Rare Bourbon List

Bourbon is a fickle little hobby these days, with the market truly muddled by flippers making rare bourbon more and more difficult to find.

Bourbon can be “rare” because there is limited production and an allocated release. This includes some of the more “popular” labels, like Pappy Van Winkle or the Buffalo Trace Antique collection.

Of course, those examples are also highly coveted, which is another category altogether. Blanton’s is also highly coveted, but much more mass-produced than BTAC. It still flies off the shelf, especially where there’s a tighter allocation.

There’s also bourbon that’s no longer made, like “dusties” or discontinued labels. These are rare for a totally different reason!

To help keep track, here are a few lists of different rare bourbons. This is far from an exhaustive list, so if you see something we missed, leave a comment!

List of Rare Bourbon Still In Production

• Van Winkle Collection (Buffalo Trace Distillery)
  • Old Rip Van Winkle (10 Year)
  • Van Winkle Special Reserve (12 Year)
  • Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye (13 Year)
  • Pappy 15
  • Pappy 20
  • Pappy 23
• Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
  • Thomas H. Handy
  • George T. Stagg
  • William Larue Weller
  • Sazerac Rye 18 Year
• Weller Lineup
  • CYPB
  • Full Proof
  • Weller 12
  • Antique 107
• Old Forester Birthday Bourbon
• Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel
• E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof
• Blood Oath
• Little Book
• Parker’s Heritage
• O.F.C.
• MIchter’s Toasted Bourbon/Rye
• Old Fitzgerald Decanter (various ages)

Rare Bourbon Under $100

“Rare” bourbon under $100 mostly refers to those bottles that aren’t impossible to find, but may not be regularly sitting on the shelf in any old NC ABC store you walk into. Some of these should not be rare, but due to popularity and allocation, they are hard to find in North Carolina.

The good news is: they might be available online through licensed retailers like Nestor Liquor. Shipping can be expensive, but if you buy several bottles at once it’s not so bad.

• Buffalo Trace
• Blanton’s
• Eagle Rare 10 Year
• Weller Antique 107
• Weller Special Reserve
• E.H. Taylor Small Batch
• Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof
• Evan Williams Single Barrel
• Henry McKenna 10 Year
• Elijah Craig Barrel Proof
• Larceny Barrel Proof
• Stagg (formerly Stagg Jr.)

You might laugh at some of these and claim that Buffalo Trace is not “rare” bourbon. Alas, in some areas, it is! You’d be hard pressed to walk into a North Carolina ABC store and see a BT just sitting out on a shelf.

But to be fair these are still available at close to MSRP at different online retailers.

Rare, Discontinued Bourbon and “Dusties”

“Dusties” are a unique category of rare bourbon, because it really just means “old”. They get their name from idea that they’ve been sitting back on someone’s shelf for decades, collecting dust.

Your best bet for finding these are probably by sifting through your grandparents liquor cabinet, or shopping garage sales and estate sales.

Anything over maybe 10 years old could technically be considered “dusty”, but the older the better. For this reason, it’s hard to put together a comprehensive list. Instead, here are some examples of what you might look for if you go dusty hunting.

Generally speaking, you’re looking for something with an older label. It might be the original bottle or even a batch one. A lot of these bottles will have an old tax strip on them, too.

How to Find Rare Bourbon

I’ve mentioned a few of these ideas already, at least in passing, but here are some methods for finding rare bourbon if you’re on the hunt for it.

1. Check with your local retailer! Each type of liquor store will have a process for distributing rare whiskey, though some stores will be more transparent. Perhaps you’ll get lucky and it’s sitting on the shelf or just behind the counter. Some stores will hold a rare bourbon lottery (many in NC do). It all depends on the shop, the people, and the allocation.
2. Shop online. Many retailers, like Nestor Liquor, have a great selection of really nice rare bourbon, and even the sub-$100 bottles.
3. Yard sales and estate sales can be a great way to find old dusties. Also consider raiding your grandparents’ liquor cabinet, you never know what they might have tucked away!