@Luke Terpstra I think a better pro tip would be not to get drunk but only enjoy 2-3 drinks at a time for the flavor and relaxation, but hey that's just me
Having worked at a liquor store I can attest to the fact that Black Velvet & Rich and Rare are two of the most commonly purchased whiskies. I can also attest to the fact that nobody who drinks those whiskies drinks them for the flavor.
I've had a few of these on a lark (a failed blog concept) and hats off to anyone who drinks these in quantity. I took a shot of kentucky gentleman and it flipped my stomach so bad I had to stop drinking for a couple days (and I never have stomach issues).
As a fellow liquor store refugee, I concur. Rich and Rare is a standby (had an old salesman gave me the best advice and spend 2 dollars more on the R&R Reserve). When you're trying to knock out student debt on a liquor clerk's wages, you gotta know the best of the worst.
I actually have a bottle of Canadian LTD in my cabinet. My dad had the worst taste in whiskey and would buy the cheapest he could find. That was the last bottle he bought before passing and so the most prominent bottle in my collection is also the cheapest. Here's to you, dad.
My mom has a plastic bottle of Seagrams 7- that she and Dad bought in the 1980s... It was for a canoe trip in the Boundry Waters- no glass allowed. And it was cheap. Nobody has drank it again since...
I love Brianna's tasting notes, and I think she could revolutionize the whiskey world. However, I've also realized that she just goes around smelling really weird things
@@MFKR696 I forget if it was Joe Scott, or Kyle Hill, but one of them did the math of how much vanilla extract we'd have to spill for the WHOOOOOOLE WOOOOOORLD to smell like vanilla. Super villain aspirations start small. juuuuust sayin'.
I’ve been watching Whiskey Tube videos for years and can easily say this is the first time I’ve ever heard “bologna packaging” as a nosing note 🤣🤣 Brianna is a gem
she really is. I like these guys, i respect the whiskey somm hustle and suckering money for it and their youtube game has been great since the start but she is that added bit of chaos to the mix that ignites the fire.
I’m both an appreciater of good whiskey, but also a bartender in a very rural, working class bar. Most of the whiskey drank is Black Velvet and R&R, usually with 7up or Coke. I’ve always found an appreciation for both good liquor, but also people who are unpretentious in what they drink. For me the extra $.25 a shot is worth is for Jim Beam, anything above that is priced too high for the place I work because rarely does anybody drink “the good stuff”, nor can they truly afford to.
And historically this is how most whisky has always been consumed by the average person. Cheap stuff that gets you drunk, usually mixed with something else to make it palatable. Early whisky was flavoured with honey and herbs and cut with equal parts water. 19th century whisky taken en masse with sugar and chilled with ice in cocktails. 20th century, blended stuff with soda. The whisky connoisseur who drinks a quality product neat for the nuanced flavours have always been a determined minority and their prominence is quite recent, only a generation or two old.
I spent more than a decade thinking I hated whiskey because all I had tried was the dirt stuff in college and the extreme Islay stuff at a job. Turns out, I'm a huge fan of the middle of the road stuff and that's an ENORMOUS space with every possible price point. If you're gonna drink, drop $20-30 and you'll likely have a much better time drinking and recovering.
@@RealRaynedance Drinking with your alcoholic uncle? Most people don’t sip whiskey to get falling down pissing themselves drunk. I avoid those people and never offer them good whiskey.
From teenage drinking i liked whisky Coke the most, then i found out that whisky can be a great investment and Warreb Buffet always says you should understand in what you invest so i got a Bottel of Glenfiddich 12 and i totaly Fell in love with Whisky, turns out if you spend mlre then 7€ you can drink it pure
@@Countrybluez Funnily enough, yeah, one of them was an uncle. The rest were either people my age or people maybe five to ten years older than me. Personally I don't drink _because_ of the smell and taste of alcohol in general and because of an alcoholic family member, but I can see how people so easily become that way. Especially when they said "Just try it.", which flew right in the face of "Don't smell it or think about the taste." when the whole point of trying something you drink is specifically for that.
I can 100% confirm that LTD tastes like sadness and regret. It's perfect when you are in a really foul mood and don't want to associate decent whiskey with that kind of feeling.
I figure a better roundup would be the cheapest whiskeys / bourbons that are actually 100% whiskey or bourbon, no added neutral grain spirits or "natural flavors" or anything. You can find the real deal for around $15 a bottle and sometimes they're pretty decent.
@@simbry49 Her tasting notes are great because it cuts down to what it probably is going to taste like for you when you don't have a palette for whiskey already.
I think that HTD and every other alcohol based channel owes you a big debt of gratitude for drinking all that swill, so they don't have to. Taking one for the team. You magnificent bastards!
I spoke with a friend yesterday. He says: I hate whisky, but I tried a smoked one and it was so good (Big peat). So why do we give the novice "smoot" and boring whiskies? Give them the sherry bombs and the peat monsters, that will convert them. Not Glenfiddich 12. It has less ABV, but it could tast more alcohol, because there is nothing else in there. If I want that, I would just drink vodka.
Not saying you have to (or should) buy the most expensive bottle in the shop. In fact, searching for and finding that tasty, reasonably priced liquor or wine is great fun. But passing on something you like for something you don’t just because you can get more of it for the same price is sad.
Friends of mine will drink only Scotch produced on Ila. During WWII their grandfather was a pilot whose plane had been hit and was not able to make it back to his air field. He radioed to an observation post on Ila his situation. The townspeople of Ila lined a field with their automobiles and turned on their headlights, allowing him to locate the “landing strip” in the dark, enabling him to land safely, saving his life.
I used to work for the Idaho State’s Liquor Warehouse and it’s always nostalgic seeing all the brands that they carry in the warehouse that aren’t as well known like some of the bottom shelf stuff you guys chose for this episode.
