The Bourbon Brown Book - 2021 Edition | Allocated Bottle Price Guide

2021 Price Guide for Rare & Allocated Bottles

This is the third year that we’ve brought you our much renowned Bourbon Brown Book. The feedback that we’ve received from our readers over the years is that this guide not only helped people understand the current market trends and prices, but to also refresh their memories on all of the rare releases over the past year so you can go back and try to find them if you missed them.

If 2020’s secondary bottle market saw prices explode, then 2021’s secondary market have seen them go supernova. While many would argue that secondary price increases don’t look like they’ll ever slow down, there are some indicators that hint we’re approaching some sort of “ceiling.”

Bourbon Secondary Market Trends of 2021

Secondary bottle sale postings are closing without a buyer more than half the time. It has steadily gone up over the last 36 months when bottle prices were much lower overall.

This could be explained by there being much more fish to catch when there are more fish in the sea to begin with. We’re finally noticing large swaths of people being priced out of certain releases.

Retail Owners Joining Secondary Groups

It is obvious that more retail store owners are joining the secondary groups to sell their own allocations. They are using fake names (usually TV show characters) and don’t even care to hide the fact that they have a whole case of the same rare bourbon that they’re selling.

If these are not liquor store owners, they are unscrupulous buyers who are using techniques to extract disproportionate amounts of allocated bottles from stores. One can only imagine that will result in losing customers who begin to look elsewhere when they are not being rewarded.

No 2021 George T. Stagg Announcement

The single biggest event that impacted secondary prices across the board was Buffalo Trace announcing that there would be no 2021 George T. Stagg.

This caused a ripple effect that literally affected every single Buffalo Trace product’s secondary value. The most obvious was that previous years’ GTS values skyrocketed overnight and are now hovering around $1,000 for the 2020 release.

This, in turn, raised the price of Stagg Jr. (which was always 1/4 the price of bottle of GTS) and EHT Barrel Proof (which was always around 2/3 the price of GTS). It has also affected the entire Weller lineup too.

Blanton’s Secondary Market Pricing

The only products that didn’t see an increase in secondary prices was the entire lineup of Blanton’s. This is because a seemingly unending supply of Blanton’s Gold and Straight From The Barrel have been found from an overseas online retailer that many people have caught on to.

On that particular website, Gold can be had for around $160/bottle and SFTB can be had for $180. This has resulted in US buyers buying as many bottles as they can to try and flip them. But too many bottles have now saturated local markets and national secondary pages which have stalled prices.

Sellers have seemingly abandoned the idea of selling the US-market 750ml bottles of Blanton’s Gold and SFTB (which are annual releases) because the secondary prices for those European-sourced Blanton’s are now less than the US versions at retail (even though the European ones are 700ml).

Bourbon Hoarding

Bourbon hoarding is at an all-time high. Everyone is buying every bottle that they think has any worth. Nowhere was this more apparent than when people rushed to buy High West’s Yippie Ki-Yay, which was already a shit product, in the hopes that they could make it rich.

This has resulted in allocated bottles never being found on the shelves which results in customer dissatisfaction at stores. The consequence to our actions is less overall “normal” bottles being sold as customers don’t see the point to give a store their patronage if it doesn’t result in a rare bottle every now and then.

I see a positive trend with more stores instituting a “1 bottle per customer” approach in response. The outcome should be more even distribution of the good stuff.

Allocated Bottles: Drink or Trade

As more stores are resorting to limiting 1 allocated bottle per customer per release, the buyers of those bottles are now faced with the decision of either selling their only bottle or opening it to enjoy but lose the opportunity to sell it.

Many can’t decide on what they want to do, so the bottles remain sealed in their homes and are not being sold on any market. The one-bottle-per customer policies that stores and distilleries are using may be one of the largest factors going forward in alleviating the problems surrounding the secondary market.

Impacts of Inflation

Economic Inflation is increasing the prices on everything and it should come as no surprise that bourbon will either see its own increases or that the average consumer will have less money to spend per bottle as their budget is used for other things in life.

MSRP Rising

Producers are suggesting prices that are much more in line with an actual value rather than keeping it artificially low. And once other distilleries see that their competitors are raising their prices, they’ll raise theirs too.

