The Best New Bourbon Under $40

As we’ve mentioned countless times in this space, you needn’t spend a stately sum to secure a superior American whiskey. This has forever been the case where bourbon is concerned. Consider this: anything above $40 within the category is still classified as ‘premium’. If we can compliment 2020 on one thing—and one thing only, it has done a fine job illustrating that these circumstances are under no threat of shifting anytime soon. So many exceptional liquids have hit shelves over the past several months, and all could be yours for less than the price of a tank of gas. Here we’ll be looking at a superb example from the newly reimagined Hirsch label.

To the advanced enthusiasts out there, the name should need no introduction. Distilled in the spring of 1974, A.H Hirsch Reserve 16 Year Old is on the shortlist of greatest bourbons ever bottled. An exceedingly scant supply commands ever-exorbitant pricing on the secondary market — as much as $4000/unit in certain corners of the internet. Last May, Hotaling & Co resurrected the brand as Hirsch Selected Whiskeys. Its first release was a 92-proof stunner entitled The Horizon.

To be clear, although it is the spiritual heir to the Reserve of yesteryear, this particular liquid shares no actual provenance with its forebear. The label is refreshingly transparent about this, openly offering up its recipes and sourcing. Whereas that original stock hailed from a distillery outside of Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania — shuttered since 1989, this juice is a combination of two straight bourbons produced at the famed MGP of Indiana.

The specifications of each batch will evolve into 2021 and beyond, as you’ll be able to gather on the back of every bottle. This inaugural expression is envisioned as the beginning of a journey. And the next generation Hirsch is very much putting its best foot forward. Primarily consisting of a fairly standard bourbon mashbill (75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley), a smidgen of high-rye mash rounds out the juice, introducing spice and complexity.

It pours a copper hue into the glass, extending wisps of vanilla and candied corn from its nose. In its medium body is freshly-baked streusel offset by the barrel spice of a weighty finish. More succinctly: this is a fine sipping spirit at just under $40, retail.

If you’re expecting it to taste like its inspirational namesake, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Those fortunate enough to have tried the original Reserve ought to know that a big part of the esteem was a cultivated blend of scarcity and mysticism. This whiskey sings of a different story. It is by no means as heady. But it’s one you can access for a fraction of the price.