In developing the Bourbon Blue Book, we created not only one of the most updated and extensive lists of secondary values for coveted bottles of brownwater, but an amazing resource to track trends in popularity and the ebbs and flows of interest in particular bottles and brands. Through this proprietary resource, we compiled this list which provides a snapshot in time of what bottles are moving markets and below we also provide some commentary on why these bottles are in demand.
Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon
Although it should be no surprise, this bottle is a constant fixture on secondary markets everywhere. It always seems that someone is in search of "ISO" a dump date corresponding to a specific event that's important to them, be that a birthday, anniversary or the date you got divorced given your spendy bourbon habit. As age increases so does the price, but generally you can find this bottle in the $110 to $130 range.
Eagle Rare
A similar story to Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon, Eagle Rare is a mainstay in most every single market for bourbon, if it's not a bottle being sold it's a kicker to help even out a trade. There's nothing really terrible you can say about Eagle Rare, it's an easy-going bourbon that for the age statement, 10 years, and the price point, around $60 on the secondary market, you'll be hard pressed to find a better value.
Russel's Reserve 13-Year Bourbon
A part of the Wild Turkey Family, this bourbon sprang to nearly instant fandom when it came out the year before last. Several additional batches of this expression have also dropped, with this Bourboneur happening across one just the other day "out in the wild." As promised, this has become an annual release and thankfully prices have moved south from the $650 it originally commanded when it hit the secondary market, to a much more reasonable $300 which you can expect to pay these days.
Weller 12-Year-Old Bourbon
In our recent post on Weller Bourbon, we highlighted the remarkable popularity of the Weller 12 brand and how despite being a part of Buffalo Trace's regular offerings, it's still quite uncommon to find. It's a mainstay character in the litany of bottles that roll across secondary offerings and is no wonder as it's a great drinker. Expect to pay around $220 to add this to your collection unless you've got a hookup somewhere!
Stagg | Batch 19 (22B)
Stagg (or Stagg Jr. if we're talking prior to their Batch 18 release) has nearly two dozen different expressions under belt. Collectively they occupy a fair bit of action on the secondary market. Batch 19 was released in the winter of 2022 and for whatever reason has far outpaced it's more recent arrivals (22a, spring of 2023 and 23a, summer of 2023) in showing up on the secondary. No matter the batch, one thing is for certain and that is that Stagg (or Stagg Jr.) has certainly found a sweet spot with a lot of Bourboneurs out there. Expect a future post on the wide world of Stagg and Stagg Jr. This particular batch is easily found on the secondary for around $230 all day long.
E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof | Batch 11
Oh man, oh man, this is such a great pour. Another 2022 offering, Batch 11 comes in at 129 proof and I'd really have to struggle to find anything bad to say about it. My advice on this one is to just buy it if you ever have a chance...interesting aside, most of the time you can look at the proof on a bottle of E.H. Taylor barrel proof to then know which year it came from, with the original batch dating back to 2012 and proof varying by year. This batch is a bit trickier as the 2014 batch, batch 3 is the same proof. In order to figure out if you've got a 2014 bottle or a 2022 bottle, you'll need to look at the laser code on the bottle. It's tricky to find as it's tricky to see...it'll be at the bottom by the raised lettering that says "750 ml." A bottle of this will set you back $420 buckaroos. For a complete review of the entire E.H. Taylor line look no further than The Definitive Guide to E.H. Taylor.
Jack Daniels 10 Year
This year's release of the Jack Daniels 12 Year expression was met with great fanfare, but an unexpected knock-on effect was to drive up demand for their 10-year bottling. Interestingly, when released in 2021 it was the first time in 100 years since Jack Daniels had produced a 10-year age stated whiskey. At 97 proof, it's a rich sip that it's worth the price IMO. Expect to pay around $150 on the secondary for your bottle of Jack Daniels 10; add a Benjamin if you want to level up to the 12!!
Weller Full Proof
I recently called Weller Full Proof a "beautiful high-proof wheater." I wasn't lying, it's a damn fine pour. It's got a lot going for it, and there's a great reason therefore why it makes the cut on this list. Whether it's a store pick or just a regular bottle, these are all over the market and in hot demand. I will happily pay the secondary price for this bottle most any day. It doesn't move much on price, so the average going rate is about $235, down some $40 from a year ago....and people say the prices are "always" going up on bourbon...pssh.
E.H. Taylor Single Barrel
This bottled-in-bond bourbon checks the box on most things: flavor, check, complexity, check, value, check - and it appears that secret is out. I may have only once seen this "in the wild" despite it being a part of the distillery's regular releases. Over the past year I've also seen a big uptick in store picks for E.H. Taylor Single Barrel expressions; expect to pay in the neighborhood of $200...if it's a store pick, add $50 to the price tag!
Michter's 10 Year Bourbon
Michter's makes some great stuff, and there's a whole pile of Michter's unicorns I'd love to have the chance to try one of these days. Their 10-year bourbon, which wasn't produced last year has really seen some big gains in popularity on the secondary - perhaps given the 2022 release hiatus - but it's eye-catching presentation and the intensity, depth and complexity of the dram truly rival some of the best whiskeys out there. This has crept up a bit on the secondary in the past year, and so you're looking at $450 to grab one of these today. As for me, I'm glad I have a backup bottle that I paid nowhere near that much for!
Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Strength
The ol' "OFSBBS" as it is written so many times from folks in search of "ISO" cash for this bottle. Old Forester's lineup in a solid one, and although this is findable, it's not readily available and the quality of the juice makes this one you don't want to not have as a part of your line up in your collection. You're looking at about $135 to nab one unless you have a honey hole down the road that takes care of you!
Old Fitzgerald 19
Although this has been a popular bottle this year on the secondary, it seems to have been due to the fact that folks were trying to unload them as the pricing just kept dropping. When it had debuted, these were fetching near a thousand dollars, but as of writing is averaging just shy of $700. Intriguingly, it now trades hands for less than the 17-year-old prior release. It's still a spendy bottle at the end of the day but a great pour. I've got one on the shelf waiting to crack, and having had it recently on a work trip where I was able to enjoy a couple snorts of this, I'm looking forward to finding room on my wall in the garage bar to open and share it. I wouldn't be surprised if we see this trending back north in terms of pricing given the age statement and the quality of the pour and have seen the last couple sales start trending that direction already.
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