You walked into the store and the Blanton's shelf was empty. Or it was there — one bottle, at $175, with a handwritten price tag that confirms someone in the back room has been watching the secondary market. Either way, you're walking out without the gold-foil-and-horse-stopper bottle you came for.
This is the Blanton's problem. The bourbon itself is good — genuinely good, not just hype. But the gap between MSRP ($65 in most states) and what you'll actually pay for it has gotten wide enough to make a grown man reconsider his hobby. The alternatives listed below are what to grab when you can't find it at a sane price, ranked by how closely they deliver the same drinking experience.
Before we get into the list, read our full Blanton's Single Barrel review if you want the complete breakdown of what you're chasing.
What Makes Blanton's Blanton's
Blanton's gets its character from three things that are harder to replicate than they look: distillery, mash bill, and format.
It comes out of Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky — one of the oldest continuously operating distilleries in the country — and it runs on Mash Bill #2, the high-rye recipe in Buffalo Trace's lineup. That higher rye grain bill is why Blanton's leans fruit-forward and lightly spicy rather than the soft, corn-forward sweetness you get from Mash Bill #1 bourbons like Eagle Rare. At 93 proof (46.5% ABV), it's elevated enough to open up on the nose without burning through the approachability that makes it easy to drink neat.
The single barrel format matters, too. Every bottle of Blanton's comes from one barrel, which is why each bottle has a barrel number and rick position stamped on the back. You get variability — some bottles are fruit-bomb-forward, some lean more toward leather and vanilla — but the distillery character is consistent. That character runs to honeysuckle, orange peel, caramel, and vanilla up front, with a rye spice backbone that gives the palate some grip. The finish is clean and medium-length, with vanilla and light pepper.
What you're really buying is a complete package: a distillery with a specific house style, a single barrel format that adds character, and a proof point that sits right in the sweet spot. The alternatives below deliver some or all of that. None of them will be identical — that's not what this list is for. The question is whether they get you 80% of the experience at a price that doesn't require an explanation to your significant other.
Browse our full bourbon reviews for more context on the styles mentioned below.
The 5 Best Alternatives, Ranked
1. Four Roses Single Barrel — The Closest Stylistic Match
Four Roses Single Barrel is the most direct substitute for Blanton's on this list, full stop. Both are single barrel bourbons. Both are fruit-forward and floral. Both sit in a similar price range — Four Roses at around $50 MSRP versus Blanton's at $65 — and both are made with a high-rye mash bill. Where Blanton's uses Buffalo Trace's Mash Bill #2, Four Roses uses one of ten proprietary recipes built around two mash bills and five yeast strains. The specific single barrel expression uses the OBSV recipe: a high-rye mash bill with a yeast strain that drives bold fruit character.
The result is a bourbon that shares Blanton's fruit-forward DNA while running at 100 proof instead of 93. The nose brings delicate vanilla, dried raisins, fresh flowers, and a rose petal softness. The palate has rye spice and leather, then opens into cherries, vanilla-coated peaches, and dark pecan. The finish is notably longer than Blanton's — currants, dark fruit leather, cinnamon, ginger, and a bittersweet chocolate note that lingers. If anything, it's more complex than Blanton's and arguably the better pour at its price.
The one honest caveat: Four Roses Single Barrel has its own allocation pressure in some markets, though it's generally easier to find than Blanton's. If you can grab it at MSRP, grab it.
Four Roses Single Barrel full review →
Buy at Bourbon & Whisky →
2. E.H. Taylor Small Batch — The Same Distillery, More Complexity
E.H. Taylor Small Batch comes out of Buffalo Trace Distillery, which means it shares the house water, the rickhouses, the barrels, and part of the mash bill family with Blanton's. It's not single barrel — it's a batched expression — but it's bottled-in-bond at 100 proof, meaning it was aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse and meets the standards of the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act. That legal framework was Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr.'s legacy. Buffalo Trace leaning into his name on this bottle is not accidental.
The profile is richer and more forward than Blanton's. Butterscotch, caramel, cherry Twizzlers, and chocolate on the nose. The palate runs to syrupy sweetness — cherry, strawberry, apple — with a thick mouthfeel and citrus underneath. The finish is long, building from cinnamon and black pepper into creamy vanilla and bold oak. It scores higher than Blanton's in complexity and significantly higher in overall quality on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
At around $45 MSRP it's nominally cheaper than Blanton's, though in many markets the allocation pressure is similar. It runs closer to $55-60 at retail when you find it. Still: if you can choose between E.H. Taylor and Blanton's at the same price, Taylor is the better bottle by most measurable criteria. It's the upgrade pick on this list.
E.H. Taylor Small Batch full review →
Buy at Bourbon & Whisky →
3. Elijah Craig Small Batch — The Reliable Daily Driver
Elijah Craig Small Batch from Heaven Hill doesn't carry the single barrel format or the Buffalo Trace house character, but it delivers the same flavor zone — fruit-forward, oak-balanced, approachable sweetness — at a price that makes it actually easy to drink without rationing. MSRP is around $30. You'll find it.
