# Cheap/Good whiskey **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2002, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387 "2002-04-30T00:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/21 "2004-05-15T03:39:04Z")
> [@Kilt-wearin' man](#): > > Scotch? No such thing as cheap but good scotch. I dunno–I’m kinda partial to “The Famous Grouse” when it comes to cheap-yet-drinkable blended scotch… ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/22 "2004-05-15T04:32:52Z")
**Jack Daniels Black**. The best charcoal whiskey made by man but filtered by the angels of God. Or… Good sipping **George Dickel**. Tennesseans prefer **George Dickel** two-to-one over **Jack Daniels** in the adjacent counties of their respective distillations. But if you want a good inexpensive bourbon try\*\* Evan Williams Black\*\*, aged eight (sometimes seven) years and can be purcashed in a compack plastic bottle that travels well and has a small but pleasant bite. As for me, I think I’ll try a bottle of that $6.95 bottle of **Heaven Hill**. A friend of mine drank \*\*Heaven Hill \*\*until be became enfeebled. But, you know, Sammy always seemed so very happy… Tomorrow. Tonight my goal is to finnish off this bottle of **Evan Williams Green**. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/23 "2004-05-15T04:49:03Z")
I guess i define cheap differently, of course i’ve only had about 5 whiskeys. The “best” would be ten high which is about $13 for a 1.75L. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/24 "2004-05-15T05:28:05Z")
So, **insider** what do you mean by cheap? Some places that means less than $20. In others, it means $2.50. In what country do you live? If in the US, what state? It’s in the details, man. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/25 "2004-05-15T14:44:58Z")
I’m not much of a bourbon drinker, so I don’t have a recommendation in that category, but: I love Irish whiskey. Power’s is not only (at least here in NYC) the least expensive Irish (it’s about a buck cheaper than Bushmill’s or Jameson’s), but it’s the _best_. There are better, but then you’re into the $40 or more per bottle range (Redbreast comes to mind). For scotch whisky, my favorite is Teacher’s. Not a budget brand, but I’ve noticed that it runs about a buck a bottle (fifth) cheaper than Dewar’s or Johnny Walker. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/26 "2004-05-15T16:25:01Z")
If’n you’re wanting to venture into the world of Rye whiskies, Old Overholt isn’t bad at all, and is pretty inexpensive to boot. It’s lots like bourbon, but… funkier? Sweeter? Not sure how to describe it exactly. > **[Cocktail Recipes](https://www.thespruceeats.com/cocktails-4162707)** > > Make your own favorite cocktails and mixed drinks at home, including classics like martinis, margaritas, apéritifs, brunch cocktails and more. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/27 "2004-05-15T20:09:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Spring for the extra $$ and go for the Gentleman Jack. $23 at Sam’s Club. All you’ll need to enjoy it is a glass and ice cubes (optional). My best description - “All the taste without the bite” Ah, Gent’s all right, but for me, it’s either plain ol Jack (I chug the stuff, man, I love it) or Single-Barrel if I wanna be a little pricier. Here’s my advice: Get a buddy at a liquor store, wine store, or a BevMo that can give you an employee discount. ---
**Author:** ![Kakkerlak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@Kakkerlak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kakkerlak)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/28 "2004-05-15T20:14:09Z")
Old Overholt is the official liquor of my sailboat. We may be short on fuel and daylight, but we’re never without a bottle of “Old Overcoat”. The glass bottles survive a good bit of whacking around in the cabinet over the galley, and a swig always warms up the chilliest afternoon. Good old Jim Beam White Label is my hot-weather bourbon. I mean Hell’s Canyon-105-degree-August-sitting-in-the-eddies-hot-weather whiskey. The plastic “traveler” bottles pass muster for rubber-raft duty. I’ll have to follow up on that Heaven Hill stuff and see if our State-run stores carry it. I’m always a little sad when I open the liquor cabinet and shut it again because I don’t want to drink up the expensive Booker’s and Baker’s on a Tuesday night. ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/29 "2004-05-16T06:24:07Z")
> [@Kilt-wearin' man](#): > > Irish whiskey? Jameson’s. > > Scotch? No such thing as cheap but good scotch. I second that. Jamesons is the best cheap whiskey you can buy. I alternate between Jamesons (20$) and 12 yr Glenlivet French Oak (43$, about 11$ more than the standard 12 yr Glenlivet but sooooo much better) One I buy on payday and the other I buy in between paydays. You figure out which is which 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/30 "2004-05-16T06:40:11Z")
Another Evan Williams here or Bullet Bourbon - a bit more but still cheap ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/31 "2004-05-17T16:48:31Z")
