% rye, and 3% malted barley). Once batched, the whiskey is re-barreled into American honey and Brazilian Amburana oak casks, then batched again, proofed, and bottled. Buy it now!

2XO The Phoenix Blend

This new whiskey from famed blender Dixon Dedman, former head of Kentucky Owl, is sourced and showcases the finest barrels Dedman could procure. Buy it now!

Baker’s Single Barrel 13 Years Minimum Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Beam's Limited Edition "Minimum 13 Year" Baker’s has just been re-released. This whiskey comes from single barrels selected for their exceptional quality. At a higher age, this Baker's expression truly shines. Buy it now!

Blackened X Wes Henderson

Metallica's whiskey collaboration with Master Distillers Rob Dietrich of BLACKENED and Wes Henderson, Co-Founder of Angel's Envy, introduces a new expression. This classic Kentucky bourbon is aged for six years before being transferred to white port wine casks for a final maturation. The whiskey is then bottled at cask strength after the port barrels are batched. Buy it now!

Peerless Double Oak Bourbon Whiskey

Kentucky Peerless presents a whiskey aged for around five to six years, initially matured in one barrel to highlight the grains. Subsequently, it undergoes a final maturation in a new oak barrel, accentuating the oak influence. Bottled at cask strength, this expression showcases the rich interplay of bourbon and oak aging. Buy it now!

Michter's Barrel Strength Bourbon

Michter’s unique process begins with filling their barrels with 103-proof distillate straight from the stills. Over the years of aging, the proof gradually rises as the angels claim their share. Typically, the whiskey is diluted with Kentucky limestone water before bottling, but not for this release. These exceptional single honey barrels, deemed too exceptional to dilute, are bottled at Fort Nelson Distillery on Louisville’s Whiskey Row. Buy it now!

Chestnut Farms Bottled In Bond

This specific release is a part of Total Wine’s Spirits Direct program, which features their barrel selection. The bourbon in this bottle is a six-year-old high-rye blend crafted at the renowned Barton 1792 Distillery, Sazerac’s esteemed distillery in Kentucky. After aging, the whiskey is minimally diluted with limestone water, bringing it down to 100-proof before being bottled, preserving its original character. Buy it now!

Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery Nelson Brother’s Classic Bourbon

Introducing the inaugural release from Nelson Brothers, Andy and Charlie, celebrated at the TAG Global Spirits Awards in the American Blended Straight Bourbon category. This exceptional bourbon offers a delightful array of tasting notes, including banana bread, cocoa, cherry, dried pineapple, black peppercorn, spearmint, lemon, sweet tobacco, spice cake, milk chocolate, vanilla, and baked apple, all available for purchase at $29.99. Crafted through blending high-rye straight bourbon aged in charred American oak, this whiskey is equally delightful neat or in cocktails. Inspired by their family's heritage, particularly their great-great-great grandfather's distillery in Tennessee, Andy and Charlie embarked on reviving Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery in 2006, carrying on their family's legacy. Since its revival, the distillery has flourished, producing a range of exceptional products including bourbon, whiskey, rye whiskey, and liqueurs. Buy it now!

Booker's Apprentice Batch Bourbon Whiskey

The second batch of Booker’s 2023 releases proved to be exceptional. Dubbed after the bond between Booker Noe and his mentor, Carl Beam, during the 1950s, this batch is a testament to their legacy. It comprises a blend of carefully selected barrels from various warehouses within the Beam campus. The resulting concoction is a 7+-year-old bourbon, bottled au naturel without any dilution or filtration, preserving its true essence. Buy it now!

Widow Jane Lucky Thirteen Bourbon

Introducing an exceptional entry in the American Blended Straight Bourbon category honored by the TAG Global Spirits Awards, offering a symphony of tasting notes including vanilla bean, Earl Grey tea, caramel, sweet tobacco, pecan pie, whole grain toast, grapefruit peel, and nutmeg. Buy it now!

Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Cask Strength

Introducing the distinguished Redwood Empire Whiskey, celebrated in the American Bourbon Cask Strength category at the TAG Global Spirits Awards. This remarkable whiskey offers tasting notes of toffee, cherry, soft leather, cherry cola, honey, butterscotch, and pecans, available for purchase at $66.99. Bottled at cask strength following a minimum four-year maturation period in Northern California, Redwood Empire proudly shares its mash bills, with this expression crafted from 74% corn, 20% raw rye, 4.5% malted barley, and 1.5% wheat. Established in Sonoma County, California, in 2016, Redwood Empire Whiskey draws inspiration from the rugged landscapes and vast forests of Northern California, with each whiskey named after a famous tree. Among these, Pipe Dream stands tall as the 14th tallest tree globally, soaring 367 feet in Humboldt State Park. Buy it now!

Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Bottled-in-Bond

Presenting a distinguished entry in the American Bourbon Bottle-in-Bond category, honored by the TAG Global Spirits Awards, this exceptional bourbon offers tasting notes of baked peach, cocoa, lemon, stone fruit, and toffee. Aged for a minimum of six years in Bardstown, Kentucky, this Bottled-in-Bond bourbon meets the stringent criteria of being matured for over four years and bottled at 100 proof, legally earning the coveted designation. Hailing from the Bardstown Bourbon Company, a modern enterprise nestled in the heart of Kentucky, this bourbon embodies both innovation and tradition in American whiskey-making. Renowned for its experimental mash bills and state-of-the-art distillery, the Bardstown Bourbon Company also offers an immersive experience located on Whiskey Row in Louisville, inviting enthusiasts to delve deeper into the world of bourbon. Buy it now!

Bomberger's Declaration Bourbon

This Michter's bourbon boasts a rich heritage, dating back to 1753 when it was produced at the Bomberger's Distillery in Pennsylvania, even before the Michter's name existed. Crafted in very small batches, the whiskey is aged in unique barrels made from air-dried Chinquapin oak for three years before charring and filling. This meticulous process results in an exclusive bourbon with only around 2,000 bottles produced annually. Buy it now!