If you’re anything like me then you’ll know that sometimes you need a more luxurious and therefore more expensive bourbon. That’s where the world of high-end, exclusive bourbon brands comes in, but with so many options it can be difficult to know where to begin. That’s why I’ve compiled a list of eight of the most expensive bourbon brands in the world.
1. Elijah Craig
Elijah Craig is a relatively young bourbon brand – it was founded in 1986, but it’s named after the Baptist minister who is credited with being one of the first people to age whiskey in charred oak barrels. The brand is known for producing high quality bourbons with a rich flavor profile and a smooth finish. The following table shows the expressions in their core range and their approximate prices.
| Bourbon | Price |
|---|---|
| Elijah Craig Small Batch | $35 |
| Elijah Craig Barrel Proof | $88 |
| Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel | $90 |
| Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single Barrel | $280 |
As you can see, the Small Batch is quite cheap but the other expressions are expensive, especially the 18 Year Old Single Barrel, which costs more than many 18 Year Old single malt Scotches!
2. Old Fitzgerald
Old Fitzgerald is a historic bourbon brand that was established in 1870. One of its most distinctive features is its wheated mash bill – meaning that a significant portion of the mash bill is made up of wheat instead of rye. This gives its bourbons a softer and smoother flavor profile than bourbons of brands that use a higher percentage of rye.
Old Fitzgerald is also known for its unique packaging. The bourbon comes in a distinctive square-shaped bottle with a cork stopper and a label that features an image of John E. Fitzgerald himself. The packaging has remained largely unchanged since the brand’s inception, which gives it a nostalgic and classic feel.
The following table shows the expressions in their core range and their approximate prices.
| Bourbon | Price |
|---|---|
| Old Fitzgerald Prime Bourbon | $15 |
| Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 8 Year | $446 |
| Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 9 Year | $300 |
| Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 11 Year | $377 |
| Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 13 Year | $367 |
| Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 14 Year | $399 |
| Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 15 Year | $499 |
While the Old Fitzgerald Prime is cheap all the other expressions at $300 – $500 are very expensive indeed. Interestingly, the youngest expression is almost as much as the oldest, with the in-between ages being $100 – $200 cheaper, presumably due to the quality of or demand for those specific expressions being higher.
3. Blanton’s
Another young bourbon brand, Blanton’s was founded in 1984 by Elmer T. Lee, a master distiller who had been working at the Buffalo Trace Distillery for over 36 years.
Blanton’s is also known for its unique bottle design that’s shaped like a thoroughbred horse with a jockey on top. It’s a nod to Colonel Albert B. Blanton after whom the brand was named. He was a former president of the Buffalo Trace Distillery and a horse racing enthusiast. More importantly, he used to pick his favorite barrels of bourbon from the warehouse and share them with his friends.
The following table shows the expressions in the Blanton’s core range and their approximate prices.
| Bourbon | Price |
|---|---|
| Blanton’s Single Barrel | $136 |
| Blanton’s Special Reserve | $287 |
| Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel | $400 |
| Blanton’s Gold | $440 |
As you can see, all the expressions in their core range are over $100, with the Single Barrel being the cheapest of them all and the other three being two or three times more expensive!
4. Woodford Reserve
The Woodford Reserve distillery sits on a historic site that’s been used for distilling bourbon since the 1800s. Woodford Reserve uses a high percentage of rye in its mash bill, which gives it a spicy and bold flavor profile.
It also uses three different types of oak barrels during the aging process. A new, charred, white Oak barrel which imparts the initial flavor and color to the bourbon, a new, toasted, white Oak barrel which adds a deeper layer of flavor and an older barrel that has previously been used to age bourbon which helps to smooth out the flavors and create a more complex and nuanced whiskey.
The following table shows the expressions in their core range and their approximate prices.
| Bourbon | Price |
|---|---|
| Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey | $40 |
| Woodford Reserve Double Oaked | $60 |
| Woodford Reserve Batch Proof | $182 |
| Woodford Reserve Baccarat Edition | $2,200 |
Although the Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey and the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked are not too expensive – relatively speaking, the Batch Proof is very expensive (even relatively) and the Baccarat Edition is the first bourbon on this list to break the $2,000 barrier!
