$50 is such a bullshyt number. There are some great values at the $60 range, but I digress.
For this little exercise, I pulled up a Total Wine outside of New Orleans. If this is wrong geographically, tough shyt, you should've been specific. I used $50
as my limit. I'm going to include rye. For one, it's delicious and two, sissy pants will grow into it.
American Rye
Willet Family Estate Rye - cask strength, don't be a pussy
Pikesville Rye - Barely a rye and an absolute favorite of mine
Russell's Reserve 6yr Rye - my first favorite rye
High West Double Rye - the store picks are amazing
Knob Creek Rye - super solid multipurpose rye
Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond - baby brother to Pikesville
Sazerac Rye - $18 in LA, WTF great deal
*New Riff - apparently not sold in LA, but terrific
*Wild Turkey 101 rye - maybe the best rye for the money to use in cocktails
**A great many ryes are made by MGP. If you see distilled in Indiana on the label, it's almost certainly MGP. They make ryes for Bulliet, Woodford, Dickel, etc.
Bourbon
1792 Full Proof - seasonal, but not too hard to find.
1792 any seasonal release
Wilderness Trail Yellow Label - it really is good, really good
Noah's Mill - different than most bourbons. Tends to be more minty and herbal
Wild Turkey Rare Breed - or go fuch yourself
Maker's Mark Cask Strength - solid
Four Roses Single Barrel - classic
Willet Pot Still Reserve - inconsistent, but you need to buy once, just for the bottle
Maker's Mark 101 - the extra proof is legit improvement
Coopers Craft 100pf - a little char heavy, but really good after you get past it
Four Roses Small Batch - classic, and good for drinking with a meal
Elijah Craig - one of the quintessential bourbons
Russell's 10 yr - char heavy, but good once you get past it, like Coopers
Woodford - it's ok, but boring. It's like the missionary position, it gets the job done, but.......
Evan Williams Single Barrel - excellent intro sipper
Knob Creek - try to find the non-age stated, unless it's an old bottle of the 9y/o
Old Grand dad 114 - not for everyone
Larceny - solid wheater
Old Forester 100 - under $25 and it starts entering my top values
Old Grand Dad Bottled in Bond - if you like Werther's Original
Maker's Mark - still my favorite for a bourbon and coke
Evan Williams 1783 - great value
Evan Williams Bottled in Bond - one of my top value picks
Wild Turkey 101 - another top value pick
Old Tub Bottled in Bond - From Beam, seasonal this year. Great Value
*New Riff - not sold there but amazing
* Buffalo Trace - do not spend over $25. Classic bourbon, but not that special
* Eagle Rare - $30 or less, and you're in great value range
* EH Taylor Small Batch - $40 or less and it's a strong buy
* Weller - any line extension at MSRP, except the Antique. Antique 107 used to be a best buy at $25ish, but they've doubled the price in some areas, and it's not worth that much.
I prefer a good Irish over Scotch. Really no point in Scotch unless you like the peaty stuff, and I don't. But if you do, talk to someone else. I bought a bottle of Johnny Walker Black for guests, but once it's gone, I'll probably replace with Dewars 12. I do like a lot of the Speyside and Highland single malts. Basically, something with Glen in the name will get you there. Heard good things about Monkey Shoulder. The low proof is a turnoff with Scotch, but will drink some if offered.
There are some really nice Rums in the $30 - $40 range too. Some real nice Canadian Rye's, but I couldn't tell you which was which.
Hope it helped.