The 5 Best Bourbons Under $50 to Buy in 2026

The bourbon shelf has never been more crowded, and for buyers working with a $50 ceiling, the options can feel overwhelming. This list cuts through the noise using The Daily Pour Critics’ Score, which aggregates our house rating with scores from the most trusted critics across the internet, to identify the five bottles that genuinely punch above their price point right now. No fluff, no filler.

Two things worth flagging before we get into it: all five bottles here clock in at $50 or under at suggested retail, and all five are worth hunting down in 2026. Here’s how they stack up.

5. Evan Williams Single Barrel

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Heaven Hill’s Evan Williams Single Barrel is the kind of bottle that makes you feel slightly embarrassed for having overlooked it. At 7 years old and 43.3% ABV, it lands in the $25 to $35 range, which makes it one of the more absurd values on any bourbon shelf. The nose is a bit restrained but delivers toffee, musty tobacco and a quiet oakiness that feels richer than anything else in this price neighborhood. On the palate, things open up into brown sugar, nougat and a faint raspberry note that feels almost accidental, like the barrel decided to get interesting at the last minute. The finish is short and runs a touch hot, but it closes with cocoa, raspberry and a vanilla-toffee combo that lingers just long enough to make you want another pour.

4. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

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Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the bottle that’s everywhere and wrongly overlooked by many. Produced by Brown-Forman at its Shively, Kentucky operation from a mashbill of 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malted barley, it runs at 45.2% ABV with no age statement and retails for around $38. It’s classic sweet bourbon at an accessible proof and price point — a crowd-pleaser and a bar staple.

3. Four Roses Single Barrel

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The Four Roses Single Barrel is one of those bottles that critics and bartenders have been quietly recommending for years, and the 90-point score here only confirms what the faithful already knew. This is the OBSV recipe release, bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV) and available for around $35 to $40, sitting right on the shelf next to Four Roses Small Batch and Yellow Label. The nose leads with vanilla and floral sweetness, with a spicy undercurrent that announces itself after a deeper sniff. The palate is where it earns its keep: butter, sugar, caramel, cloves and a rich maple note that tilts toward the indulgent without going cloying. The finish is the surprise, running longer than you’d expect for the price, with butter and rye spice trading off in a way that makes the higher rye content feel like a feature rather than an afterthought. Top-shelf flavor at a price that makes the math easy.

2. Green River Full Proof Bourbon

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Green River was founded in 1885, wiped out by fire and Prohibition, and revived in Owensboro, Kentucky in September 2020. Since then, it has been on a tear, and this barrel-proof release (117.3 proof in batch 1, or 58.65% ABV) at a suggested retail of $49.99 is its most impressive statement yet. Distilled from a mashbill of 70% corn, 21% rye and 9% malted barley and aged in tile-constructed warehouses that Green River credits with unique temperature variation and proof development, this is a blend of 5-to-7-year barrels that punches well above its weight class. The nose is a caramel apple stand at the county fair: honey, red cherry, toffee, tobacco and a waffle cone note that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. The palate crackles with black pepper and cinnamon heat wrapped around cherry cola, maple and sweet honey. The finish is long, balanced and brings the waffle cone back for an encore alongside big honey and toffee. At this price and proof, it’s arguably the best deal in barrel-strength bourbon right now.

1. Knob Creek Blender’s Edition 01

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Knob Creek Blender’s Edition 01 arrived on March 31, 2026 and immediately made a case for best new bourbon release of the year. Beam distilled this at its Clermont facility (DSP KY-230), aged it 10 years and bottled it at 106 proof (53% ABV) for a suggested retail of $44.99. That math alone is enough to raise an eyebrow: a decade-old bourbon at over 100 proof for under $45. The nose is where it announces something different from the classic Knob Creek profile, trading the usual nuttiness for butterscotch, marshmallow fluff and a peach cobbler-apple pie combo that smells like a bakery case in the best possible way, with a sawdusty oak note keeping things grounded. The palate is viscous and generous, with soft oak and caramel intertwining around candied peach, apricot, custard and a faint mineral thread that adds structure to all that sweetness. The finish pivots hard into cinnamon, then dark chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and a hit of espresso that lingers long after the glass is empty. It earned the top Critics’ Score in this roundup at 91 points, and it’s the easiest recommendation we can make in bourbon right now.

Five bottles, all under $50, all worth buying. The Knob Creek Blender’s Edition 01 is the clear standout, but any of these will hold their own on a well-stocked shelf. Stock up before the word spreads further.