Best bourbon to give as a gift?

[YoloinOhio]

I’m going to a relative’s house out of town over Easter and her husband is a big bourbon guy. He has a collection. i like what I like and it’s pretty simple - Makers,  or Bulleit in an old fashioned usually. I want to bring something nice but hopefully under $50. Any ideas? 

Edited April 12, 2022 by YoloinOhio

[Punching Bag]

Well if you cannot find the right bourbon this bourbon beer is a real treat: Bell’s Bourbon Barrel Hell Hath No Fury,

[qwksilver]

I like Angel's Envy and Basil Hayden. I've heard good things about BH Dark Rye but have yet to try it.

Find out what he drinks on a daily basis or his go to bourbon, that will get you closer to the right spot.

[YoloinOhio]

1 minute ago, Limeaid said:

Well if you cannot find the right bourbon this bourbon beer is a real treat: Bell’s Bourbon Barrel Hell Hath No Fury,

Well that sounds damn good right now haha

[Punching Bag]

Just now, YoloinOhio said:

Well that sounds damn good right now haha

 

Yea it was.  A friend had a four pack in his car and he brought it in because he forgot to stop and buy something.

Really good.  Hard to find I was told.

I just missed the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festival locally.

https://www.beerandbourbon.com/

 

[BringBackFergy]

So, basically, we’ve graduated from “beer snobs” to “bourbon snobs”. Ok. 
 

Canadian Club or VO.  After two, you won’t taste the difference. 

[Bray Wyatt]

Around $50 I think 4 roses small batch is around that and is good

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Bray Wyatt

[qwksilver]

52 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I’m going to a relative’s house out of town over Easter and her husband is a big bourbon guy. He has a collection. i like what I like and it’s pretty simple - Makers,  or Bulleit in an old fashioned usually. I want to bring something nice but hopefully under $50. Any ideas? 

Additionally, if he has any Pappy Van Winkle in his collection, try to get a taste. We will then need a full report. 

[Augie]

1 hour ago, qwksilver said:

I like Angel's Envy and Basil Hayden. I've heard good things about BH Dark Rye but have yet to try it.

Find out what he drinks on a daily basis or his go to bourbon, that will get you closer to the right spot.

 

I know NOTHING about bourbon, but I know we have Angel’s Envy sitting with the rest of our limited liquor collection. The wife’s brother and another close friend swear by it, so it sits there until they visit. They tend to have good taste so I’d trust that, and based upon a quick Google search the price seems to work for Yolo. 

[Bookie Man]

Mix things up, grab a bottle of Casamigos Anejo. Aged in old bourbon barrels, it has some of the characteristics. It's pretty delicious. 

[billsfanmiamioh]

43 minutes ago, Bray Wyatt said:

Around $50 I think 4 roses small batch is around that and is good

 

The small batch select is good too, I think it’s 60ish

[Augie]

1 hour ago, BringBackFergy said:

So, basically, we’ve graduated from “beer snobs” to “bourbon snobs”. Ok. 
 

Canadian Club or VO.  After two, you won’t taste the difference. 

 

I had lunch last week with @DrDawkinstein on the beltline. With beer I am now onto “I’ll have what he’s having”.  I swear wine is easier than beer now! “Yeah, I’ll have the house and see if it’s awful.” 

[Chef Jim]

Yes. You’re bringing, as they say, coals to New Newcastle if you bring him bourbon. I suggest you bring him so real cool bitters or tinctures to have him add to his favorite bourbon drinks or to create new ones.  Or even a cool set of glasses.  

[GETTOTHE50]

you can never go wrong with bulleit. ever.

[DrDawkinstein]

12 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

So, basically, we’ve graduated from “beer snobs” to “bourbon snobs”. Ok. 
 

Canadian Club or VO.  After two, you won’t taste the difference. 

 

Pretty much. Bourbon collecting became the big "dude/dad" thing to do during COVID. Almost everyone I'm reconnecting and hanging out with again talks about their collection. There are private tasting parties going down in just about every cul-de-sac each weekend.

 

In Atlanta (as is all over the country), you can no longer just walk into a liquor store and buy a fancy bottle of bourbon. You better form a rapport with the shop owner/manager, and be in their shopper's club, and be known to buy a lot, and then maybe theyll let you buy the nice bottle they now keep behind the counter. But only one bottle. Oh, and for 2x-3x as much as it was selling a couple years ago.

 

This is why I stick with weed.

 

That all said, there are still plenty of good bourbons at or under $50, and even the snobbiest of new-connoisseurs I know will still happily drink some Knob Creek and Buffalo Trace. Can't be drinking the $1500 Old Pappy every night.