I would have liked to see one of the budget bottles be filled with something that is not considered budget. See if the name/bottle influences your taste at all.
When I think of “bottom shelf” i think of whiskeys like Evan Williams BiB, Very Old Barton BiB, and Mellow Corn. In my area, those sit around the $12-15 mark. I don’t think i could go any lower than that price point, but those are some superior budget whiskeys IMO. Also Benchmark and Ancient Age I would label as like an Honorable Mention. Similar price point and they’re at least potable lol great episode! Hope you had fun in Scotland!
We sell benchmark at my place of employment. cheapest there. still good. with a lemon/lime chase to suck on. Good in cocktails. Good on its own if you're tough enough. Certainly gets one where they need to go for $10 a fifth
This reminds me of beer. In college I thought there was only Bud Light, Coors Light, etc. It wasn't until I found craft beers at a higher price that I realized those weren't actually beer at all.
Thing is, there's a lot between "$30 and up" and "the cheapest we could find." I feel like they're missing out on that. The knee-to-hips level shelf in the store can have some good stuff, but you have to find it.
Actually, just one step up from the bottom shelf is some good tasting stuff. At Spec's, you can pick up 750ml bottles of Evan Williams white label for $18, Wild Turkey 101 for $22, and on the spicy side, Old Overholt for $26. They all make fine mixers and I even enjoy them neat.
This is hilarious because today is the 1 day I only had enough for the Kentucky Deluxe instead of my usual Wild Turkey 101 😏and I'm sipping on it as I'm watching RUclips and then this gem of a video shows up to bring a much needed smile to my face. If I have to choose a bottom shelf whiskey KD ain't too shabby 😅😁
Great video. I live in Nevada and the liquor prices are pretty decent. Evan Williams (bottom shelf Evan Williams) is quite drinkable. A complete shock for under $10 here.
I love this. Every time I try to find articles or videos talking about cheap whiskey, it's almost never bottom-shelf. I get a handle of Ten High bourbon for $14 and use it for mixing.
I want to see an episode where you take a really popular expensive whiskey and then recommend 3 alternatives that basically give you the same taste but at under $50, under $100 and under $150
At the grocery store near my house, and literally on the bottom shelf, are Ancient Age, Benchmark and Old Crow. The price point is ten bucks or just under. I'm pretty sure any of them would be better than the blended American and Canadian whiskies in this episode.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this episode! I grew up in the hinterlands of rural Northwest drinking HORRIBLE whiskeys just like these! I'm on the floor making dolphin noises from laughing SOOO hard! "Tears of peasants"..."Ice cream in an aluminum can"..."Burnt Fudge"..."smells like car exhaust"...and "baloney packaging"...whatever you pay Brianna - it ISN'T enough! The sponsorship of this episode by Bruichladdich is sublimely funny. I can't thank you MB's enough for suggesting the Classic Laddie. I LOVE that Scotch Whiskey! You folks make my day with every new video you produce. I can't wait to see the Scotland tour video(s). Slainte!
I just got back from Scotland a couple of weeks ago. I toured Glengoyne distillery, and spent a couple of days in the Isle of Skye. It was amazing. I really wanted to tour Talisker distillery but they were closed due to silent season. I recommend everyone see the Isle of Skye and I fully intend on returning to tour Islay and the other islands.
Ballantines, grants, cutty sark, and famous grouse. All bottom shelf, all decent. Clan mcgregor was better then expected. Some of this other stuff yall tried, well…takes guts! 🍻
Cutty Sark is honestly better than I expected it to be. About threw the handle of Clan Mcgregor at my buddy in a fit of rage for how utterly nasty it was. I'd have rather dropped the cash on a Proper Twelve(!?) handle at that point lol Grouse I mainly use for a cheap C&W mixer.
@@frederickglass1583 i feel ya. Everone has their own taste but i wont knock em. I actully dig mcgregor but i mix it with coke. I get it one of those drinks that you use a mixer with. CHEERS
Haha. I live in Korea and the local grocery store had Kentucky Gentlemen and I got it because it wasn't much more expensive than it was in your video. I also bought some Coke to mix. As a mixer, it's drinkable.
I’m a additive free purist Tequila guy. I have been a tequila person for as long as I can remember. I’ve been watching your content forever. My brother gifted me some blantons this episode is what’s going to get me to finally pour it bc a lot of the whiskey I had has been cheap like what a lot of Americans think of tequila bc of the god of the toilet lean Jose Cuervo. I’ve always loved your content as someone who loves the art of distillation. Hope your enjoying/enjoyed Western Europe and all the amazing spirits and beer it has to offer! Salud fellas!
I will say I've met people who genuinely can't stomach high proof alcohol no matter what kind it is, but I put a friend who said she hated whiskey onto Irish rocks and now she loves cask strength Red Breast
Bruichladdich Warehouse Experience has a 13 year old Cask Strength Octomore as of about a month ago when I visited. If you don't have that on your itinerary, fix that.
You need to put the undrunk dregs into a special Infinity Bottle-Ultimate blend for bottom drinkers. Oh, and Briannas bologna packaging tasting note is got to be the best ever.
That was one my most favorite videos to date. Even though you had to suffer for the cause, I appreciate the information that you were able to share. You got it right when you said that people probably make a decision based off of drinking these "bottom" shelf lables. I started with some of these before getting into the whiskey vault videos, and your comments just echo my thoughts from those days. Praise be to CHAD that I found the vault videos and learned to appreciate "good" whisky. THANK YOU!