At 94 proof (47% ABV), it sits close to Blanton's 93 proof. The nose runs to buttery brown sugar caramel, vanilla bean, peaches, apricots, and orange zest — a profile that overlaps meaningfully with what you're chasing in Blanton's without being a direct copy. The palate has more nutmeg and marzipan than Blanton's, a smoother, more velvety texture, and a pleasant peanut and caramel note in the mid-palate. The finish is moderate to long with toasted oak, white pepper, and honey that fades slowly.
What you're missing compared to Blanton's: the barrel singularity, the Buffalo Trace house character, and the rye-spice backbone that gives Blanton's palate its grip. Elijah Craig is a small batch, so the barrel variation is smoothed out. But if what you want is a well-made, fruit-and-oak bourbon that costs less than a restaurant entree, this is your weeknight bottle.
Elijah Craig Small Batch full review →
Buy at Bourbon & Whisky →
4. Evan Williams Single Barrel — The Value Single Barrel
Evan Williams Single Barrel is Heaven Hill's vintage-dated single barrel offering at around $30 MSRP, and it does something no other bottle on this list does at that price: it gives you the single barrel format. Each bottle carries a barrel number and a vintage date. That date matters — Heaven Hill pulls these barrels when they're ready, which typically means 8-10 years of age, longer than Blanton's.
The character is darker and more oak-driven than Blanton's. The nose leads with dark honey, roasted oak, cinnamon, and vanilla buttercream, with a nuttiness characteristic of Heaven Hill distillate and dried citrus peel underneath. The palate has charred honey, vanilla, baked apple, oak tannins, and orange marmalade. The finish is medium with French toast, oak, cherry cordial, and dry warming spice. At 86.6 proof (43.3% ABV), it runs lower than Blanton's, which you'll notice — less proof means less complexity and a shorter finish.
The honest assessment: Evan Williams Single Barrel gets you about 65% of the Blanton's experience at 45% of the price. The single barrel format is real and meaningful. The distillery character is different — Heaven Hill vs. Buffalo Trace is a genuine stylistic difference — and the lower proof limits how far it opens up. But for the reader who wants a single barrel bourbon and doesn't want to overpay, this is the smart buy.
Evan Williams Single Barrel full review →
Buy at Bourbon & Whisky →
5. Buffalo Trace — The Same Distillery, Lower Entry Point
Buffalo Trace bourbon is made at the same distillery as Blanton's, but it uses Mash Bill #1 — the lower-rye recipe — instead of Blanton's high-rye Mash Bill #2. That difference in grain bill is exactly why Buffalo Trace doesn't taste like Blanton's: it's softer, more corn-forward, and lighter on the rye spice that gives Blanton's its backbone.
At 90 proof (45% ABV) and around $28-30 MSRP, it's the accessible end of the Buffalo Trace portfolio. Sweet caramel, vanilla, and toffee on the nose. Brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, and soft fruit on the palate. A medium finish with caramel and light oak. It's a perfectly pleasant bourbon that punches above its price. The problem is it doesn't quite scratch the Blanton's itch — the fruit-forward complexity and rye grip aren't there.
Include it here for one specific use case: you're at a liquor store, Blanton's is $175, and you need something from the same family tree to get through the weekend. Buffalo Trace is the answer. It shares the distillery DNA, it's reliable, and it costs a fraction of what you'd pay for Blanton's on a bad day. That's not a small thing when shelves are dry.
Buffalo Trace full review →
Buy at Bourbon & Whisky →
The Honest Verdict
Closest to Blanton's: Four Roses Single Barrel. The single barrel format, the fruit-forward character, the similar proof and price — it gets you 90% of what Blanton's offers, and in some tasting sessions it edges it out.
Best value: Evan Williams Single Barrel if you specifically want the single barrel format; Elijah Craig Small Batch if you want the most consistent expression at the lowest price.
The upgrade pick: E.H. Taylor Small Batch. If you've been buying Blanton's and you find E.H. Taylor at a similar price, switch. It's from the same distillery, it's more complex, and the Bottled-in-Bond designation means the age and proof are regulated by law. It's a genuinely better bottle at a comparable price point.
Where to Find Blanton's
If you want the real thing, your best bet is retailers who get Buffalo Trace allocations on a regular cycle. Some states have lottery systems; others do first-come-first-served. Signing up for in-store alerts at your local shop is worth the thirty seconds it takes. Bourbon & Whisky carries Blanton's when it's available and ships to most states — checking there regularly is a reasonable strategy.
What's not worth it: paying $175 secondary when Four Roses Single Barrel is on the shelf at $50. The gap between a $65 bottle and a $175 bottle should reflect a gap in quality. Blanton's is good. It's not that good.
