Refilling the Liquor Cabinet: Well-Priced American Whiskies

by Bruce Watson, Posted Nov 24th 2008 @ 4:30PM

American whiskey has been around as long as there has been an America. In fact, the decision to tax whiskey led to the famous Whiskey Rebellion, one of the first violent protests that followed the American Revolution. However, while numerous whiskies were once part of America's distilling heritage, corn whiskey (aka bourbon) has long since become America's more or less official alcohol.

Fair or not, in recent years, America's love affair with bourbon has led to a massive amount of sour-mash snobbery. Craft-style, small-batch, and limited edition bourbons have driven up the prestige (and price) of what once was the most proletarian of whiskeys. This is particularly ironic, given the fact that bourbon was, in many ways, the traditional whiskey of America's most rough-and-tumble element.

This is not to say, however, that good, old-fashioned, cheap American whiskey hasn't survived. Some of America's oldest and most respected brands are still around and are still reasonably priced.For example, Old Grand-dad is a lesser-known, but well-established bourbon. It is comparatively inexpensive and makes a great mixer. Similarly, Old Crow offers incredible value ($17 for a 1.75 Liter bottle) and a good, solid flavor. Best of all, it has an outstanding pedigree: if anybody casts aspersions on it, you can note that it is America's first sour-mash whiskey, was the preferred drink of Senator Henry Clay and President Ulysses S. Grant, and was one of Mark Twain and Hunter Thompson's favorite tipples.

If you're feeling a little playful, you might try out some ryes. Once America's pre-eminent spirit, rye was almost totally wiped out by Prohibition. A few brands, such as Old Overholt, survived, and continue to give a great value. At $14 for a fifth, Overholt is a smooth, mellow sipping whiskey that mixes well with almost everything. Similarly, Rittenhouse Rye, a more recent addition to the ranks of America's whiskeys, costs about $15 for a fifth and has won several awards for its rich, smooth flavor.

If you feel the need to refill your liquor cabinet over the next few weeks (with the holidays coming up, fortune favors the prepared!), you might want to give one of these spirits a try. Regardless of whether you go with a cheaper bourbon or a reasonable rye, you'll find that they offer solid flavor at a price you can deal with!

Filed Under: Food Quest, Ingredients, Drink Recipes, Holidays
Tags: america, christmas, comfort food, Food Quest, old crow, old grand dad, old overholt, OldCrow, OldGrandDad, OldOverholt, rittenhouse rye, RittenhouseRye, rye, spirits, thanksgiving, whiskey, whisky

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-24-2008 @6:34PM SaraFist said... Great bit! I've long been an adherent of Old Crow--it's the family bourbon--but people have mocked it pretty hard for a while now. Cheap doesn't always mean bad! I've only gotten into rye within the past few years, so I'll definitely have to check those suggestions out.
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11-25-2008 @8:37AM Jon said... Wow, great article. I've currently been sipping on Old Grandad. I regret nothing.

Cant wait to try Old Crow.

http://www.foodfightblog.com
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11-25-2008 @9:13AM Jon said... I bought Old Granddad and Old Overholt on Sunday. I haven't tried Granddad before, but I needed a new mixing bourbon and figured I'd give it a try. Overholt has been a favorite in my house for a couple years; it's great for Manhattans and similar drinks. And I usually pay more like $11 a bottle, though the price may have gone up recently.

I like to pick brands of whiskey based on funny names. This worked well with Overholt, but it led to the disastrous purchase of a terrible Scotch called "Old Smuggler".
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11-25-2008 @11:07AM sixfist said... I have a similar method to Jon when i choose booze, except i base my decision on the overall packaging, the design, the name, etc. I ended up buying Rebel Yell down in VA because of the ridiculousness of it. The name, what's written on the back, and most importantly the picture on the front of the label of a confederate soldier on a horse wielding a rather long sword. It actually ended up being pretty good. Had some spicyness to it.

Some of my friend's pretty much exclusively buy maker's mark. Which is good stuff (then again I've never met a whisk(e)y i didn't like), but it's overpriced in my humble opinion.
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11-25-2008 @2:00PM ty said... My favorite subject! I love them all from Rip Van Winkel(the best 12 yr. old)to Rebel Yell (the best for $12). Cheers
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11-25-2008 @5:08PM Patrick said... Rittenhouse 100 is my personal favorite of the bunch, though I currently also have a bottle of Crow and Overholt in my possession as well. Try this for (an admittedly more summery) cocktail:

2 parts rittenhouse 100
1 part lillet blanc
dash bitters

awesome.
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11-30-2008 @3:44AM Adam said... Personally, my normal bourbon is Evan Williams. The label looks like Jack Daniels and the flavor is almost identical. The only difference is it costs about ten dollars less a bottle. However for special occassions I am partial to Maker's Mark or Woodland Reserve.
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