I can remember seeing black label in my parents liquor cabinet, but Cowboy whisky and Cowboy bourbon are the absolute worst whiskies I've ever tried. Took me almost 6 months to get the taste out of my memory and not think that everything tasted like lemon pledge
Second or third time watching this one ... Love you guys, and girl ... Thanks for the great advice about spirits that you gave me during 2022 ... Wishing you and yours all the best for the Holidays, and for 2023! 😊
the 10-15 review should be the most interesting. When you go above the bare minimum of anything you can find from crap not better that the cheaper ones to really decent things
This episode was a blast. I do have one small bottle of Kessler's. Only used for wisconsin old fashioned cocktails when i want to remember my grandfather as that was his drink. And the one i grew up with. I know it's horrible booze, but its the memories for me.
At the suggestion of a friend (I use that term loosley) I tried a bottle of Benchmark bourbon, it comes from the Buffalo Trace distillery and is $9 a bottle. Amusingly it says on the side "the bourbon by which all others are judged"
This is exactly what happened to me. My friends gave me this type of whiskey and for 15 I thought I didn’t like whiskey. Till someone gave me bulleit and eagle rare to try and I absolutely loved it. Always have those at home because of this.
When I worked at a night club some of the bar backs made random and sprites with the contents of the drip cups from the booze dispensing guns. They called them snowflakes because every one tasted different.
I'm sure they already dealt with them but I'm curious to see what happens if they poured all that bottom shelf stuff together and distill it and see what happens.
One of the things i get and drink from my local stores is an aloe vera drink and its got little pieces of the clear part of the aloe plant in it. Seeing your will it still videos made me wonder if the aloe drinks are fermentable and distillable
The hands-down worst whiskey I've had was Woodford Reserve. That stuff just tastes like varnish. I've not touched my bottle since opening and trying it a few months ago, but my intent is to use it to fortify sangria.
Those heavy notes actually make WR decent in a whiskey sour but as a neat dram I felt the same as you. The last 6 years I exclusively drink scotch because I really can't stand American whiskies for that reason.
Kentucky Deluxe was the first whiskey I ever tried. When you mix it with Mt. Dew it is good enough to get an alcohol noob plastered. I still always smile when I see it at the liquor store.
The tribe would certainly be missing something without Brianna! She makes everything so much more warm and welcoming for those whom are not experts in Whiskey PS Daniel come back to Louisville, eat at Repeal, bring the whole gang
In college, many years ago, I bought Kentucky Tavern to use for mixing. For years, I was a Canadian whisky fan with Crown Royal being my favorite, but I would buy Black Velvet since it was inexpensive. Ever since my wife and I stopped by Jack Daniels 5 or so years ago, we have been bigger bourbon/rye/whiskey drinkers and discern the differences. Greater than $60 is a splurge for us now.
Mellow Corn is what I recommend to those on a budget. Great taste for the price, the only real downfall of Mellow Corn to me is that it's very one note and it doesn't linger. My go to bottle is Elijah Craig though, can't get enough of that stuff!
$25.99 here in Michigan for about 5 years now. Hasn't gone up or down. My favorite for the price and quality 50 years now. Knob Creek 9 year old my favorite.
@@frederickglass1583 Not in Kansas City, thank god. The most it got to was around $25. But it looks like it's finally back to our usual, of $20 or below. :D
@@buggyridge My favorite bourbon so far, of all I've tried, is Old Forester 1920. But that's a $60 bottle, so I don't drink it much. Thankfully, Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace are delicious and affordable, so I never feel like I'm missing out when I make them my daily drink.
I regularly get a 750ml of WT 101 for $20.99+tax. Literally across the street that bottle is $26.99. The liquor stores are within potato gun range of each other.
Black Velvet was the first whiskey, if you can call it that, I ever had. Snuck it from my step dad's pantry at the beginning of 8th grade. I didn't touch whisky again until college.
I think you've signed yourselves up for a "bottom shelf but not blended" episode! Buffalo Trace or Early Times bottled in bond are my go tos for cheap whiskey.
I've been wanting to see black velvet on here, that's my bottom shelf pick and I usually have a handle of it in my fridge for cocktails. Don't get me wrong, I love the more expensive stuff, usually makers or something in that price range, but it's really hard to get over that price for performance of the black velvet
My favorite is 15 year old Glenfiddich. In Finland, 72€ a bottle. A rare treat. My second favorite is Vat 69 and it's in the mid-low shelf, 22€ in Finland is almost cheap.
Black Velvet was not terrible. There was a time (several years) when I bought it as a cheap mixer. I tried Rich and rare once - it was poor and common. Bad. Thanks for taking one for the team! this was entertaining
Wow haven’t watched the channel for a long time but last time I watched the channel Brianna was the “noob” in the video and now she has some good notes. Great journey!
I drank a bunch of Inver House Scotch I got for Xmas about a decade ago. It was the best Xmas I've had in recent history. Not much character or subtle flavors but it did the trick without gagging me.
I like Virginia Gentleman Bourbon Whisky. $12/fifth. My father liked Mattingly and Moore Bourbon whiskey about $9.00 a fifth. You develope a preference for a certain flavor bourbon and that is what you buy at the ABC store in Virginia, save some bucks, don't miss the expensive stuff. I was in high school with Julian VanWinkle. I've tasted Pappy VanWinkle only once, it's truly the best tasting whiskey I've ever had. We both attended Blue Ridge School near Dyke, Virginia.
I've had T.W. Samuels Kentucky Straight Bourbon Bottled in Bond before and I really liked it. It's a Heaven Hill product, has a white label, and gets very good reviews for the price point. Some Heaven Hill is only sold in Kentucky though, and for all I know, the T.W. Samuels BiB may be one of those. I think that yellow-label T.W. Samuels is a blended whiskey -- totally different juice. However, after my T.W. Samuels experience, I was amazed that you yours was that bad.
