In general, American bourbo is still very cheap and cost-effective, but this does not mean that bourbon does not have high-end goods.
Recently, the world's most well-known wine search website, Wine-Searcher, listed the 10 most expensive bourbons. Let's take a look.
10. Willett Family Estate Bottled Single-Barrel 21 Year Old
AbV: 68.7% ABV, international average price: $8607
Distilled in 1993 by the Bernheim distillery, matured for 21 years in American white oak barrels with barrel number #C12, and bottled in August 2014 with a minimum of 126 bottles, exclusive retail sale only at the Willett distillery gift shop.
9. Willett Family Estate Bottled Single-Barrel 24 Year Old
Alcohol: 47% ABV, 55% ABV, international average price: $9999
Distilled by the Bernheim distillery for Japanese importer Bonilli, it is 24 years old, 2 barrels, and has an alcohol content of 55% ABV and 47% ABV respectively.
8. Michter's 25 Year Old Single Barrel
AbV: 58.1% ABV, international average price: $10,459
The wines are aged for a quarter of a century in newly charred American white oak barrels and have been hand-picked and blended by Master Distiller Dan McKee and Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson. Complex and seductive, the wine boasts a special balance of aromas and flavours of classic bourbon. You can feel the flavors of molasses, festive spices, chocolate, roasted nuts, dried fruits, melted butter and vanilla.
7. Michter's Celebration Sour Mash
Alcohol: different years, international average price: 13227 US dollars
First introduced in 2013, Mash Celebration Bourbon is a high-end bourbon from distillery master Willie Pratt, which is a limited edition blend of Kentucky pure bourbon and pure rye whisky from 10 to 33 years old. The wine has a warm roasted caramel flavor, sweet and elegant with notes of tobacco, candied cherries, vanilla and honey.
6. Colonel EH Taylor Warehouse C
Alcohol: 50% ABV, international average price: $13,918
From the Buffalo Trace distillery. In 2006, a tornado struck and destroyed two of the distillery's warehouses. Warehouse C, built in 1885 by the father of modern bourbon, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., was particularly badly damaged, with part of the roof being torn off. During the repair process, several barrels were exposed to sunlight, causing these barrels of bourbon to ripen particularly quickly. Luckily, this bourbon (aged from 9 years 8 months to almost 12 years old) tastes sweet and very special. So the distillery decided to give special bottling and launched Colonel EH Taylor Warehouse C.
5. Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Family Reserve 16 Year Old
Alcohol: 45% ABV, 50.5% ABV, international average price: $14,999
Distilled into barrels in 1974 and bottled in 1990, the wine is 16 years old and comes in two versions with an alcohol content of 45% ABV and 50.5% ABV. The label name Old Rip Van Winkle derives from the Van Winkle family's label before the American Prohibition era, and was the only label that the family had the right to use after selling its own distillery (Stitzel-Weller Distillery). Introduced by julian III, the third generation of the family, the original wine is made of old wines left over from the Stiezerweiler distillery. In 2002, the Van Winkel family formed a joint venture with Buffalo Footprint. Since then, all the wineries of the Van Winkel family have been produced at the Buffalo Footprint Distillery.
4. Double Eagle Very Rare 20 Year Old
Alcohol: 45% ABV, international average price: $15,915
Aged 20 years old, aged on the ground floor of a historic wine cellar with buffalo footprints, limited to 199 bottles, according to the official tasting: it smells of black cherry and cream caramel, with dark chocolate, smoked oak and dates, followed by a long and rich flavor of cinnamon, star anise and oak.
3. The Last Drop Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Alcohol: 45% ABV, international average price: $18,320
Launched in October 2020, it is bottled by the famous independent bottler The Last Drop Distillers. The original wine originated from several 18-year-old barrels found by Buffalo Trail Distillery in 1998 when it inventoryed, then continued to age in place for 20 years, and then transferred to stainless steel tanks for 20 years, a total of 40 years, to bottle one of the best bourbons ever.
The wine is only available in 240 bottles, and according to the official tasting: it is very gorgeous, each flavor is harmoniously mixed, like an orchestra, with dark chocolate, almonds, leather, caramel and oak, and gradually evolves into a mild, warm spicy.
2. Colonel EH Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash
Alcohol: 50% ABV, international average price: $24,719
The wine was launched in 2011 for just $70. Aged 9 years, the replica uses the "Old Fashioned Sour Mash" technique invented by Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr) at the end of the 19th century (allowing mash to naturally become sour for several days before distillation), thus giving it flavor characteristics and body that modern bourbons do not have.
1. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old
Alcohol: 50% ABV, international average price: $33,438
The wine was officially launched in April 2017 and offered for only $1,800. It was distilled in 1989 and then matured in a cellar built in 1935 by the Van Winkle family distillery. In 2002, after 12 years of continued maturation at the Buffalo Footprint Distillery, it was again transferred to stainless steel tanks until bottling. A total of 11 barrels, the number of bottles bottled is 710 bottles.
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