6 Best And 6 Worst Whiskey Brands To Buy At Costco Based On Value, According To A Seasoned Bartender

Shoppers love Costco because it's full of phenomenal values, and you can find particularly appealing prices in its spirits department. The members-only warehouse store carries an incredibly wide range of alcoholic beverages, with none more impressive than the selection of whiskies. Whether you're a whisky drinker (the Scotch and Japanese spelling) or you prefer styles with that extra "e" (American and Irish whiskey), however you spell your favorite spirit, you'll find an almost overwhelming assortment of bottles of this beloved and versatile spirit.

As a lover of whiskies of all kinds, and a long-time bartender and bar manager, I was curious as to whether Costco was really the best place to buy this stuff. The selection is clearly well-curated, and it offers lots of large format bottles that can be hard to find at traditional liquor stores. But are the prices worth making a special trip? And if so, which brands are the ones to seek out? Armed with my Costco card, my experience as a spirits buyer, and a plan (more on my methodology below), I aimed to get down to the bottom of these questions. Read on to see which six whiskey brands you should skip, and which six deserve to take up precious space in your Costco shopping cart.

Kirkland Signature brand items are at least half of the reason to shop at Costco. It typically offers quality products at shockingly low prices — if you find yourself doing a double-take at the tag on the shelf, you're not alone. One of the best areas to take advantage of Kirkland's incredible values is in the spirits department. It offers a wide selection of different styles, especially when it comes to its range of whiskies.

No matter what type of whisky or whiskey you're in the mood for, Kirkland has you covered. Its Canadian blend is quite comparable in flavor and quality (and packaging) to Crown Royal, it offers a Tennessee sour mash that'll scratch any Jack Daniel's itch, and its Irish whiskey seems inspired by Jameson's flavor profile, although it's a touch rougher on the palate. 

Where Kirkland really excels is its Scotch whiskies. Scotch can be notoriously expensive and there are so many regional styles that it can be hard to pin down if you're not an expert. Kirkland's selection of Scotch is a fantastically inexpensive way to introduce yourself to the variety of iterations of this spirit. You'll find blends and single malts, and even a small bottle sampler of different styles. You're not going to find decent Scotch whisky anywhere else for these prices.

Ask anyone to name an Irish whiskey, and more than likely Jameson is the name that will cross their lips (or the shorter "Jamo" if they're really familiar). It's the most popular Irish whiskey brand in the United States by a long shot, selling 10 times the amount of the next highest brand. It's a fine whiskey and a solid example of the Irish style: friendly, easy-drinking, and a little bit sweet. Triple distillation gives it a smooth character, sanding off any rough edges, which likely accounts for much of its popularity.

Because it's so wildly popular, it's not hard to find. It's probably more difficult to find a liquor store that doesn't sell Jameson than one that does. That's why it's landed on the worst half of this list — there's no need to trek to your nearest Costco warehouse just for a bottle of Jameson. The 1.75-liter bottle, which Costco offers, can be found for the same price, or just a little bit higher, at other national retailers. If you're at Costco looking for an Irish whiskey, the Kirkland brand is a whole lot cheaper.

Despite a small drop in sales between 2022 and 2023, Johnnie Walker's line of Scotch whiskies remains by far the world's most popular brand, with its unmistakable packaging showcasing its different styles with eye-catching colored labels. Its Red Label is the textbook example of entry-level blended Scotch whisky, and at the other end of the spectrum, Johnnie Walker Blue Label is one of the most expensive and sought-after premium blended whiskies in the world. In between these two extremes, you'll find many other expressions, like the smooth 15-year Green Label and the powerfully smokey Double Black.

Since Johnnie Walker whiskies are so popular, they're not hard to find. The nice thing about getting them at Costco, however, is that it has all of the labels (or at least most of them) in one place, and with plenty of stock on hand. Compared to other major retailers, Costco's prices are similar or lower. If you're a Johnnie Walker fan, Costco is a great one-stop shop for all of the bottles you'll want to get your hands on.

Mars Whisky's Iwai brand comes from the mountainous Nagano region in Japan. The distillery is at a higher altitude than any other in the country, and the mountain water and cold temperatures are part of what give these whiskies their unique character. Costco carries a few of the brand's basic expressions, which are fine and fairly affordable Japanese whiskies.

These whiskies are inspired by American whiskey, specifically bourbon. Both the entry-level blue label and Iwai Whisky 45 bottlings are made from mostly corn, just like bourbon — and therein lies the dilemma. There are a lot of bourbons available at Costco, and many of them will offer more bang for the buck than Iwai. If you're intrigued by the idea of trying a Japanese take on an American style, by all means these are fun bottles to try. Costco's prices are about average for the brand, though.

This single malt Scotch whisky is the best competitor against Costco's Kirkland brand offerings. Glengoyne's 10-year-aged Highland whisky is priced incredibly low compared to most other single malts with age statements. It's generally highly rated and a winner of multiple professional awards over the years, including double gold in 2020 at the famed San Francisco World Spirits Competition. 

