The 11 Best Bourbons
For an old fashioned

Buffalo Trace

Buffalo Trace Bourbon is made at the most award-winning distillery in the world. The whiskey has everything you could ask for in a high-quality affordable bourbon: the finest ingredients and a refined aging process combined to form a rugged spirit with deep and complex aromas.

In doing so, Buffalo Trace has delivered a true masterpiece. The bourbon’s well suited in an Old Fashioned because of its unique combination of flavors including vanilla, mint, molasses, toffee, dark fruit, and anise. This top-tier spirit is an absolute must-try bourbon. You won’t regret it.

How much does Buffalo Trace cost?

Buffalo Trace Bourbon costs around $30 per bottle.

Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whisky

It begins with rich and soft caramels on the nose. The inviting aroma is kissed with honey and fruit. This leads to the ideal mouthfeel—a light sweetness that caresses the tongue—and the perfectly balanced body that is neither too thin nor too full. You’ll taste caramel, vanilla, and molasses, all accented with the most delightful layer of oak. The smooth elegance continues into the finish where spices begin to appear and quickly dissipate, leaving you wanting more.

The experience of tasting Maker’s Mark is unlike any other whiskey. It has a signature taste—much in the way Jack Daniel’s does—that is unmistakable. Once you get to know it, you will be able to recognize it instantly, even without the bottle in sight.

How much does Maker’s Mark Bourbon cost?

Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whisky costs around $30 per bottle.

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked is an innovative approach to twice-barreled bourbon that creates a rich and colorful flavor unlike any other bourbon in the market. Starting with Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which is matured in handcrafted new white oak barrels; the bourbon is then uniquely matured for a second time in another new barrel. The second barrel is deeply toasted before a light charring, creating the unique flavors of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, a smooth, full-bodied bourbon with a long, rich finish.

This spirit is already a little bitter to begin with, so it needs some extra help in the sugar or simple syrup department to make it passable. Otherwise there’s just too much bitterness in the glass.

The flavors overall are great, though. With that extra sweetness added, the cocktail is quite nice, and the extra vanilla and oak flavors of the spirit balance nicely with the orange peel and other fruity notes.

How much does Woodford Reserve Double Oaked cost?

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked costs around $50 per bottle.

Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Basil Hayden’s is a stand alone bourbon, enjoy it neat, on the rocks, or triumphantly in an Old Fashioned. It’s a bourbon sparked with rye, so yes, it’s spicy. But the rich aromatic notes of honey, peppermint, and citrus envelope the senses, welcoming your taste buds like an old companion.

Rarely does such a unique combination of quality and craft manifest itself in a way you’re left wondering; why haven’t I experienced this before? Basil Hayden’s is a single small batch bourbon patiently aged and bottled at 80 proof. However, don’t mistake its proof as a sign of a mild temperament. No, this bourbon is bold and savory.

At first sip, you’ll be curious who was asleep at the wheel when it was priced. Few, other rye-laced bourbons can compare to Basil Hayden’s quality at this price point. So, if you’re looking for an amazing addition to your Old Fashioned recipe, this is a must-try spirit. Really, what’s stopping you?

How much does Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Bourbon cost?

Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon costs around $45 per bottle.

Bulleit Bourbon

Bulleit Straight Bourbon offers a unique and interesting taste for those who are interested in being able to enjoy a great old fashioned. This bourbon will help to ensure that you have an old fashioned that has a lot of spicy flavors as it is loaded with both black pepper and ginger.

One of the things that make Bulleit Bourbon unique is that it is made with a high rye mashbill. This means that it has more of the pepper flavors of a traditional rye whiskey along with the smooth and mellow flavors of vanilla and caramel corn that come with a bourbon.

What Does Bulleit Straight Bourbon Cost?

Bulleit Straight Bourbon costs around $30 per bottle.

Elijah Craig Small Batch

Elijah Craig bourbon is named after a Baptist preacher who lived in Kentucky in the 19th century, widely known as the Father of Bourbon. Keeping with tradition, this whiskey is a truly exceptional bourbon for its price.

