8 Rare Bourbons To Seek Out At Costco

People will go to great lengths to get their hands on rare bourbons, including paying way too much money for bottles that aren't worth the price from time to time. But while whiskey fans scour the internet in hopes of grabbing bottles, it might surprise you to find out that you might be able to score a rare find of your own at Costco. The same warehouse retailer that shells out the best hotdog combo meal anywhere in the U.S. can also be a fantastic resource for some of the hardest-to-find releases — that is, if you're lucky enough to live somewhere its location is allowed to sell liquor.

As a New York City bar owner and a spirits expert with two decades of experience (as well as a Costco member since my college days), I've become all too familiar with the beloved bourbons that are now next to impossible to find. But I've also seen enough price gouging at stores and bars to know that some of the savviest customers use their Costco membership to get their hands on some pretty coveted bottles. Here are some of the rare whiskies you can potentially find on the shelf at the warehouse retailer.

Even as a product that must be aged by its very definition, bourbon still has a funny way of following the cycle of what was once old is new again for some of its most hyped products. Such is the story with the King of Kentucky label, which enjoyed an impressive nearly century-long original run on the market from 1881 until it went dark in 1968.

Given the current state of the whiskey world, it's probably unsurprising that audiences immediately began clamoring for this piece of whiskey history when the mothballed brand was revived by Jack Daniel's and Woodford Reserve distiller Brown-Forman in 2018. Even with its success off the bat, recent vintages have become increasingly difficult to find on the shelf, with some bottles released this decade alone fetching more than $2,500 on second-hand markets. However, that hasn't been the case for some Costco whiskey shoppers: Some have reported finding bottles of the most recent 2024 vintage on the shelf of their local stores for just $260. Compared to the $488 some have been willing to pay for it on the secondary market, that makes it a much more realistic expense.

There's not much that can be said about the Van Winkle lineup that hasn't been said already. Even those who don't know very much about bourbon have heard of the producer, whose notorious rarity and positively obscene pricing on the secondary market have created a living legend status for the brand. In many ways, the extreme scarcity has managed to surpass any collective appreciation for what these precious pours actually taste like.

But for all the breath spent discussing Pappy and its brethren, maybe the one fact people don't realize is that there's still a way to get your hands on a bottle without going broke. Shoppers at Costco have noticed bottles of the Old Rip Van Winkle 10-year on the shelf for just $81 — which is a truly wild bargain when you consider that it typically fetches upwards of $817 on the secondary market. The even harder to find 12-year Van Winkle Lot "B" release can also be found on occasion. In one instance, a shopper picked one up for just $93 at the warehouse retailer despite a secondary price that can run anywhere from $715 to $1700.

The Weller lineup is arguably one of the most respected in the bourbon world. As one of the brands rolling out of the highly celebrated Buffalo Trace Distillery alongside other heavy hitters such as Eagle Rare, Van Winkle, W.L. Weller, and E.H. Taylor, it was an early fan favorite during the earliest days of the bourbon boom. Unfortunately, like many brands that were once relatively easy to locate and affordably priced, skyrocketing popularity has made some of the bottles increasingly hard to find.

This includes the lineup's Full Proof release, which is a unique version of the wheated that stands up to its name at a boozy 114 proof (or 57% ABV). But according to one Costco shopper, the popular offshoot was recently seen on the shelf at the Danville, California location at the suggested price of $51.99. Considering this can fetch as much as $250 on the secondary market, this is a particularly strong find.

But that's not the only member of the lineup that has been seen haunting the shelves at the warehouse retailer. The also-coveted Weller 12-year was seen available for purchase at Costco for the jaw-droppingly low price of $35.99 (well below its $70 MSRP). Moreover, the brand's hard-to-find Special Reserve was also clocked at a California store for just $24.09, thoroughly beating out the secondary market rate of $58.

Little Book bourbons have developed something of a rabid following for its annual small batch releases, handcrafted by Jim Beam master distiller Freddie Noe as a nod to his legendary grandfather. Even as part of a much larger and commercially available lineup, these annual one-offs stand as a true testament to the whiskey maker's versatility and finesse (despite it being a heftier high-proof pour). I've been lucky enough to sample several of the vintages alongside Noe and his father, Fred, who make the truly difficult task of making such delectable bourbon seem like it's both a solemn duty and an effortless affair.