When I was in the military, stationed in Alaska and thinking Jack, Jim and Southern Comfort were the top whiskies - we used to buy Fred Meyer $6 handle jug whiskey because it was cheap. We would drive atv's, drink and have incredible days long hangovers. To this day, I cannot smell or taste the cheap crap without having painful flashbacks. Thankfully, many long years later and being a hobby distiller - I can enjoy whiskey again. We have made some magnificent distillations - rye, gin and secret blends. Love this clip - Black Velvet is the devil.
Burnt Fudge, tin can ice cream, car exhaust, and pennies. The premium tasting notes of the clearance shelf
You know if they did a Moron Cloud on this stuff, they'd still end up with most of the usual notes (Daniel's Mom).
She had me howling with “bologna packaging “!!🤣🤣
@Luke Terpstra I think a better pro tip would be not to get drunk but only enjoy 2-3 drinks at a time for the flavor and relaxation, but hey that's just me
I about died when you said car exhaust. I find it a shame most women don’t like the brown stuff I love it.
Tears, flannel...
Having worked at a liquor store I can attest to the fact that Black Velvet & Rich and Rare are two of the most commonly purchased whiskies. I can also attest to the fact that nobody who drinks those whiskies drinks them for the flavor.
I've had a few of these on a lark (a failed blog concept) and hats off to anyone who drinks these in quantity. I took a shot of kentucky gentleman and it flipped my stomach so bad I had to stop drinking for a couple days (and I never have stomach issues).
Never heard of rich and rare
I used to buy BV for $10 for 1.75L, it wasn't bad with coke. Now it's $15 and I buy old grand dad or evan williams instead.
As a fellow liquor store refugee, I concur. Rich and Rare is a standby (had an old salesman gave me the best advice and spend 2 dollars more on the R&R Reserve). When you're trying to knock out student debt on a liquor clerk's wages, you gotta know the best of the worst.
Yeah, BV was the go to in college. But it was for the price and lack of an offensive flavor.
I actually have a bottle of Canadian LTD in my cabinet. My dad had the worst taste in whiskey and would buy the cheapest he could find. That was the last bottle he bought before passing and so the most prominent bottle in my collection is also the cheapest. Here's to you, dad.
My mom has a plastic bottle of Seagrams 7- that she and Dad bought in the 1980s... It was for a canoe trip in the Boundry Waters- no glass allowed. And it was cheap. Nobody has drank it again since...
Source like your dad proffered a good time
I love Brianna's tasting notes, and I think she could revolutionize the whiskey world. However, I've also realized that she just goes around smelling really weird things
Let's not forget her "tastes like a sidewalk" remark.
Yeah, she has a great natural talent for differentiating smells and tastes. Genius level. It's as if she can remember everything she has ever smelled.
After bologna packaging she was just saying random things to try to get the guys to laugh.
@@MFKR696 I forget if it was Joe Scott, or Kyle Hill, but one of them did the math of how much vanilla extract we'd have to spill for the WHOOOOOOLE WOOOOOORLD to smell like vanilla.
Super villain aspirations start small. juuuuust sayin'.
@@MFKR696 my comment was like 85% sarcastic. She's not revolutionizing anything.
I’ve been watching Whiskey Tube videos for years and can easily say this is the first time I’ve ever heard “bologna packaging” as a nosing note 🤣🤣 Brianna is a gem
she really is. I like these guys, i respect the whiskey somm hustle and suckering money for it and their youtube game has been great since the start but she is that added bit of chaos to the mix that ignites the fire.
Briana's entertaining, but she's smart, too. The three of them are a team.
@@furthurondown she's like one of those fae creatures like a satyr, or something in the court of Dionysius; always getting drunk and wreaking havok
Isn't that one of the first plastic bottled thing they've had though?
my favorite tasting note from her was "bucket" and I remember they all looked at her like "whaaaaaat"
Daniel & Rex “I’m getting caramel & smoke. “
Brianna “taste like a sidewalk”
😂
The problem is the very bottom shelf isn’t whiskey as we commonly use the term. It ends up being whiskey flavored alcohol.
LTD
It's vodka mixed with a little whiskey, so they can legally call it whiskey.
Well Stated !
@@KarklinPumpkin Full YEET. Nothing more. Just yeet it lol
@@frederickglass1583 I agree its absolutley abysmal. Tastes like rubbing alcohol with oak flavoring
I’m both an appreciater of good whiskey, but also a bartender in a very rural, working class bar. Most of the whiskey drank is Black Velvet and R&R, usually with 7up or Coke. I’ve always found an appreciation for both good liquor, but also people who are unpretentious in what they drink. For me the extra $.25 a shot is worth is for Jim Beam, anything above that is priced too high for the place I work because rarely does anybody drink “the good stuff”, nor can they truly afford to.
And historically this is how most whisky has always been consumed by the average person. Cheap stuff that gets you drunk, usually mixed with something else to make it palatable. Early whisky was flavoured with honey and herbs and cut with equal parts water. 19th century whisky taken en masse with sugar and chilled with ice in cocktails. 20th century, blended stuff with soda. The whisky connoisseur who drinks a quality product neat for the nuanced flavours have always been a determined minority and their prominence is quite recent, only a generation or two old.
I spent more than a decade thinking I hated whiskey because all I had tried was the dirt stuff in college and the extreme Islay stuff at a job. Turns out, I'm a huge fan of the middle of the road stuff and that's an ENORMOUS space with every possible price point.
If you're gonna drink, drop $20-30 and you'll likely have a much better time drinking and recovering.
But don't you know alcohol is only supposed to be used to get drunk?
(Seriously. I've been told not to smell it and don't think about the taste.)
Also drink a glass of water every 2-3 drinks helps with boozy headaches to hangovers also sugary cocktail stomach aches.
@@RealRaynedance
Drinking with your alcoholic uncle? Most people don’t sip whiskey to get falling down pissing themselves drunk. I avoid those people and never offer them good whiskey.