 

@YoloinOhio, you could probably do any of the following, and make a decent contribution to the collection:

 

Elijah Craig

Weller SR

Old Forrester

Four Roses

Knob Creek 9yr

Woodford

Buffalo Trace

Eagle Rare

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by DrDawkinstein

[The Poojer]

my suggestion is find something that might be local to your friend, plenty of distilleries popping up all over the place.  Might not have the street cred of the big boys, but local is always a nice treat

[Your Brown Eye]

32 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Pretty much. Bourbon collecting became the big "dude/dad" thing to do during COVID. Almost everyone I'm reconnecting and hanging out with again talks about their collection. There are private tasting parties going down in just about every cul-de-sac each weekend.

 

In Atlanta (as is all over the country), you can no longer just walk into a liquor store and buy a fancy bottle of bourbon. You better form a rapport with the shop owner/manager, and be in their shopper's club, and be known to buy a lot, and then maybe theyll let you buy the nice bottle they now keep behind the counter. But only one bottle. Oh, and for 2x-3x as much as it was selling a couple years ago.

 

This is why I stick with weed.

 

That all said, there are still plenty of good bourbons at or under $50, and even the snobbiest of new-connoisseurs I know will still happily drink some Knob Creek and Buffalo Trace. Can't be drinking the $1500 Old Pappy every night.

 

@YoloinOhio, you could probably do any of the following, and make a decent contribution to the collection:

 

Elijah Craig

Weller SR

Old Forrester

Four Roses

Knob Creek 9yr

Woodford

Buffalo Trace

Eagle Rare

 

 

 

That's a solid list, I'd add to that Michter's

 

to the OP... for 5-10 bucks more, and if you find it, Woodford Double Oak or Knob Creek 12 yr would be a fantastic bourbon gift in that price range

13 hours ago, qwksilver said:

Additionally, if he has any Pappy Van Winkle in his collection, try to get a taste. We will then need a full report. 

 

There was a liquor store in Rochester last week doing a Friday tasting of Rip Van Winkle as a thank you to the customers 😳

[aristocrat]

You can never go wrong with Maker's or Bulleit.  Just nice and simple. If he doesn't appreciate that he's an #######. 

[Mark80]

I'm going up to $60 here, but the extra $10 or so is well worth it.

 

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked

4 Roses Single Barrel or Small Batch Select (skip the regular small batch)

Makers Mark 46 Cask Strength

Jack Daniels Single Barrel Barrel Proof

Old Forrester 1920 (although personally I don't love this one, but it is well respected in the community)

Any Michters (bourbon, american whiskey, sour mash)

Angel's Envy

 

Some stuff listed that I would never buy again for what its worth because it was garbage - Bulleit, Basil Hayden, 4 Roses Small Batch, Elijah Craig, Buffalo Trace, Weller Special Reserve, Eagle Rare.

[qwksilver]

2 hours ago, Your Brown Eye said:

 

There was a liquor store in Rochester last week doing a Friday tasting of Rip Van Winkle as a thank you to the customers 😳

Did you try it? If so, does it live up to the price/hype?

[DrDawkinstein]

Best Bourbons Under $50 In 2022

https://www.tastingtable.com/804476/best-bourbons-under-50-in-2022/

 

 

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Stetson Bennett just tearing into a $3500 bottle of bourbon after the Natty.

Edited April 12, 2022 by DrDawkinstein

[Your Brown Eye]

2 minutes ago, qwksilver said:

Did you try it? If so, does it live up to the price/hype?

 

I did not, I was on baby duty with our 6-week old at home. I am part of a rochester whiskey group and they notified members in that group of the tasting.  That was probably my one and only chance to taste a .5 oz sample of that stuff for free. 

[Mark80]

22 minutes ago, qwksilver said:

Did you try it? If so, does it live up to the price/hype?

I have a bottle of Old Rip.  Paid $200 for it.  It is certainly NOT worth the hype.  I would never pay over $100 again.  Things that ARE worth the hype:  George T Stagg, Thomas Handy Rye, William Larue Weller, Pappy 15, Michters 10 Rye, A Mid Winter's Night Dram Rye.

[Nextmanup]

Being limited to $50 is going to greatly limit your choices if you want something nice and/or impressive.

But it's the thought that counts with these things.

 

In that under $50 sector, I recommend Woodford Reserve.

 

https://www.calvertwoodley.com/spirits/Woodford-Reserve-Kentucky-Straight-Bourbon-Whiskey-Distiller-s-Select-w63311307a

[DCOrange]

On 4/12/2022 at 10:14 AM, The Poojer said:

my suggestion is find something that might be local to your friend, plenty of distilleries popping up all over the place.  Might not have the street cred of the big boys, but local is always a nice treat

I would second this. If he already has a collection he probably doesn’t need Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, etc. (Though those would be my brand name suggestions at that price point).

 

Something local is more fun in that case IMO.

And if you can find it in the $60ish range (not nearly as easy anymore), McKenna’s Bottled In Bond bourbon is awesome.