Bourbons under sixty dollars

Bottles found at retail without a hunt or a markup. Pours, not trophies.

Bookmarks

1. Wild Turkey 101

   5/5

   High rye, no pretense; the best value in American whiskey, full stop.

2. Eagle Rare 10 Year

   5/5

   The same distillery with ten years of patience — oak and orange peel.

3. Maker’s Mark 46

   4/5

   The wheated one, finished on French oak staves; dessert that stays under fifty.

4. Elijah Craig Small Batch

   4/5

   Barrel char and brown sugar; the benchmark everyone calibrates against.

5. Knob Creek 9 Year

   4/5

   The age statement that came back; big oak for the money.

6. Old Grand-Dad 114

   4/5

   A handful of spice at a gentle price; one cube and it opens right up.

7. Buffalo Trace

   4/5

   The house pour: caramel forward, everywhere, honest at the price.

8. Four Roses Small Batch

   4/5

   Floral and gentle without being thin — the bottle that converts wine drinkers.

9. Woodford Reserve

   3/5

   Polished and easy on every shelf; nothing to argue with, little to remember.