Food and Recipes Drinks Best Budget-Friendly Bourbons By Hannah Hayes Hannah Hayes Hannah Hayes is an Editor for Wildsam. Previously, she was the Travel + Culture Editor at Southern Living. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 24, 2019 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Rachael Burrow Serving mint juleps at your Kentucky Derby party sounds like fun until you start the mental math of how much bourbon you'll need to stock. Even a relatively small guestlist can make for one expensive shindig if you don't know which bottle to buy. Rest assured, we have 10 budget-friendly bottles under $50 that will check one more thing off your to-do list and free you up to polish those silver cups. 01 of 10 Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey Diageo Our number one with a bullet (sorry), this pleasantly spicy bourbon (thanks to its mash bill high in rye) plays nicely off the sweetness of the sugar and the tingly taste of mint.bulleit.com 02 of 10 Wild Turkey 101 Campari Group The flagship bourbon under father-son master distillers and bourbon country legends Jimmy and Eddie Russell, Wild Turkey 101 provides a solid foundation for any cocktail and sips nicely on its own toowildturkeybourbon.com 03 of 10 Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Buffalo Trace Distillery The same distillery that produces pricier favorites like Eagle Rare and W.L. Weller, this namesake bourbon has undercurrents of molasses and brown sugar that lends itself to classics like the old fashioned.buffalotrace.com 04 of 10 Old Forester Classic 86 Proof Old Forester Pair this vanilla noted bourbon with drinks driven by citrus. They will compliment its subtle but bright orange character.oldforester.com 05 of 10 Four Roses Bourbon Small Batch Four Roses Bourbon With a honeycrisp apple backdrop, this long-loved variety doesn't need much dressing up even for bourbon beginners.fourrosesbourbon.com 06 of 10 Old Grand-Dad Old Liquors A staple of mixologists, Old Grand-Dad might be bottom shelf, but isn't slim pickings. And for roughly $18 a bottle, you can afford a few extra bottles in case your party draws a big crowd.theoldswhiskeys.com 07 of 10 Old Fitzgerald Heaven Hill Distillery Because Old Fitzgerald is a wheated bourbon, this is the perfect one for anyone who prefers a smoother, sweeter, and softer situation in their cocktail or in the rocks glassheavenhilldistillery.com 08 of 10 Evan Williams Black Label Evan Williams Widely available and $25 for a handle, Evan Williams Black Label is perfect for mass mint julep making.evanwilliams.com 09 of 10 Jim Beam Black Label Beam Suntory While some might write Jim Beam off from their college days, this staple is worth appreciating, especially with its 8-year aging, which makes it a much more complex tasting sip than Jim Beam's 4-year-old bourbon.jimbeam.com 10 of 10 Very Old Barton Sazerac Company Hard to find outside of Kentucky (but possible!), snag this bottle if you see it. The quality for the price point is hard to beat. It's also a great bourbon for anyone who wants a dry drink rather than sweet.sazerac.com Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit