In this article, we are going to discuss the 5 best whiskeys under $50 in 2024. If you want to check out our detailed analysis of the global whiskey market, the dawn of the American single malt, and sustainability in the whiskey industry, head to 22 Best Whiskeys Under $50 in 2024.
5. Ardbeg Wee Beastie
Insider Monkey Score: 12
Price: $49.99
A feisty young creature with a formidable taste, Wee Beastie has spent five years in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-sherry casks before being unleashed.
Called ‘as close to perfection as makes no difference’ by whisky connoisseurs, Ardbeg has been made on the small, remote Scottish Isle of Islay for over 200 years. The distillery fell into disrepair and closed its doors in 1996, but reopened after it was acquired by The Glenmorangie Company, which is part of the LVMH group, for $8.3 million in 1997.
4. Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight
Insider Monkey Score: 13
Price: $35
Ancient buffalo carved paths through the wilderness that led American pioneers and explorers to new frontiers. One such trail led to the banks of the Kentucky River where Buffalo Trace Distillery has been making Bourbon whiskey the same way for more than 200 years.
The Buffalo Trace Distillery was acquired by the Sazerac Company in 1992.
3. Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Old
Insider Monkey Score: 14
Price: $44
Legendary Bourbon-makers Jimmy and Eddie Russell used their vast knowledge to craft this 10-year-old classic. Aged in No. 4 alligator char barrels and bottled at 90 proof, this is the Russell’s Reserve Bourbon that started it all.
In 2009, Wild Turkey – and thus Russell’s Reserve – was acquired by the Campari Group, one of the largest companies in global spirits. Since the acquisition, Campari has invested over $300 million into expanding Wild Turkey and Russell’s Reserve’s production capacity.
2. Maker’s Mark 46
Insider Monkey Score: 16
Price: $44
Originally released in 2010, Maker’s Mark 46 starts off as standard Maker’s Mark, which is a wheated Bourbon made in batches of less than 1,000 gallons. Then, ten heavily seared French oak staves are placed in just-emptied standard Maker’s Mark barrels, which are then refilled and returned to the warehouses to finish aging for an undisclosed amount of time (estimated to be 2-3 additional months).
Owned by Beam Suntory, the Maker’s Mark Distillery is the sixth-largest Bourbon distillery in the world.
1. Wild Turkey 101
Insider Monkey Score: 20
Price: $27
For over 60 years, Wild Turkey has been making 101 the same way, the right way! Aged in American White Oak barrels coated in the deepest alligator char, Wild Turkey 101 has an impossible-to-miss character.
In 1980, Wild Turkey’s original owner, Austin Nichols & Co., was sold to the French spirits conglomerate Pernod Ricard for a reported $100 million. In 2009, the distillery changed hands again, when Italy’s Gruppo Campari acquired it for a staggering $575 million.
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