From teenage drinking i liked whisky Coke the most, then i found out that whisky can be a great investment and Warreb Buffet always says you should understand in what you invest so i got a Bottel of Glenfiddich 12 and i totaly Fell in love with Whisky, turns out if you spend mlre then 7€ you can drink it pure
@@Countrybluez Funnily enough, yeah, one of them was an uncle. The rest were either people my age or people maybe five to ten years older than me.
Personally I don't drink _because_ of the smell and taste of alcohol in general and because of an alcoholic family member, but I can see how people so easily become that way. Especially when they said "Just try it.", which flew right in the face of "Don't smell it or think about the taste." when the whole point of trying something you drink is specifically for that.
I can 100% confirm that LTD tastes like sadness and regret. It's perfect when you are in a really foul mood and don't want to associate decent whiskey with that kind of feeling.
bruichladdich sponsoring this channel feels like bringing balance to the Force. Looking forward to content from your trip to Scotland!
Bruichladdich makes some good stuff, I’ve been a fan of them for a while!
I figure a better roundup would be the cheapest whiskeys / bourbons that are actually 100% whiskey or bourbon, no added neutral grain spirits or "natural flavors" or anything. You can find the real deal for around $15 a bottle and sometimes they're pretty decent.
thats the cheapest possibly in UK for a bottle (0.7L)
Life's too short already to drink paint thinner.
Definitely. Quality House, EWBiB, JTS Brown, these three are winners. Less so? Virginia Gentleman, Ancient Age
id like to see that video as well
Very Old Barton's and Benchmark are both decent cheap bourbons for $9-$12.
Bri's faces have become like 80% of the appeal of these videos for me.
Her tasting notes are also really interesting to hear.
@@simbry49 Her tasting notes are great because it cuts down to what it probably is going to taste like for you when you don't have a palette for whiskey already.
I watch more for her... cause she is going to say something off the wall, that actually makes sense. And then everything else she does.
I must be missing something. I don’t find her funny. I always hope that her weird faces won’t be featured on a thumbnail.
I think that HTD and every other alcohol based channel owes you a big debt of gratitude for drinking all that swill, so they don't have to.
Taking one for the team.
You magnificent bastards!
I’ve never found a distillery that impresses me as much as Bruichladdich, and I’m dying laughing that THIS is the episode they sponsored 😂
I spoke with a friend yesterday. He says: I hate whisky, but I tried a smoked one and it was so good (Big peat). So why do we give the novice "smoot" and boring whiskies? Give them the sherry bombs and the peat monsters, that will convert them. Not Glenfiddich 12. It has less ABV, but it could tast more alcohol, because there is nothing else in there. If I want that, I would just drink vodka.
I’ve always said, “If you can’t afford to drink quality liquor, you’re drinking too much liquor”. Drink less, drink better.
I’m gonna be stealing this quote, surprisingly insightful.
Nah
Not saying you have to (or should) buy the most expensive bottle in the shop. In fact, searching for and finding that tasty, reasonably priced liquor or wine is great fun. But passing on something you like for something you don’t just because you can get more of it for the same price is sad.
@@donalddicorcia2433 I occassionally pop $500-600 bottles of wine but thats my upper price limit.
Drink more and buy a better mixer!
Friends of mine will drink only Scotch produced on Ila. During WWII their grandfather was a pilot whose plane had been hit and was not able to make it back to his air field. He radioed to an observation post on Ila his situation. The townspeople of Ila lined a field with their automobiles and turned on their headlights, allowing him to locate the “landing strip” in the dark, enabling him to land safely, saving his life.
I used to work for the Idaho State’s Liquor Warehouse and it’s always nostalgic seeing all the brands that they carry in the warehouse that aren’t as well known like some of the bottom shelf stuff you guys chose for this episode.
I would have liked to see one of the budget bottles be filled with something that is not considered budget. See if the name/bottle influences your taste at all.
Nailed it!! Put a hundo on the bottle and its GOOOOD!!!
I feel like at a certain point you just know. If it smells horrible, tastes horrible, well that's that.
When I think of “bottom shelf” i think of whiskeys like Evan Williams BiB, Very Old Barton BiB, and Mellow Corn. In my area, those sit around the $12-15 mark. I don’t think i could go any lower than that price point, but those are some superior budget whiskeys IMO. Also Benchmark and Ancient Age I would label as like an Honorable Mention. Similar price point and they’re at least potable lol great episode! Hope you had fun in Scotland!
Benchmark. I kept waiting for them to try benchmark
@@andrewbarling1806 i haven’t bought a bottle on a few years but i think it was like $8 when i bought it. not a bad whiskey at the range
We sell benchmark at my place of employment. cheapest there. still good. with a lemon/lime chase to suck on. Good in cocktails. Good on its own if you're tough enough. Certainly gets one where they need to go for $10 a fifth
For me when I am low on funds, it would be EW, OF 86 proof, EB (meh), WT 101 ( rarely now), and maybe one other I can't think of.
Brianna is very creative with her tasting notes. lol. love it!
This reminds me of beer. In college I thought there was only Bud Light, Coors Light, etc. It wasn't until I found craft beers at a higher price that I realized those weren't actually beer at all.
I can’t stand Pilsners. They do not taste good, and upset my stomach. Same with IPAs.
@@R0gueM what do you like then?
stouts? weissbiers?
Thing is, there's a lot between "$30 and up" and "the cheapest we could find." I feel like they're missing out on that. The knee-to-hips level shelf in the store can have some good stuff, but you have to find it.
Yay! The paint thinner episode for us penny pinchers.
Team LTD.
And yes, this is what is meant by the term bottom shelf.