5. W.L. Weller
This brand is named after William Larue Weller who was a pioneer in the bourbon industry and is credited with being one of the first distillers to use wheat instead of rye as the secondary grain in the mash bill. As mentioned above, this gives the bourbon a softer and smoother flavor profile, with less of the spicy notes that are typically associated with rye.
In recent years W. L. Weller bourbons have become highly sought-after, with some expressions commanding high prices on the secondary market. This is due in part to the brand’s association with the legendary Pappy Van Winkle bourbons (see later) as both are produced by Buffalo Trace and have a similar wheated mash bill.
The following table shows the expressions in the W. L. Weller core range and their approximate prices.
| Bourbon | Price |
|---|---|
| W.L. Weller 90 | $30 |
| W.L. Weller Special Reserve | $66 |
| W.L. Weller Antique 107 | $143 |
| W.L. Weller 12 Year | $251 |
| W.L. Weller Full Proof | $400 |
| W.L. Weller C.Y.P.B. | $700 |
| W.L. Weller Single Barrel | $900 |
| William Larue Weller | $1,200 |
As you can see, W.L. Weller is definitely an expensive bourbon brand as it produces many different expressions most of which cost several hundred dollars – $150, $250, $400, $700, $900, and one that’s over $1,000.
6. Eagle Rare
Eagle Rare bourbons are made with a mash bill that contains a higher percentage of rye than many other bourbons, which gives it a spicy and complex flavor profile. They’re also smooth, partly because the water used to make them comes from the Kentucky River which is known for its limestone-rich soil that helps to filter impurities and create a clean and crisp taste.
Eagle Rare bourbons also come from a single barrel that’s been carefully selected by the master distiller. This means that all the bottles from a given barrel will have a unique flavor profile based on the specific characteristics of the barrel.
The following table shows the expressions in their core range and their approximate prices.
| Bourbon | Price |
|---|---|
| Eagle Rare 10 Year Old | $52 |
| Eagle Rare 17 Year Old | $1,697 |
| Double Eagle Very Rare 20 Year Old | $14,300 |
$50 is relatively cheap for 10-Year-Old bourbon, but more than $1,500 is very expensive for a 17-Year-Old bourbon, and almost $15,000 is expensively expensive for a 20-Year-Old bourbon.
7. E.H. Taylor, Jr.
E.H. Taylor, Jr. is another bourbon brand that’s named after one of the most influential figures in the history of American whiskey. Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. was a bourbon pioneer who played a key role in the development of the modern bourbon industry in the late 19th century.
Today, the brand is known for producing a range of premium, small-batch bourbons that are made with high-quality ingredients and traditional production methods. The expressions in their core range and their approximate prices can be seen in the following table.
| Bourbon | Price |
|---|---|
| E.H. Taylor, Jr. Seasoned Wood | $52 |
| E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch | $89 |
| E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel | $152 |
| E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrel Proof | $385 |
| E.H. Taylor, Jr. Amaranth | $1,000 |
| E.H. Taylor, Jr. 18 Year Marriage | $3,000 |
| E.H. Taylor, Jr. Warehouse C Bourbon | $3,375 |
| E.H. Taylor, Jr. Warehouse C Tornado Surviving | $4,202 |
As you can see, E.H. Taylor, Jr. is a very expensive bourbon brand as it produces many different expressions, some of which cost hundreds of dollars and many of which cost thousands of dollars.
8. Van Winkle
While Pappy Van Winkle bourbons are far more expensive and sought after than those of its sister brands (Old Rip Van Winkle, Van Winkle Family Reserve and Van Winkle Special Reserve), all Van Winkle bourbons are very expensive because the brand produces only a limited number of bottles each year, and because of the exceptional quality of the bourbon itself.
The following table shows the expressions in the Van Winkle core range and their approximate prices.
| Bourbon | Price |
|---|---|
| Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year | $800– $1,600 |
| Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year | $900 – $1,600 |
| Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 Year | $1,500 – $4,500 |
| Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 20 Year | $4,200 – $7,600 |
| Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 23 Year | $5,000 – $8,950 |
Yes, the Van Winkle brands are so expensive that their bourbons have a price range where the lowest and highest price is a difference of thousands of dollars.
And that’s just the standard expressions. Some of the less common and rarer expressions are even more expensive – we’re talking in the tens of thousands of dollars. To find out more about them, see the detailed article I wrote about the 10 most expensive Van Winkle bourbons, which you can find here.