2021 Bourbon Brown Book Terms

After the bottle name, we have assigned a corresponding tier to each bottle. This is what they mean:

T1 = Tier 1 bottles

The most highly coveted and hardest to find bottles. Expect these bottles to gain in value in the years to come

T2 = Tier 2 bottles

These bottles are also highly coveted, but slightly easier to obtain. There is still a good chance their value will raise in the years to come

T3 = Tier 3 bottles

Although allocated, they can be found if you’re looking hard enough. Typically, there are multiple releases throughout the year or if there is just one release, it has a very high bottle count and is released nationwide.

The Retail Price is the price that stores, on average, are pricing their bottles at. Prices will vary shelf by shelf, but if you see a price that is substantially higher than the price we’ve listed as the retail price, that means that the store is trying to gain more profit from you, usually because they keep track of the secondary market too.

The Secondary Price was based on current bottle valuations as of December 2021. These prices may rise or fall over the next 12 months, but remain somewhat dormant for at least the next 6 months as releases begin to slow down.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please send us an email for clarification. Happy Hunting!

The Bourbon Brown Book – 2021 Edition

Allocated Bottle Price Guide

For Reference:

T1 = Tier 1 bottles: The most highly coveted and hardest to find bottles. Expect these bottles to gain in value in the years to come.
T2 = Tier 2 bottles: These bottles are also highly coveted, but slightly easier to obtain. There is still a good chance their value will raise in the years to come.
T3 = Tier 3 bottles: Although allocated, they can be found if you're looking hard enough. Typically, there are multiple releases throughout the year or if there is just one release, it has a very high bottle count and is released nationwide.

The Bourbon Brown Book - 2020 Edition

The Bourbon Brown Book - 2019 Edition

Angel’s Envy

Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon (2021)

Retail - $200
Secondary - $350

Smith Bowman Distillery

Smith Bowman Cask Strength Batch 1

Retail - $200
Secondary - $1100

Bowman Brothers Single Barrel Select (90 proof)

Retail - $60
Secondary - $160

Barrell Craft Spirits: Past, Present and Future

Barrell Craft Spirits

Barrell Craft Spirits 2021 15 Year Old Bourbon – T3

Retail – $200 (although Barrell suggests $250)
Secondary – $250+

Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label 24 Year Old Whiskey – T3

Retail – $250
Secondary – $250

Barrel Craft Spirits Gray Label Seagrass (16 Year Old) – T3

Retail - $250
Secondary - $250

Barrell Craft Spirits Gold Label 16 Year Old Bourbon – T3

Retail - $500
Secondary - $500

Barton Distillery

1792 Full Proof (Store Pick) – T3

Retail – $45
Secondary – $60+

1792 Aged Twelve Years – T3

Retail – $50
Secondary – $100+

1792 Sweet Wheat – T3

Retail– $40
Secondary – $100

Belle Meade

Belle Meade Honey Cask Finish (2021 release) T1

Retail - $175
Secondary - $800+

Belle Meade Cherry Brandy Cask Finish (2021 release) T1

Retail - $175
Secondary - $600+

Belle Meade Tequila Cask Finish (2021 release) T1

Retail - $150
Secondary - $400+

Belle Meade Vanilla Cask Finish (2021 release) T1

Retail - $150
Secondary - $550+

Blue Run

13.5 Year Old Single Barrels – T3

Retail - $200
Secondary - $300

14 Year Old Single Barrels – T3

Retail - $200
Secondary - $300

Cask Strength Rye Whiskey – T3

Retail - $100
Secondary - $180

Tips to Find Blanton's This Holiday Season

Buffalo Trace / Age International

Buffalo Trace (Store Pick) -T3

Retail - $30
Secondary - $50+

Buffalo Trace Kosher (Straight Rye, Rye Recipe or Wheat Recipe) – T3

Retail - $40
Secondary - $80

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection: Baijiu – T3

Retail - $60
Secondary - $300

Eagle Rare Single Barrel (Store Pick) – T3

Retail - $35
Secondary - $60+

Double Eagle, Very Rare (2021, 101 proof) – T1

Retail - $1000
Secondary - $10,000

EH Taylor Small Batch – T3

Retail – $40
Secondary – $90+

EH Taylor Single Barrel – T3

Retail – $60
Secondary – $150

EH Taylor Single Barrel (Store Pick) – T2

Retail – $80
Secondary – $290+

EH Taylor Straight Rye 2020 – T3

Retail - $80
Secondary - $150

EH Taylor Barrel Proof 2021 (127.3 proof) – T2

Retail – $80
Secondary – $550

EH Taylor Warehouse C Bottled In Bond Bourbon (2021) – T1

Retail – $100
Secondary – $3,000

Blanton’s Single Barrel (93 Proof US version) – T3

Retail – $55
Secondary – $100+

Blanton’s Single Barrel (Store Pick) – T3

Retail - $55
Secondary - $120+

Blanton’s Gold (700ml) – T2

Retail – Depending on country, retail could be as low as $80 and as high as $120
Secondary – $225+