Elijah Craig is a strictly maintained small batch, distilled, aged, and bottled in Kentucky from a traditional Bourbon mashbill of 78% Corn, 10% Rye and 12% Malted Barley and then aged for 8 to 12 years in #3 char new American oak barrels.  As a result, each batch is unique yet consistently sweet and smooth. The hints of vanilla, caramel, and fruit complete Elijah Craig bourbon in stellar fashion.

How much does Elijah Craig cost?

Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon costs around $35 per bottle. 

Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon

Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon is the third release in the Old Forester Whiskey Row series. A 115 proof expression that “celebrates the brand’s continued distillation during Prohibition,” when Old Forester was granted a permit to continue distilling on Louisville’s Whiskey Row.

This Whiskey is bold on the nose, with deliciously intense notes of cherry, caramel and dark chocolate. The palate is rich with sweet caramel, nuttiness, and cedar. The finish is wonderfully tart with a long smoky finish.

How much does Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon cost?

Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon costs around $50 per bottle

Four Roses Small Batch

“Small batch” may not be a legal term, but what you’ll find in the Four Roses bottle will taste spot-on. Caramel, butterscotch, undercut by spice and a prickle of red berries.

What I really like about this version of the cocktail is that the oak flavors that are present in the base whiskey balance really nicely with the brighter and crisper bitters and orange zest. It’s more of an earthy take on the Old Fashioned, but just as delicious and enjoyable.

As for the other flavors, the caramel and vanilla also stay present and make for a particularly sweet drink when combined with the sugar cube. It’s one where you can probably get away with skimping on the added sweetness, but it does need a little bit to be perfect. And, of course, that peppery spice is still there making itself known.

How much does Four Roses Small Batch

Four Roses Small Batch costs around $35 per bottle

Larceny Small Batch Bourbon

Larceny is a great intro to the wheated bourbon category, with an attractive butterscotch nose, leading to a rich, honeyed palate. This whiskey tastes great neat, on the rocks, or in any classic bourbon cocktail It has dessert-like qualities, refined yet rowdy texture and benedictine meets bourbon spiced cherries scent make you one hell of a cocktail bourbon.

Larceny Bourbon gets its name from John E. Fitzgerald who was a treasury agent who used his keys to Kentucky bourbon warehouses to steal premium barrels of bourbon and bottle them under his own brand Old Fitzgerald. Over the years the Old Fitz brand changed hands many hands and was once owned by Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle but now is owned by Heaven Hill, the maker of Larceny Bourbon.

What Does Larceny Small Batch Bourbon Cost?

Larceny Small Batch Bourbon costs around $25 per bottle.

Knob Creek Straight Bourbon

Knob Creek Bourbon has some good blood. Aged nine years, Knob Creek is the oldest by a couple years. The extra aging draws more flavor and sugar from the wood, providing a full-bodied, fruity flavor with hints of grass and grain. It’s 100-proof, which is considered the honest age of bourbons made a century ago.

Knob Creek Bourbon is comfortable on the top shelf of any home bar, but how does it mix? Its bold, organic flavor stands up well in cocktails. It mixes for a very nice old fashioned with orange, bitters and a cherry. Whatever you do, taste it with a little extra patience. It spent nine long years getting to you. Don’t rush it.

Pro tip:
Try a new fashioned. Instead of sugar, use Amaretto as a sweetener. Mix that with bitters and an orange peel. 

How much does Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey  cost?

Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon costs around $38 per bottle.

Four Roses Single Barrel

According to Desoblin, a high rye content “makes the cocktail come alive with character,” and this bourbon does the trick. With its rye-forward mash bill, it has the spicy, herbal, and fruity notes that an Old Fashioned asks for. And at 100 proof, it’s powerful enough to “show up strong even after dilution,” Krueger notes. “Its big fruit flavors are really satisfying.”

What Does Four Roses Single Barrel Cost?

Four Roses Single Barrel costs around $30 per bottle.