Naturally, this perennial standout has been scooped up from liquor stores faster and faster each year. But while the 2025 "Chapter 9" release might be just as hard to find in the wild as its predecessors, Costco members could have a leg up. Bottles have been spotted on the shelf at the asking price of $150, which is a steal considering that previous vintages tend to reach $100 to $200 more within just a couple of years of their release.

Yes, this selection is perhaps a little bit on the nose. But the truth is that even with "rare" in the name, this bourbon was ironically once a relatively easy find in liquor stores and bars. It wasn't until that all-too-familiar spike in demand and increasingly tight allocation developed over the past decade that it has undeniably become a lot harder to get your hands on this simply fantastic sipping whiskey for anything less than twice its suggested retail price ... That is, unless you have a Costco membership.

In recent weeks, bottles of the lineup's second-oldest expression (which is yet another Buffalo Trace Distillery production) have made their way to shelves. One shopper spotted the 12-year-old whiskey available for just $39.99, making it a true treat for anyone looking to avoid that dreaded markup. Even the slightly younger 10-year has made its way into some warehouses: The one-time bartender go-to may not technically be the hardest bottle to find, but you'll at least be able to pay the $35 MSRP for it instead of the $20 to $30 upcharge that ruins the value of this solid bourbon. You might even be able to get your Costco liquor delivered and have these bottles brought right to your door, depending on where you live.

By their very design, anything that's part of a collector's series in whiskey is often a lot harder to find. This year's release (made at the Heaven Hill Distillery) is no different, which comes packaged in a specially designed bottle that harkens back to the crystal decanters (and often fancy whiskey glasses) that were fixtures on barcarts through the postwar era in the U.S. Of course, as you might've assumed, you can absolutely count on the very limited production and super tight allocation on this product to drive up prices significantly.

Fortunately, that certainly doesn't appear to be the case at Costco. While this nearly-decade-old liquid can go for $400 to $600 on the secondary market, some lucky warehouse members have reported bottles for sale (with a one-per-customer limit to prevent hoarding, of course) for the far more approachable suggested retail price of $130. In some cases, the price tag has dipped even lower to just $120 per bottle. And if you're interested in trying the slightly younger release, shoppers have also spotted the lineup's 7 Year Bottled in Bond bottles for just $44 (which falls $16 below its $60 suggested price).

I've finally come to terms with the fact that the days of Blanton's being a "house whiskey" you could easily pick up from your local liquor store for around $45 are long gone. The brand, which often served as something of a gateway pour during the nascent days of the bourbon boom, has become infuriatingly hard to track down — and even harder to locate without a significant upcharge. At this point, collectors clamoring over the brand's brass horse toppers have almost made it a punchline, despite the fact that the liquid itself remains one of the tastier and more complex on the market (which becomes clear whenever it's part of a whiskey tasting lineup).

So if you're not looking to pay upwards of $165 for each squatty 750 milliliter bottle as many shoppers do, you might want to swing by the liquor section the next time you plan to buy whiskey at Costco. If you come across it there, you'll likely pay half the secondary market rate (and quite a bit less than the MSRP as well), considering shoppers have previously found it offered for $65. Releases also appear to be somewhat steady throughout the year, meaning you likely won't have to wait 12 months for another chance to pick one up.

As yet another Buffalo Trace Distillery production, the E.H. Taylor lineup has enjoyed a sustained popularity for decades. The brand counts more than a dozen SKUs to its name that range from extremely rare and pricey, like the 18 Year Marriage, down to relatively affordable and more entry-level, like the Small Batch. But even as one of the larger releases for the label, high demand has made it feel nearly impossible to locate bottles that sell for around the $50 suggested price — and that's only if you're lucky enough to locate one of the bottles at all.

However, things are different at Costco, where some locations have this coveted pour on the shelves. In some cases, bottles have been spotted for just $48.99, and dipping as low as $43.99 at others. Compared to the typical $65 price tag found at most liquor stores (not to mention the $100 plus it can run for in some places), this represents a truly fantastic value.