I found an $80 bottle of Blanton’s on a trip to the Caribbean. Could I tell the difference between Blanton’s vs. cheap bourbon in a blind taste test?

The standard advice for scoring a bottle of Blanton’s goes something like: Cozy up to the liquor store staffers. Spend thousands of dollars there. Send them birthday cards and Valentine’s Day roses. Offer up your firstborn child or a kidney if necessary. 

Then, if you’re lucky, MAYBE they’ll give you a head’s-up when one of those rare, coveted bottles arrives. 

I visit my local liquor store more often than I care to admit. But buying large volumes of Maker’s Mark and Woodford Reserve doesn’t exactly make me a high-roller. So I made peace a long time ago with the fact that I’d never get to try Blanton’s.

That is, until December. I went to Sint Maarten in the Caribbean for a vacation… and the stuff was EVERYWHERE. Liquor stores. Restaurants and bars. Duty-free shops.

They cost around 80 bucks in euros. Hell yeah, I was bringing home a bottle.

But could it live up to the hype?

Why is Blanton’s so hard to find?

Blanton’s is what’s known as an allocated bourbon. That’s a term for bourbons that are made in extremely limited editions that are distributed through a special allocation system. 

As Wine Enthusiast reports, chain liquor stores usually end up with the most sought-after bottles and then use them to reward their high-paying customers – the ones who, unlike me, don’t get excited about $30-or-less bourbons.

Those bottles often get scooped up and resold on the secondary market. That’s why even though it sells for a reasonable MSRP (about $80, which is what I paid), you’ll often find bottles listed for a couple hundred dollars.

Was Blanton’s really better than the cheap bourbon I usually drink?

The bottle itself was a work of art, shaped like an eight-sided glass globe. The label had a vintage look with the barrel number, warehouse and proof handwritten. It was topped by one of the eight collectible horse-and-jockey bottle stoppers that spell out “Blanton’s” if you collect all eight. (I got the “A.”)

So yeah, it gets a gold star for prettiest bottle. But one must never judge a bourbon by its bottle. How would what’s inside stack up?

To investigate whether Blanton’s is worth it, I Googled “cheap bourbons similar to Blanton’s.” The Whiskey Shelf said Evan Williams Single Barrel and Four Roses Single Barrel fit the bill. Both were available at my local Total Wine & Spirits for about $40.

I had my boyfriend pour each selection into our rocks glasses so I could do a blind taste test. Cheers to investigative journalism!

Glass One was my hands-down favorite. It had a good mix of flavors, including vanilla, smoky oak and a hint of fruitiness. Verdict: Gold medal.

Glass Two was decent. It was definitely a smooth bourbon, but it lacked the rich flavors of Glass One. I’d drink it again, but I also wouldn’t go out of my way for it. Verdict: Bronze medal.

Glass Three was pretty darn tasty. It was smooth like the bourbon in Glass Two with strong spicy notes and a bit of nuttiness. Verdict: Silver medal.

Now for the big reveal…

Glass One, the gold medal winner, was Four Roses Single Barrel.

Glass Three, the silver medal winner, was Evan Williams Single Barrel.

And Glass Two, the bronze medal winner, i.e., the last-place finisher? That was Blanton's Single Barrel.

So there you have it: Blanton’s is officially overhyped, according to me and my plebeian nose and taste buds.

Is chasing Blanton’s worth it?

Don’t get me wrong. Blanton’s was still some damn good bourbon. I have the empty bottle to prove it. 

I’d say the $80 was pretty well spent. But had I paid hundreds of dollars or spent days camped out in a liquor store parking lot for it? Well, I’d probably be pretty disappointed.

If you’re a connoisseur, a collector, or a show-off, maybe hunting down Blanton’s is worth it to you. After all, having a bottle on your whiskey shelf earns you bragging rights.

For amateurs like me, though, it probably isn’t worth the chase. Should you stumble upon Blanton’s like I did, great. Go for it.

But if you can’t find it? It’s not worth crying into your bourbon over.

I still have the empty bottle sitting in my liquor cabinet, complete with the “A” bottle stopper. No need for me to collect the other seven letters.