Everyone loves getting bang for their buck. And yet when it comes to bourbon, that keeps getting harder and harder. Prices are high and climbing, often with no justification. What do you do when facing a wall of bottles whose price tags force you to rework your monthly food and drink budget?

Easy: Reach for a “shelf gem.” Ryan Maloney, owner of Julio’s Liquors, one of the best destinations for whiskey in the U.S., coined the term to refer to bottles priced under $70 that taste like they could be much more expensive. He cites Hirsch, Wheel Horse, and Noah’s Mill as shelf gems he personally recommends to customers.

I’ll take his definition a little further. A shelf gem isn’t just a whiskey that represents good value. It also should be an outperformer that isn’t well known—a buy that is surprisingly great. So even though certain heavy hitters are always on my great-values list—like Wild Turkey Rare Breed and Four Roses Single Barrel—they don’t make the cut, because lots of people already know about them.

Instead, let me point you to some great inexpensive bourbons and whiskies you may be overlooking, or perhaps haven’t even encountered. There are a few big names but many of these come from smaller, craft distilleries, and their inclusion on this list is a testament to just how competitive with the big kids the independent whiskey players are today. Each of these bottles showcases deep, delicious flavor and consistent high quality. And none of them will cost you more than a night at the movies.

Great Bourbons for Not Much Money

New Riff Bottled-in-Bond ($40-$45)

One of the best craft distilleries in the country, New Riff releases bottled-in-bond whiskies almost exclusively, and they’re always excellent. Master distiller Brian Sprance trained under Larry Ebersold, a name you won’t recognize but whose whiskey you’ve likely tasted. He’s responsible for the excellent bourbon and rye from the old Seagram distillery, now known as MGP, that helped kick off the whiskey boom in the early 2000s. New Riff’s bourbon and rye are excellent, but if you really want to tickle the ol’ tastebuds, look for the 100-percent malted rye ($60).

Baker’s ($60)

Part of the quartet of brands made by the James B. Beam Distilling Co. under its Small Batch umbrella, Baker’s has been criminally ignored by both the cognoscenti and the mainstream who are more into its siblings Basil Hayden, Knob Creek, and Booker’s. Bottled as a single barrel, Baker’s is always 107 proof and at least 7 years old—unless it’s 13, an occasional release that’s as worthy of collecting as drinking. But definitely drink the regular bottle: at $60, you can’t afford not to.

Tumblin’ Dice Bourbon ($35) & Roulette Rye ($30)

Blender and bottler Proof & Wood’s lineup contains almost nothing but shelf gems. Its bourbons and ryes consistently hit heights that greatly exceed what their everyday prices would lead you to believe. Both Tumblin’ Dice and Roulette are at least four years old and 50% ABV, unless you get your hands on a Tumblin’ Dice single barrel, which will be older and stronger—while still not that much more expensive. If your budget is really stretched, the company’s Deadwood bourbon can be found for as little as $20, and it’ll get you to payday.

Jack Daniel’s Bonded Series ($30-$33)

Okay. So you know Jack Daniel’s. (Who doesn’t?) But you may not have noticed the brand’s Bonded Series, which launched in 2022. So far, the lineup includes a bottled-in-bond version of Jack’s core Tennessee whiskey, plus a standout rye and Triple Mash, which is a blend of Tennessee whiskey, rye, and single malt. All are well worth your time, especially at the price. Triple Mash in particular displays a flavor profile you’d never guess came from Jack.

Still Austin Rye and Bourbon ($45-$50)

Texas is home to many craft whiskey makers. Still Austin has emerged as a standout, thanks in part to Nancy Fraley, the consultant known as “The Nose” who serves as the brand’s master blender. Both the bourbon, called The Musician, ($45) and The Artist rye ($50) showcase the deep, barrel-rich flavor that is becoming a hallmark of whiskey matured in the sizzling Texan climate. For craft whiskey this good, the price is hard to beat.

Wyoming Small Batch ($50)

Wyoming—another Nancy Fraley client—makes wheated bourbon, the style popularized by Maker’s Mark and made legendary by Pappy Van Winkle. Here, though, the whiskey takes on different notes—a little more oak-driven, more intense—thanks to its maturation in the heat of the Wyoming summer. Current batches are always at least 5 years old. While its stellar limited editions tend to be available only close to home, Wyoming Whiskey’s majority owner, Edrington—the same company behind Macallan—has helped expand the whiskey’s reach, and its Small Batch should be easy to find in most of the U.S.

Stellum ($55)

Stellum bourbon and rye, made by the great blending minds at Barrell, are designed to be more consistent—both in flavor profile and availability—than the company’s batched products. Like those offerings, though, they’re cask strength, which makes their price all the more remarkable. If you have a higher budget, Stellum Black ($99) and sporadic special releases encompass a wider range of flavors and, occasionally, funky blending techniques, like one based on the Fibbonaci sequence.

Early Times Bottled-in-Bond ($25)

First off, bear in mind that is the price for a liter. Even if this were a mediocre bourbon, it would still be a great deal. It is, however, an excellent bourbon, which makes it an absolute steal. There’s really not much more to say here. Early Times changed hands shortly after this whiskey debuted, and some people contend that the quality has since gone down. But even if that’s the case, how much are you risking at this price?

Dickel 15-year-old ($60)

It’s kind of silly that a 15-year-old single barrel priced lower than many run-of-the-mill non-age-statement whiskies can just sit there, largely ignored, in the year of our lord 2024. But George Dickel, the Philadelphia to Jack Daniel’s New York City, is profoundly overlooked, its old-school labels fading into the background even when its prices should jump off the shelf. Dickel’s typical flavor profile is oily and nutty and sometimes has notes of fruitiness that certain whiskey snobs disdain as “Flintstone vitamins.” But frankly, that kind of character is a selling point, even if it’s not for everyone.