Buffalo Trace Bourbon Drinkers Call This Bottle 'Plain Tasteless'

Buffalo Trace is one of the most successful bourbon producers in the country, with some highly sought-after names like Pappy Van Winkle and Eagle Rare under its umbrella. However, with ten different brands of bourbon in its current lineup — and each one having its own set of varieties — not every bottle can be a winner. Old Charter 8, in particular, is best left on the bottom shelf.

One Redditor complained about how plain and tasteless Old Charter 8 was, on top of a thin mouthfeel and an unpleasant finish. Comments on Distiller (a community for those who love spirits) echoed these sentiments, saying it lacked flavor and had no real finish, while another said it tasted like a Band-Aid. On YouTube, one reviewer said it smelled like furniture polish, took a sip, and simply said it was the worst. A Mashed ranking of Buffalo Trace bourbons placed it dead last, saying it's better off as a mixer or in a hot toddy.

It's possible Old Charter 8 is so unimpressive because the brand actually dropped its age statement in 2014, suggesting it's no longer being aged for eight years and may not have enough time to develop the flavors it used to, like how bourbon is really made. That said, reviews of Old Charter 8 prior to 2014 found the aged version decent, but with nothing distinctive enough to give it its own personality.

The main reason most people might even consider Buffalo Trace's Old Charter 8 is its price tag; with bottles going as low as $15 for a 750-ml bottle, you're not really risking much when you give it a try. There are, however, a good number of other cheap bourbons worth buying, and many of them give you a lot more bang for your buck than Old Charter 8 does. Jim Beam White Label, Old Crow, and Very Old Barton all have a good amount of flavor, and each can be found for around the same price as Old Charter 8.

If there's one bottom-shelf bourbon worth keeping on your shelf, however, many folks will tell you it's Evan Williams Black Label, which you can snag for under $20. One reviewer on Reddit highly recommended it, stating it checked most of the boxes for what you might want in a bourbon, while adding an unexpected fruitiness to the overall flavor profile. A review on Bourbon Obsessed called it "a perfectly decent bourbon," with the taste of brown sugar and spices fairly consistent from nose to finish. For a few more dollars, you can also pick up Evan Williams Bottled in Bond, which Breaking Bourbon claimed offers a lot of versatility and value for its price point.