7 Best Bourbons to Drink When You Can’t Find Blanton’s in 2026
Blanton’s Single Barrel is one of the most sought-after bourbons in America. It is also one of the hardest to find at its supposed $65 suggested retail price. Secondary market bottles regularly sell for two to three times that, and most liquor stores receive allocations too small to satisfy demand. If you have been spending your weekends hunting for a bottle, these nine alternatives are worth your attention instead. Several of them are better bourbons. All of them are easier to find.Why Blanton’s Is So Hard to Find
Blanton’s, produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, holds the distinction of being the first commercially marketed single barrel bourbon, introduced in 1984. Its combination of approachable sweetness, light spice and a distinctive bottle design turned it into a cultural touchstone that demand has never caught up with. Buffalo Trace has expanded significantly in recent years — a $1.2 billion investment announced in stages — but bourbon takes years to age, and Blanton’s popularity surged well before that investment will bear fruit at retail.
The result is a whiskey that is genuinely good but systematically overpriced by the market, available mainly to people with the right connections or a willingness to pay far above MSRP. The good news is that at $65 retail, Blanton’s is competing against some exceptional bourbons that are widely available and, in several blind tastings, outscore it.
For more on why Blanton’s is so rare, click here.
The Best Blanton’s Alternatives
Arranged from least to most expensive
Evan Williams Single Barrel
Proof: 86.6
Price: $35
Heaven Hill’s single barrel release is the most underrated bourbon in America at its price point. Each bottle carries a vintage date reflecting the year it was barreled, giving it a specificity and character that most bourbons twice its price cannot match. The palate is rich with notes of brown sugar, nougat, toffee, honey, tobacco and subtle berry notes.
The proof is lower than some on this list, which works in its favor for everyday pours — it is the kind of bottle you open and finish without occasion. For anyone who loves Blanton’s but resents the price-to-availability equation, this is the most direct answer to the problem. It is not a consolation prize. It is a genuinely excellent bourbon that happens to cost under $40.
Four Roses Single Barrel
Proof: 100
Price: $50
Four Roses produces bourbon from 10 distinct recipes — five mashbills crossed with two proprietary yeast strains — and its Single Barrel expression draws from the OBSV recipe: a high-rye mashbill with a yeast strain that contributes rich fruit, cream and a long, spicy finish. The result is a 100-proof single barrel bourbon with tremendous variability between bottles and, consistently, one of the best flavor profiles in its price range.
The comparison to Blanton’s is apt beyond price and format. Both are single barrel bourbons built for approachability, with fruit-forward sweetness balanced by spice. Four Roses is widely available at MSRP and requires no lottery, connections or early morning store runs to purchase.
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
Proof: 94
Price: $55
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel does not get enough credit in serious whiskey conversations, largely because the brand’s ubiquity works against it. Strip away the preconceptions and what remains is a legitimately excellent single barrel whiskey drawn from the upper floors of Jack Daniel’s barrel houses, where heat and temperature swings concentrate flavor and accelerate maturation. The result is a richer, more complex pour than the standard Old No. 7 in every respect: more oak, more dark fruit, more of everything.
At 94 proof it sits in the same neighborhood as Blanton’s, and the smooth, accessible sweetness will feel familiar to Blanton’s drinkers. The Lincoln County Process — filtering through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal before barreling — gives it a distinctive smoothness that sets it apart from Kentucky bourbons. It is widely available, honestly priced and consistently good. Do not let the label fool you.
Wild Turkey Rare Breed
Proof: Varies; barrel proof
Price: $59
Rare Breed is Wild Turkey’s standard barrel proof expression — a blend of 6- to 12-year-old bourbons bottled without dilution — and it is one of the great overlooked values in American whiskey. At approximately 116 proof, it delivers a richness and depth that Blanton’s, bottled at 93 proof, simply cannot match. The nose is classic Wild Turkey: caramel, vanilla, orange peel and a spice rack of cinnamon and pepper. The palate is full and warming with dark fruit, oak and butterscotch.
For drinkers accustomed to the sweetness and approachability of Blanton’s, Rare Breed asks a little more of the palate — a few drops of water open it up considerably — but the reward is a more complex and satisfying experience. Widely available nationwide, it is the bourbon that frequently wins blind tastings against bottles that cost twice as much.
Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style
Proof: 115
Price: $62
Old Forester 1920 is the boldest and most complex expression in Brown-Forman’s Whiskey Row series, named for the year Prohibition took full effect and styled as a tribute to the medicinal-grade whiskey the distillery legally produced throughout that era. It is made from Old Forester’s high-rye mashbill — a formula unchanged since 1870 — and bottled at 115 proof after significant aging that produces a bourbon with deep, almost port-like richness.
The nose is saturated with dark caramel, dried plum and cocoa. The palate delivers chocolate-covered cherries, baking spice and a dense oak structure that takes time to unpack. Brown-Forman maintains consistent production, meaning 1920 sits on shelves across the country at its suggested retail price. It is, in the view of many reviewers and enthusiasts who have tasted both, a better bourbon than Blanton’s by a meaningful margin.
Eagle Rare 10 Year
Proof: 90
Price: $65
If the appeal of Blanton’s for you is about the distillery behind it, Eagle Rare might be the most satisfying answer. It is made at Buffalo Trace from the distillery’s mashbill No. 1 (a difference there, as Blanton’s is made from No. 2), aged a minimum of 10 years and bottled as a single barrel at 90 proof. The result is a bourbon with real age character — dried fruit, toffee, dark chocolate and a long, complex finish. This is another one that can be tricky to find at a decent price — but not to the level of Blanton’s.
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof
Proof: Varies by batch
Price: $75
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is the bourbon that professional reviewers and enthusiasts most frequently cite when asked what they would drink instead of Blanton’s. Released three times per year in batches designated A, B and C, each bottled at natural barrel proof without dilution, it routinely scores in the mid-90s across major publications and blind tasting groups — scores that many bottles at twice its price do not achieve.
The proof varies from batch to batch, ranging from the low 120s to the high 130s, and the flavor profile shifts accordingly. Across all releases, the profile centers on dark caramel, brown sugar, espresso, dark chocolate, dried fruit and a long, warming oak finish. Water opens every batch into something more nuanced. At $75 for a barrel-proof bourbon of this quality, released three times annually with genuine nationwide availability, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is more than a simple substitute. For many bourbon drinkers, it’s the preference.
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