Actually, just one step up from the bottom shelf is some good tasting stuff. At Spec's, you can pick up 750ml bottles of Evan Williams white label for $18, Wild Turkey 101 for $22, and on the spicy side, Old Overholt for $26. They all make fine mixers and I even enjoy them neat.
Same with Old Forrester 100 for about 20-25. Great drinks that I like neat or mixed.
Here's an idea, pour all those cheap whiskeys together and then redistill it to see what comes out.
That’s absolutely evil. I love it.
Why bother, the result will be vodka.
Fireball is what comes out.
@@mr.c207 Thank you!
@@KhronicD I just want to see what flavors (I use that term loosely) come out at the other end.
This is hilarious because today is the 1 day I only had enough for the Kentucky Deluxe instead of my usual Wild Turkey 101 😏and I'm sipping on it as I'm watching RUclips and then this gem of a video shows up to bring a much needed smile to my face. If I have to choose a bottom shelf whiskey KD ain't too shabby 😅😁
Yeah I actually liked the Kentucky Deluxe compared to some of the other stuff I had.
Great video. I live in Nevada and the liquor prices are pretty decent. Evan Williams (bottom shelf Evan Williams) is quite drinkable. A complete shock for under $10 here.
I love this. Every time I try to find articles or videos talking about cheap whiskey, it's almost never bottom-shelf. I get a handle of Ten High bourbon for $14 and use it for mixing.
This video was needed. There is nothing better way to appreciate great whiskey than to drink the cheap stuff. Cheers!
I want to see an episode where you take a really popular expensive whiskey and then recommend 3 alternatives that basically give you the same taste but at under $50, under $100 and under $150
Briana’s got the best tasting notes in all of whiskytube, heck all multiverse!
At 14:19 hahah "Why did you do that?" I'm dying. haha
At the grocery store near my house, and literally on the bottom shelf, are Ancient Age, Benchmark and Old Crow. The price point is ten bucks or just under. I'm pretty sure any of them would be better than the blended American and Canadian whiskies in this episode.
Well,actually I quite like Old Crow as it is, And mixed 50/50 with unsweetened grapefruit juice it is a great morning”starter”
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this episode! I grew up in the hinterlands of rural Northwest drinking HORRIBLE whiskeys just like these! I'm on the floor making dolphin noises from laughing SOOO hard! "Tears of peasants"..."Ice cream in an aluminum can"..."Burnt Fudge"..."smells like car exhaust"...and "baloney packaging"...whatever you pay Brianna - it ISN'T enough! The sponsorship of this episode by Bruichladdich is sublimely funny. I can't thank you MB's enough for suggesting the Classic Laddie. I LOVE that Scotch Whiskey! You folks make my day with every new video you produce. I can't wait to see the Scotland tour video(s). Slainte!
I remember Kentucky deluxe from high school. It was cheap and I remember drinking it with Diet Pepsi. It was like $4 a handle in the 90’s
I just got back from Scotland a couple of weeks ago. I toured Glengoyne distillery, and spent a couple of days in the Isle of Skye. It was amazing. I really wanted to tour Talisker distillery but they were closed due to silent season. I recommend everyone see the Isle of Skye and I fully intend on returning to tour Islay and the other islands.
Ballantines, grants, cutty sark, and famous grouse. All bottom shelf, all decent. Clan mcgregor was better then expected. Some of this other stuff yall tried, well…takes guts! 🍻
Dude! Ive had those. Theyre like my go to when i introduce whisky to friends. Have you tried old smuggler? Its right up there with them. CHEERS
@@Dixie_Normiz I have not! I’ll give that a shot! 👍
Cutty Sark is honestly better than I expected it to be. About threw the handle of Clan Mcgregor at my buddy in a fit of rage for how utterly nasty it was. I'd have rather dropped the cash on a Proper Twelve(!?) handle at that point lol
Grouse I mainly use for a cheap C&W mixer.
@@frederickglass1583 i feel ya. Everone has their own taste but i wont knock em. I actully dig mcgregor but i mix it with coke. I get it one of those drinks that you use a mixer with.
CHEERS
The Famous Grouse is good with Coke.
Haha. I live in Korea and the local grocery store had Kentucky Gentlemen and I got it because it wasn't much more expensive than it was in your video. I also bought some Coke to mix. As a mixer, it's drinkable.
Since these will be on the bottom shelf perpetually forever, can you blend them all together?
I’m a additive free purist Tequila guy. I have been a tequila person for as long as I can remember. I’ve been watching your content forever. My brother gifted me some blantons this episode is what’s going to get me to finally pour it bc a lot of the whiskey I had has been cheap like what a lot of Americans think of tequila bc of the god of the toilet lean Jose Cuervo. I’ve always loved your content as someone who loves the art of distillation. Hope your enjoying/enjoyed Western Europe and all the amazing spirits and beer it has to offer! Salud fellas!
Pffffffffpt “purist tequila guy,” lol, ok
Come over to the adult table and enjoy mezcal, but you make a good point
@@makiah_s I love mezcals and spirits distilled from agave as well. Just got a fire el buho that was distilled with mangos 🥭
So, basically, the kind of stuff I drank at woods parties back when I was 19.
I will say I've met people who genuinely can't stomach high proof alcohol no matter what kind it is, but I put a friend who said she hated whiskey onto Irish rocks and now she loves cask strength Red Breast
There's something just different about cask strength irish whiskies that is undeniably right, and RB is a solid starter
Bruichladdich Warehouse Experience has a 13 year old Cask Strength Octomore as of about a month ago when I visited. If you don't have that on your itinerary, fix that.
Briana is just hilarious. Shes definitely made a big difference since coming in.
You need to put the undrunk dregs into a special Infinity Bottle-Ultimate blend for bottom drinkers. Oh, and Briannas bologna packaging tasting note is got to be the best ever.