Blanton’s Black or Green Label (700ml, 80 proof) – T3

Retail – Depending on Country, retail could be as low as $60 and as high as $100
Secondary – $140+

Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel (700ml) – T2

Retail – Depending on Country, retail could be as low as $80 and as high as $150
Secondary – $240+

Hancock’s Reserve – T3

Retail– $50
Secondary – $90+

Rock Hills Farm – T2

Retail – $55
Secondary – $325

Elmer T. Lee – T2

Retail – $40
Secondary – $260

Stagg Jr. (Batch 16 or 17)– T3

Retail – $55
Secondary – $225+

Mister Sam Tribute Whiskey (Batch 2, 2021) – T1

Retail - $250
Secondary - $1900

William Larue Weller BTAC 2021

Retail – $100
Secondary – $1800+

Thomas H. Handy BTAC 2021 – T1

Retail – $100
Secondary – $725+

Sazerac 18 Year BTAC 2021 – T1

Retail – $100
Secondary – $1800

Eagle Rare 17 Year BTAC 2021 – T1

Retail - $100
Secondary – $1500+

Weller Special Reserve – T3

Retail – $23
Secondary – $40

Old Weller Antique 107 – T3

Retail – $50
Secondary – $100+

Old Weller Antique 107 (Single Barrel) – T3

Retail - $50
Secondary - $175+

Weller 12 Year – T2

Retail – $45
Secondary – $250

Weller Single Barrel (Orange Label) – T2

Retail - $40
Secondary - $700+

Weller CYPB – T2

Retail – $50
Secondary – $600+

Weller Full Proof – T2

Retail – $55
Secondary – $250

Weller Full Proof (Single Barrel) – T2

Retail – $55
Secondary – $275+

Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year 2020 – T1

Retail – $70
Secondary – $950+

Van Winkle Lot B 12 year 2020 – T1

Retail – $80
Secondary – $1125+

Pappy Van Winkle 15 year 2020 – T1

Retail – $120
Secondary – $1700+

Pappy Van Winkle 20 year 2020 – T1

Retail – $200
Secondary – $3300+

Pappy Van Winkle 23 year 2019 – T1

Retail – $300
Secondary – $4000+

Four Roses

Four Roses Private Selection Barrel Strength Bourbon – T3

Retail – $75
Secondary – $150+

Four Roses Private Selection Barrel Strength Bourbon from the following locations: PS 58 Tier 6 OESV, PS 8 Tier 6 OESV, RS 24 Tier 6 OBSQ) – T2

Retail – $75
Secondary – $350+

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2021 – T1

Retail – $150
Secondary – $425+

Heaven Hill

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (A121, B521, C921)– T3

Retail – $55
Secondary – $80+

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Single Barrels – T3

Retail - $75
Secondary - $200+

Elijah Craig Barrel Select (the Grenade) (200ml) –T3

Retail - $30
Secondary - $60+

Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single Barrel 2020 – T3

Retail – $130

Secondary – $200+

Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon

Retail - $50
Secondary - $85

Larceny Barrel Proof (A121, B521, C921) – T3

Retail - $55
Secondary - $90+

Evan Williams 23 Year Old Bourbon – T2

Retail - $250
Secondary - $500+

Old Fitzgerald 8 Year (Spring 2021) – T2

Retail – $110
Secondary – $240+

Old Fitzgerald 11 Year (Fall 2021) – T2

Retail - $150
Secondary - $400

Old Fitzgerald 16 Year (Gift Shop Only, Red Label) – T2

Retail – $175
Secondary - $500

Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond Single Barrel – T3

Retail – $40
Secondary – $80+

Parker’s Heritage 11-Year-Old Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey (2021) – T2

