The Rare Bourbon You Can Find For A Steal At Costco
Bourbon fanatics, rejoice! Especially those who have a thing for rarities like Blanton's Single-Barrel Bourbon, which is one of the best whiskeys in this category of exclusive spirits, and therefore tends to be more expensive. In recent months, the hard-to-find bourbon has been spotted at Costco for less than $60, which is well below its normal market value of $100 or more. This has obviously caused a bit of a commotion in online communities like Reddit, and it's worth noting if you're a collector who has access to a nearby location and can grab a bottle before they're gone.
Produced by Kentucky's Buffalo Trace Distillery, this particular bourbon is unusually difficult to obtain because it takes between six and eight years to age, and a recent whiskey boom has increased demand far beyond what producers were expecting. They haven't been able to keep up with the rising calls for the premium liquor, and it will likely take a few years for them to meet these new, unprecedented quotas.
Plus, even though some laws around a distillery selling booze directly to consumers shifted in 2021, the single-barrel is not a product Blanton's offers online. There are plenty of accessories and accoutrements available on the company website, but no bottles of the actual alcohol itself. This makes it even more of a boon for Costco members who've casually stumbled upon the whiskey stocked at such a bargain price.
Read more: The 27 Best Bourbon Brands, Ranked
Why Blanton's Is Such A Sought-After Bourbon, Even Among Rare Whiskey Collectors
While this definitely isn't the only rare bourbon that eagle-eyed shoppers have discovered at Costco, it is one with a particularly cult-ish following, and the eight-year aging period is only part of the reason. For those who don't know, there are three different tiers of bourbon — standard barrel, which is the cheapest and most common type; small batch, a blend of the better barrels at a given distillery; and single-barrel, which is often the highest quality bourbon a producer makes.
Blanton's was the first distillery to release a single-barrel bourbon, and though many distilleries have since followed suit, the hallmark of being the first has helped this particular whiskey to be considered the best of its kind. Other special embellishments like a collectible horse and jockey stopper, of which there are eight variations, and a unique geometric glass bottle also help this rare spirit stand out.
Since it does tend to be so costly, this isn't a whiskey that a lot of people have on hand as part of their home bar. But at the much lower price point of $50 or so — which is, about half the price it is usually sold for — acquiring a bottle to try at home is suddenly a much easier and attainable mission. Hey, if it's good enough for John Wick, it's good enough for you.
Read the original article on Tasting Table