3:03
“Except you, you’re not gonna be there”
“…yah”
😂
Brianna's tasting notes are EPIC; she is a Legend. Next time take her on the trip that would be an amazing video.
That was one my most favorite videos to date. Even though you had to suffer for the cause, I appreciate the information that you were able to share. You got it right when you said that people probably make a decision based off of drinking these "bottom" shelf lables. I started with some of these before getting into the whiskey vault videos, and your comments just echo my thoughts from those days. Praise be to CHAD that I found the vault videos and learned to appreciate "good" whisky. THANK YOU!
I can remember seeing black label in my parents liquor cabinet, but Cowboy whisky and Cowboy bourbon are the absolute worst whiskies I've ever tried. Took me almost 6 months to get the taste out of my memory and not think that everything tasted like lemon pledge
Second or third time watching this one ... Love you guys, and girl ... Thanks for the great advice about spirits that you gave me during 2022 ... Wishing you and yours all the best for the Holidays, and for 2023! 😊
Would love a revisit at the $15-25 level
Edit: even the $10-15, theres gotta be a gem somewhere.
Alibi is pretty good
I can get Benchmark 8 700ml for 15€ and Lauders 1L for 18.99€, so there is definetly good stuff in the 15-25 level.
the 10-15 review should be the most interesting. When you go above the bare minimum of anything you can find from crap not better that the cheaper ones to really decent things
Clan MacGregor was $13 a handle a few years ago and is a pretty great scotch IMO
This episode was a blast. I do have one small bottle of Kessler's. Only used for wisconsin old fashioned cocktails when i want to remember my grandfather as that was his drink. And the one i grew up with. I know it's horrible booze, but its the memories for me.
This was similar to me in college not liking beer, until I realized there was better beer than Bud Light Pee
Oh the comments on here!
As a St. Louis native, this made me audibly snort in laughter. And no, this statement is spot freakin on
@@frederickglass1583 My wife is a St Louis native, I feel you. There was literal family mourning when Anheuser-Busch sold out. Schlafly FTW
@@ChadWinters i remember hearing the news and even for a teen, being PISSED as hell until my dad explained it happens a lot in the industry
At the suggestion of a friend (I use that term loosley) I tried a bottle of Benchmark bourbon, it comes from the Buffalo Trace distillery and is $9 a bottle. Amusingly it says on the side "the bourbon by which all others are judged"
I never understood how anyone could enjoy drinking whisky, until I tried GOOD whisky.
Were you guys following me around the store and just grabbing what I picked out (as per a normal whiskey trip for me)?
This is exactly what happened to me. My friends gave me this type of whiskey and for 15 I thought I didn’t like whiskey. Till someone gave me bulleit and eagle rare to try and I absolutely loved it. Always have those at home because of this.
I first tried Bulleit in GA. Loved it
I love Mellow Corn! If you love sweet, fresh corn on the cob, you'll probably like this BiB corn whiskey. Heaven Hill by far my favorite distillery.
So who is gonna be the brave one and take a drink from that infinity bowl they made?
I'll do it but they have to fly me there and back
When I worked at a night club some of the bar backs made random and sprites with the contents of the drip cups from the booze dispensing guns. They called them snowflakes because every one tasted different.
14:52 you can literally hear his brain going ”thats what she said” lmao wonderful episode!
I'm sure they already dealt with them but I'm curious to see what happens if they poured all that bottom shelf stuff together and distill it and see what happens.
You'd just distill out all the ethanol from it. That just gets you back in the realm of vodka.
One of the things i get and drink from my local stores is an aloe vera drink and its got little pieces of the clear part of the aloe plant in it. Seeing your will it still videos made me wonder if the aloe drinks are fermentable and distillable
The hands-down worst whiskey I've had was Woodford Reserve. That stuff just tastes like varnish. I've not touched my bottle since opening and trying it a few months ago, but my intent is to use it to fortify sangria.
Yeah. It’s like drinking wood. Didn’t like it either.
I had that experience with Maker's Mark, I like Bourbon but that just had too harsh an aftertaste which had a turpentine note.
Those heavy notes actually make WR decent in a whiskey sour but as a neat dram I felt the same as you. The last 6 years I exclusively drink scotch because I really can't stand American whiskies for that reason.
Kentucky Deluxe was the first whiskey I ever tried. When you mix it with Mt. Dew it is good enough to get an alcohol noob plastered. I still always smile when I see it at the liquor store.
The tribe would certainly be missing something without Brianna! She makes everything so much more warm and welcoming for those whom are not experts in Whiskey
PS Daniel come back to Louisville, eat at Repeal, bring the whole gang
In college, many years ago, I bought Kentucky Tavern to use for mixing. For years, I was a Canadian whisky fan with Crown Royal being my favorite, but I would buy Black Velvet since it was inexpensive. Ever since my wife and I stopped by Jack Daniels 5 or so years ago, we have been bigger bourbon/rye/whiskey drinkers and discern the differences. Greater than $60 is a splurge for us now.
That lady is effortlessly funny… such a shame she isn’t going to Scotland 🏴
Do you have a review of the 2nd to the bottom shelf?
i dont even drink alcohol but i enjoy your channel for three reasons.
one of you is hot, one of you has an amazing beard, one of you is hilarious.
We’ll never know which one is which
So... just Brianna? I mean, she shaves her beard... JUST KIDDING LOL
😂🤣😂 🙈🙊🙉
Daniel is obviously the hot one, Rex does have a magnificent beard and Brianna is definitely the funniest.
Mellow Corn and Jim Beam are around $15 most places here in DFW.
That extra few dollars makes a big difference.
Mellow Corn is what I recommend to those on a budget. Great taste for the price, the only real downfall of Mellow Corn to me is that it's very one note and it doesn't linger. My go to bottle is Elijah Craig though, can't get enough of that stuff!
