This week, I’m revisiting four of my favorite budget bottled-in-bond bourbons—each one living in that glorious $20 range. Two of them can be tough to find in Florida (J.W. Dant and J.T.S. Brown), but the other two—Benchmark and Early Times—are easily found just about anywhere.
Instead of four separate blind pours, I ranked each bourbon head-to-head in every category (color, nose, palate, etc.). Points were assigned by position, and the lowest cumulative score wins. Overall score serves as the tiebreaker. Let’s get into it.
🟤 Color
Almost identical across the board. At first A seemed darker, but after rearranging, they all looked the same. Still giving A a slight edge.
| Rank | Glass |
|---|---|
| 1st | A |
| 2nd | B, C, D (tie) |
👃 Nose
B immediately stood out—fruity, caramel-rich, and lively. C developed nicely on later passes. A was very oak-forward with light sweetness. D stayed soft and simple.
| Rank | Glass | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | B | Fruit, caramel, personality |
| 2nd | C | Oak, brown sugar, vanilla |
| 3rd | A | Heavy oak, faint vanilla |
| 4th | D | Light overall |
👅 Palate
| Rank | Glass | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | C | Peanuts, oak, brown sugar, cinnamon, caramel |
| 2nd | B | Sweet apples, cinnamon, vanilla |
| 3rd | D | Light oak → vanilla, cinnamon, caramel |
| 4th | A | Sweet oak, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon |
🔀 Complexity
Tracks closely with flavor, but B brings the most layers.
| Rank | Glass |
|---|---|
| 1st | B |
| 2nd | C |
| 3rd | D |
| 4th | A |
🫙 Mouthfeel
A lot closer than expected—differences were slight, but noticeable.
| Rank | Glass | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | A | Light but more presence than the rest |
| 2nd | C | Good flavor, thinner body |
| 3rd | D | Barely better than B |
| 4th | B | Thinnest of the group |
🔥 Finish
D finally wakes up here—big surprise winner.
| Rank | Glass | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | D | Brown sugar, fruit, caramel, long & rich |
| 2nd | A | Brown sugar + cinnamon hangs well |
| 3rd | B | Sour apple note but still enjoyable |
| 4th | C | Good at first, sour note at the end |
🏆 Final Ranking
| Place | Glass | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1st | B | 13 |
| 🥈 2nd | C | 14 |
| 🥉 3rd (tie) | A | 15 |
| 🥉 3rd (tie) | D | 15 |
Tiebreaker: Flavor ranking favors A over D.
🔍 The Reveal
| Glass | Bourbon | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|
| A | J.W. Dant BiB | 75.95 |
| B | Benchmark Bonded | 77.58 |
| C | Early Times BiB | 77.14 |
| D | J.T.S. Brown BiB | 74.43 |
🧾 The Finish
Winner: Benchmark Bonded.
Best Flavor: Early Times.
Best Surprise: J.T.S. Brown’s finish.
Honestly? If you can get all four, you win. For about $80 total, you end up with four highly drinkable bottled-in-bond bourbons, all delivering above their price point. Zero guilt. Lots of cinnamon-oak goodness.
Cheap doesn’t mean bad. Sometimes, it just means smart.
Copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