Retail – $130
Secondary – $500+

William Heaven Hill 13 Year Old Bottled In Bond (Orange Label) – T2

Retail – $175
Secondary - $260

High West

Midwinter’s Night Dram Act 9 – T3

Retail – $80
Secondary – $200+

Jack Daniel’s

10 Year Old Tennessee Whiskey – T3

Retail - $70
Secondary - $160

Coy Hill Special Release Barrel Proof Tennessee Whiskey – T2

Retail - $70
Secondary - $500

Jim Beam

Baker’s Single Barrel Store Picks – T3
Retail – $100
Secondary – $200

Little Book Chapter 5 “The Invitation” – T3

Retail – $90
Secondary – $120

Luxco / Lux Row

Lux Row Double Barreled – T3

Retail – $150
Secondary – $200+

Blood Oath Pact 7 (Sauternes Finished) 2021 – T3

Retail – $90
Secondary – $140

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark FAE-02 – T3

Retail – $75
Secondary – $110

Michter's Distillery: Past, Present and Future

Michter’s Distillery

Michter’s Toasted Barrel Bourbon (2021) – T2

Retail – $85
Secondary – $325+

Michter’s Barrel Strength Bourbon 2020 – T2

Retail – $100
Secondary – $250+

Michter’s 10 Year Bourbon (2021) – T2

Retail – $150
Secondary – $225

Michter’s 10 Year Rye (2021) – T2

Retail – $150
Secondary – $250+

Michter’s 20 Year Bourbon – T1

Retail - $1000
Secondary - $4000+

Bombergers Declaration Bourbon (2021) – T2

Retail – $90
Secondary – $150+

Shenks Homestyle Sour Mash Whiskey – T2

Retail – $80
Secondary – $160+

New Riff

15 Year Old Bottled-In-Bond – T3
Retail - $200
Secondary - $700
Malted Rye BiB 6 Year – T3
Retail - $60
Secondary - $80

Old Forester

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2021 – T1

Retail – $130
Secondary – $850

Old Forester Single Barrel Bourbon (Barrel Proof) – T3

Retail - $80
Secondary - $100

Old Forester Single Barrel Rye Whiskey (Barrel Proof) – T3

Retail - $80
Secondary - $250

Old Forester 117 Series High Angel’s Share or Warehouse K (375ml) – T3

Retail - $40
Secondary - $150

Old Forester President’s Choice 2021 – T2

Retail - $180
Secondary - $400+

King of Kentucky Single Barrels 20201– T1

Retail – $250
Secondary – $1500, “short barrels” go for +$200 more

Smoke Wagon

Single Barrel Rare and Limited (Black, Blue or Red Medallions)

Retail - $100 to $150 depending on age
Secondary – Constantly changing. People ask for whatever they want. These have no value outside of collectors that just want to have multiple medal bottles. Buy at your own risk

Uncut and Unfiltered – T3

Retail - $60
Secondary - $110

Stranahan’s

Snowflake (Batch 23) - T3

Retail - $120
Secondary - $250

Whistlepig

The Boss Hog VIII Lapulapu's Pacific– T3

Retail – $450
Secondary - $500+

Whistlepig 18 Year Double Malt – T3

Retail - $370
Secondary - $400

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep One – T3

Retail – $170
Average – $300+

Russell’s Reserve 13 Year Barrel Proof – T2

Retail - $70
Secondary - $425

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon – T3

Retail - $70
Secondary - $100+ depending on specific barrel and pick

Willett / Kentucky Bourbon Distillers

Willett Rye Whiskey or Bourbon from their own distillery – T2

Retail: Usually $20 per year aged
Secondary: Usually $40 to $50 per year aged

Woodford Reserve

Master’s Collection No. 17 Five-Malt Stouted Mash - T3

Retail - $130
Secondary - $200

Master’s Collection Batch Proof – 128.3 Proof - T3

Retail - $130
Secondary - $170

Master’s Collection Batch Proof – 119.8 Proof - T3

Retail - $120
Secondary - $170

Chocolate Malt Whisper (Distillery Only 375ml) - T3

Retail - $40
Secondary - $100

Kentucky-Sourced Bourbon

Blackened x Willett – T3

Retail - $130
Secondary - $170

Yellowstone Limited Edition (Amarone Cask, 2021) – T3

Retail - $100
Secondary - $150

Hirsch 6 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon (rumored to be 6 year old Willett) - T3

Retail - $80
Secondary - $230

Wolves Collaboration Willett Rye Whiskey – T3

Retail - $225
Secondary - $325

MGP Indiana: Past, Present and Future

MGP-Sourced Bourbon

Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend (all 2020 releases)

Retail - $175
Secondary - $275+