Two days ago I saw Wild Turkey 101 under $20 again. First time in many months. My daily drink is properly affordable again!
You're kidding! Wasn't 101 like, 50+ during pandemic?!!!!
$25.99 here in Michigan for about 5 years now. Hasn't gone up or down. My favorite for the price and quality 50 years now. Knob Creek 9 year old my favorite.
@@frederickglass1583 Not in Kansas City, thank god. The most it got to was around $25. But it looks like it's finally back to our usual, of $20 or below. :D
@@buggyridge My favorite bourbon so far, of all I've tried, is Old Forester 1920. But that's a $60 bottle, so I don't drink it much. Thankfully, Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace are delicious and affordable, so I never feel like I'm missing out when I make them my daily drink.
I regularly get a 750ml of WT 101 for $20.99+tax. Literally across the street that bottle is $26.99. The liquor stores are within potato gun range of each other.
Black Velvet was the first whiskey, if you can call it that, I ever had. Snuck it from my step dad's pantry at the beginning of 8th grade. I didn't touch whisky again until college.
Same here, a sip almost made me puke.
Watching Brianna and Rex together is hilarious
0:36 "OMG, $9 bucks!" "Dude...that's pickle juice" Haha! Cheers & Happy New Year! \m/ \m/
Now do a double blind taste test with 3 of the "best" bottom barrel whiskeys intermixed with $30+ bottles
"The tears of peasants" is the best line in the whole episode. Hilarious!!!
My alcoholic father loves LTD, says a lot lol.
Well..at least its cheap! lol.
I'm sure the price tag is why he loves it. You'd be surprised what one will ingest when they are addicted.
@lr 21 You didn't have to live with him as a child growing up so I will deal with it however I want to. Thanks.
You really only appreciate good whiskey sober. If you're drinking to stay drunk or postpone a hangover, quantity matters more than quality.
Opening scene; I was at the same place in 2016! I was going from Edinburgh to Islay and we stopped at the castle to check out. Nice!
I think you've signed yourselves up for a "bottom shelf but not blended" episode! Buffalo Trace or Early Times bottled in bond are my go tos for cheap whiskey.
We absolutely loved Scotland. The Glengoyne distillery is beautiful. Hope you guys have fun.
I’d love to see you guys try military special. It’s basically a brand on military installations that is extremely cheap for the soldiers to buy.
I too would like to see this.
I believe they already tried this. Try looking up
I live in Canada, my 2 whiskeys are Canadian Club and JP Wiser's. They are decent whiskeys. They cost around $50 for 1.5L give or take.
Bruichlladich is by far the best whisky I've ever tasted. I had it when I visited Scotland. Amazing, amazing.
After a hard day's work, I too, love a fine spirit with notes of corroded pennies and diesel exhaust.
I laughed so hard through this entire episode! Why do I enjoy watching y’all torture yourselves sooo much??? Thanks for the laughs and the sacrifice!
I've been wanting to see black velvet on here, that's my bottom shelf pick and I usually have a handle of it in my fridge for cocktails. Don't get me wrong, I love the more expensive stuff, usually makers or something in that price range, but it's really hard to get over that price for performance of the black velvet
My favorite is 15 year old Glenfiddich. In Finland, 72€ a bottle. A rare treat.
My second favorite is Vat 69 and it's in the mid-low shelf, 22€ in Finland is almost cheap.
Black Velvet was not terrible. There was a time (several years) when I bought it as a cheap mixer. I tried Rich and rare once - it was poor and common. Bad. Thanks for taking one for the team! this was entertaining
Pity I cant give a double thumbs up just for the heroism shown, above and beyond. Thankyou for your service
You should do the same thing, but with bottom shelf whiskey here in Scotland too.
Wow haven’t watched the channel for a long time but last time I watched the channel Brianna was the “noob” in the video and now she has some good notes. Great journey!
Peter Golden watching this video: 🤦♂️ “Am I a joke to you?” 😂
I drank a bunch of Inver House Scotch I got for Xmas about a decade ago. It was the best Xmas I've had in recent history. Not much character or subtle flavors but it did the trick without gagging me.
i love the tasting notes,... bologna packaging, sidewalk, wooden fence, flannels!
I like Virginia Gentleman Bourbon Whisky. $12/fifth. My father liked Mattingly and Moore Bourbon whiskey about $9.00 a fifth. You develope a preference for a certain flavor bourbon and that is what you buy at the ABC store in Virginia, save some bucks, don't miss the expensive stuff. I was in high school with Julian VanWinkle. I've tasted Pappy VanWinkle only once, it's truly the best tasting whiskey I've ever had. We both attended Blue Ridge School near Dyke, Virginia.
I've had T.W. Samuels Kentucky Straight Bourbon Bottled in Bond before and I really liked it. It's a Heaven Hill product, has a white label, and gets very good reviews for the price point. Some Heaven Hill is only sold in Kentucky though, and for all I know, the T.W. Samuels BiB may be one of those. I think that yellow-label T.W. Samuels is a blended whiskey -- totally different juice. However, after my T.W. Samuels experience, I was amazed that you yours was that bad.
When I was in the military, stationed in Alaska and thinking Jack, Jim and Southern Comfort were the top whiskies - we used to buy Fred Meyer $6 handle jug whiskey because it was cheap. We would drive atv's, drink and have incredible days long hangovers. To this day, I cannot smell or taste the cheap crap without having painful flashbacks. Thankfully, many long years later and being a hobby distiller - I can enjoy whiskey again. We have made some magnificent distillations - rye, gin and secret blends. Love this clip - Black Velvet is the devil.
You guys are always fun. The best lower price bourbons I've had are Very Old Barton and Rebel Yell. Down around 11-12 bucks and great for highballs.