My favorite cheap whiskey is a Ky. Straight Bourbon, Old Crow. If you can spring for $22 bucks a bottle, Knob Creek can’t be beat. It’s one of the small-batch bourbons from the Beam family group. An old friend of mine swears by Kessler, a smooth, cheap, blended whiskey. He has won many bar bets by challenging others to tell it from Crown Royal. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/32 "2004-05-17T20:36:04Z")
Another vote for Old Crow. This from a guy who always drinks his neat. Less appreciated, in my opinion, is Jack Daniel’s Green Label. Damn near perfect, and less expensive than the Black. The Black has a big flavor, the Green is balanced. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/33 "2004-05-17T21:41:35Z")
My favorite to make my beloved manhattans with has got to be the wonderfully smooth yet inexpensive Canadian Club. It can be had straight, but it’s a bit light on the flavor department. I second the call for Powers as the predominate lower priced Irish whisky. Not only is it less than Jamesons (who’s owned by the French anyway) but it it the purportedly best selling whisky in Ireland. As for bourbon, Wild Turkey 101 has a lot of bang for the buck. Scotch whisky? For whatever reason I’ve always had a thing for the aftertatse in Cutty Sark. I know, it’s a blend, but it’s a GOOD blend. That’s it for the cheap stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/34 "2004-05-17T22:10:03Z")
> [@Kilt-wearin' man](#): > > Irish whiskey? Jameson’s. > > Scotch? No such thing as cheap but good scotch. Depends what you mean by cheap and good. Knowing that single malt distillers like Glenlivet offer special higher grade and older whiskies that cost well into three figures, I consider 28 - 29 (U.S.) for their basic single malt product to be a quite reasonable price for a good product. The better blends, like Cutty Sark and Johnnie Walker Red Label, I consider acceptable but noticeably not as good as a single malt. Below those I have not ventured. ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/35 "2004-05-19T13:36:36Z")
Scotch sucks!!! drink bourbon Any other scotch haters out there? I know of several people (bourbon drinkers) that do not like scotch. I can drink cheap warm vodka right out of the bottle but scotch makes my whole body quiver :yuk: Seems like scotch drinkers are not bothered by bourbon??? ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/36 "2004-05-19T14:12:01Z")
F- you pal. Scotch is the drink of the gods. For really cheap, get Grant’s. It’s not gonna kill you and it is real cheap. Slightly less cheap is J&B and I _love_ J&B. So smooth…so sweet…and still only about $25 a bottle. –==Mike==– ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/37 "2004-05-19T15:21:13Z")
> [@Milum](#): > > **Jack Daniels Black**. The best charcoal whiskey made by man but filtered by the angels of God. > > Or… > > Good sipping **George Dickel**. Tennesseans prefer **George Dickel** two-to-one over **Jack Daniels** in the adjacent counties of their respective distillations. I can attest to this. I am from one of the adjacent counties, and I prefer Dickel. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/38 "2004-05-19T15:31:06Z")
> [@Blown & Injected](#): > > Scotch sucks!!! > > drink bourbon > > Any other scotch haters out there? I know of several people (bourbon drinkers) that do not like scotch. I prefer bourbon over scotch whisky. It is a matter of personal preference, and usually a bourbon drinker will not care much for scotch, and vice versa. But to say scotch sucks? Hey, I can taste the different and subtle (or not so subtle) flavors in both types of whisk(e)y, so I can’t fault a guy for liking scotch. I reserve my hate for the bartender who insists that Canadian whiskey is the same as Rye whiskey. A disgrace to his profession. ---
**Author:** ![Wisest\_Novel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wisest_novel/32/13329_2.png) [@Wisest\_Novel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisest_Novel)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/39 "2004-05-19T16:14:04Z")
Talk about your resurrected threads! When I got the email that there was a reply to a post I made over a year ago, I thought the hamsters had gone terrorist. **Kakkerlak** and **Milum** , I’ll be interested in hearing your reports on the Heaven Hill when you get a chance to try it. **verbenabeast** , I was not aware that HH made a brand called Fighting Cock (what a great entendre). I’ve not seen it out here in OH, but I’ll be on the lookout. What region is Verbena in? I may have to wait for my next biz trip to hunt it down. ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387/40 "2004-05-20T17:38:03Z")
I forgot to look at the date after opening the thread - I was thinking about the did you search first comments. Yep, scotch sucks and so do the people that drink it. I’m starting my own hate club. Our first topic will be what do we do with Mike! 🙂😛😃 - just kidding!!! It is sort of laughable about certain likes and dislikes - It seems like both bourbon and scotch are made so similarly that the resulting flavors should be close - Does anybody really hate Pepsi but love Coke or visa versa [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-good-whiskey/106387.md?page=3)