Favorite go to Whisky/Bourbon

[COVRTDESIGN]

What is your go to $20/$30/$40 bottle?

I am partial to Four Roses blended for a cheap bottle. What's your go to?

[Blue Jays]

My friends pretty much all love Balvenie which is probably right in that price span.
I have no expertise yet they are very enthusiastic and longtime fans for that brand.

[Bob Ross]

I usually buy Makers Mark because someone once told me that the original Manhattan cocktail was invented to be made with not just any bourbon, but specifically Makers Mark, and the only reason I keep bourbon around is to make Manhattans.

I've since learned that I may have been misinformed as to that cocktail's origins.

So in a pinch (see what I did there?) I'll buy Bulleit. Or, frankly, any of the plethora of artisanal small-batch bourbons available in my local liquor shop.
But mostly Makers Mark.

[Too Tall]

That Four Roses is nice.
I've been buying Bullet Rye. That has been the most all around satisfying during brown liquor season and always makes a great Old Fashioned.

[murphy]

Wild Turkey 101 for $20, Knob Creek Small batch for $30 and the $40 one is hard. I would probably try and stretch it to about $45 and get a Wild Turkey Rare Breed as that is one of the cheaper barrel proofs. Or if there is a store pick of Knob Creek those can be gems since they can be up to 15 years old. Four Roses Single barrels are also right in that price range as well. I feel like that is the price range where your options really open up.

[NCC1701]

Whistle Pig.....

[clunk]

Russell’s Reserve bourbon. Do yourself a favor and pick up a fifth.

[thollandpe]

Whistle Pig.....

If you have Whistle Pig down there for $40 a bottle you're risking an invasion.

One of my favorite bourbons is Johnny Drum, $27 around here. Was my favorite whiskey before the Pig came snorting around.

For rye my favorite is George Dickel. Pendleton ain't bad either.

[ldamelio]

Knob Creek as a go to 'every day' bourbon. In reality, every day is once every couple of weeks. I lean towards the bourbons with more rye in the mash bill. I also like their rye for Manhattans. Whistle Pig 10 year is an even better rye for Manhattans, but about $79/bottle in these parts so out of OPs specs. Nobody asked, but Carpano Antico is the go to Manhattan vermouth.

[deano]

I lived in Kentucky for ten years after high school. Worked across the street from Buffalo Trace and man we would get headaches from the smell of that corn mash. Their marque, Eagle Rare, is the best at the $30 mark. (By the way, if anyone is looking for a great cycling destination, central Kentucky is truly wonderful. You can hit a lot of the distilleries along beautiful tiny country lanes; traffic's not too bad. Scenery's great. Right amount of elevation change to be fun but not punishing).

Bourbon's great in that good stuff can be quite cheap. That said, at $20, it's hard to beat Wild Turkey 101. I know one at $11 that's actually pretty dadgum good, but am forgetting the name. If you wanna spend, I like Booker's and Baker's. None of the aforementioned are too sweet, which is really important to me as Scotch and bourbon should be drunk neat.

[robin3mj]

Affordable:
Breckenridge bourbon
Basil Hayden's dark rye
Laird's applejack

A little more upmarket:
Nikka Coffey
Green Spot

Reminds me I need to get to ABC before they go and deem it non-essential.

[wmidkiff]

Evan Williams Single Barrel is a great choice for right around $30. I'll add a vote for Eagle Rare as well. Both of these are a wheated mash bill iirc, so if you are looking for a more rye forward bourbon I would start elsewhere.

[davids]

Basil Hayden's and Bushmills are very satisfying.

Stranahan's (from Colorado) is excellent but expensive.

I keep trying different Ryes but always come back to Michter's. I love Michter's rye.

[gt6267a]

Buffalo Trace ... < 30
Highwest American Prairie ... > 30 but < 40.
Blantons > 40

[alexstar]

Day in, day out my choice is Maker's Mark or Woodford Reserve. I mostly drink my bourbon in Manhattans or Old-Fashioneds so I appreciate these whiskeys' smooth qualities in these drinks. I love whisk(e)y in general so when I get a bottle of something else I generally drink it neat.

[mzilliox]

knob creek rye, pendelton, woodford reserve. if you like bite, whatever the mid range wild turkey is called

[theflashunc]

Iwai Tradition is pretty unbeatable at $40-ish bucks a bottle if you can find it these days.

For Bourbon, tough to beat the value in Wild Turkey. Helluva good booze for not much dinero.

[kytyree]

Old Gran-dad if you don't want to spend much, Wild Turkey and Beam, there are several good ones mentioned on the higher end, I'll take Woodford Reserve personally. I used to like Maker's pretty well but haven't had much interest in it lately, a lot of people like Knob Creek but it's never done much for me.
Right now I've got a bottle of Dickel and a bottle of Glenlivet.

[Matthew Strongin]

I'm currently working my way through bottles of Michter's Straight Rye, Whistle Pig 10 Year Rye, Bulleit Bourbon and High West Double Rye. They all get the job done, though the only pricey-ish bottle, the Whistle Pig, is my least favorite of the bunch. If I'm allowed to leave the house this summer, I'll give it to some friends.

[davids]

I'm currently working my way through bottles of Michter's Straight Rye, Whistle Pig 10 Year Rye, Bulleit Bourbon and High West Double Rye. They all get the job done, though the only pricey-ish bottle, the Whistle Pig, is my least favorite of the bunch. If I'm allowed to leave the house this summer, I'll give it to some friends.

Smart man, even if you are some weird relic of an obsolete age.

Mmmmmmmmichter's....