Scotch can be an acquired taste, but Glengoyne 10 is made in a friendly style, with lots of sweet and fruity flavors. That profile, along with its amazing price, make it a fantastic bottle to grab if you're just starting out on your single malt Scotch journey. A lot of drinkers avoid single malts because of their lofty price tags, but with this Glengoyne you can give the spirit a try without the sticker shock. Prices vary across the country, but you should find that Glengoyne 10 is either exactly or roughly the same price as Kirkland's single malt Highland Scotch.

Crown Royal is the most popular Canadian whisky on the market. It's become the standard example of Canadian blended whiskies: rich in flavor and smooth in texture. Its uniquely shaped bottle is part of its regal identity, along with the velvety purple bag that it's sometimes sold in. For fans of the rich, easy-drinking, smooth Canadian style, this is more than likely the first and only brand that's reached for.

If you're shopping at Costco, though, you may want to consider picking up the Kirkland Signature Canadian whisky instead. It's incredibly similar in flavor profile, comparable in quality, and an incredible value. The Kirkland version even has a uniquely shaped bottle that is clearly inspired by Crown Royal. It's not quite as ornate, but will still look attractive gracing your home bar. Crown Royal is priced similarly at Costco as it is at other retailers, so you'll get a much better deal buying the store's signature brand instead.

For well-crafted, well-priced bourbon, it's hard to beat Four Roses. The brand's entry-level whiskey is one of the best bourbons for the price on the market, no matter where you buy it. It also has other more premium offerings including small batch and single barrel whiskies that are higher proof and aged longer. Each bourbon Four Roses makes is balanced and delicious — even the entry level bourbon is good enough to be enjoyed neat, which is not always the case with whiskey lines.

Four Roses is already priced well for the quality you get, and Costco's prices are even more competitive than many other retailers. For quality bourbon drinkers, taking a trip to Costco to pick up Four Roses is well worth it. 

The entry-level bourbon is perfect for using in cocktails and mixed drinks, and the other higher-end whiskies make great special occasion sippers. Thanks to Costco's wallet-friendly prices, that special occasion doesn't have to be so special. 

Jack Daniel's whiskey needs no introduction. The brand is massively popular, made using a technique it calls sour mash. All that means is that a portion of the previously fermented mash — the combination of grain, yeast, and liquid that becomes the base of the spirit — is added to the next batch. If you were one of the many people who experimented with sourdough starters in recent years, you'll notice the similarity here. This technique, along with the Lincoln County Process, which involves charcoal filtering, was taught to Jack Daniel by Nathan "Nearest" Green, a Black distiller who worked with Daniel through enslavement and continued after emancipation. Green's talent and innovation is responsible for Jack Daniel's special, unique flavor profile.

Thanks to its popularity, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey can be found just about everywhere. It's fairly inexpensive, as well, even at independent liquor retailers. At Costco, you won't find much of a discount compared to most other stores, and since the brand is so common, there's no reason to specifically purchase it there. That said, while Kirkland has had its own brand of Tennessee sour mash whiskey in the past, it's been off the shelves for a few years, so if you're seeking out this style, Jack Daniel's might be your best bet anyway.

If you could only choose one rye whiskey to have on hand for the rest of your life, Sazerac would have to be one of the top considerations. Over the years, this brand has been absolutely flooded with awards, including 10 in 2024 alone. This rye shows off the whiskey style's textbook flavor profile, with an intense spice on the nose and palate along with some bright fruit flavors and honeyed, oaky richness. The Sazerac cocktail is a New Orleans classic, and this rye, as you might gather from the name, is a great base spirit for that drink. It's also an excellent sipper, with delightful balance and a surprisingly elegant and nuanced character for the price — this is a very affordable rye, especially when compared to other six-year-aged versions of this spirit.

While Sazerac six-year rye is typically not too hard to find, it does sometimes sell out before more is released, and the price tends to skyrocket on those occasions. That's why Costco is a great place to pick up this bottle, or even stock up on several if you have the space for them. At the time of this writing, Costo's price was a few bucks cheaper per bottle than most other retailers, making it an even more appealing purchase. 

Aside from the Kirkland brand whiskies, you won't find a cheaper bottle at Costco than Jim Beam Kentucky straight bourbon. Its extremely low price certainly makes it a draw for shoppers looking for a basic bourbon to have at home. It's also one of the most recognizable and popular brands in the world so many will likely reach for it without hesitation. This isn't necessarily a bad call, especially if you plan to use bourbon primarily in cocktails and mixed drinks, but if you're looking for something to sip on and craving more complexity, you may want to spend a few dollars more on one of Costco's other well-priced offerings.

Kirkland's Kentucky straight bourbon is a really great option, but it's not always available, and when it does hit the shelves it tends to disappear quickly. In those cases, Jim Beam is a fine second choice. However, Costco's price is about the same as other retailers for this brand, and it's very easy to find elsewhere, so it may not be worth making a special trip.

Buffalo Trace's entry-level Kentucky straight bourbon is one of the most solid, well-crafted bourbons you can get at a lower price. It's so good and so popular, in fact, that sometimes demand outstrips supply — a not uncommon problem with aged whiskies. While there's no official age statement on the bottle, most whiskey experts believe the makeup of this product to be about eight years old, which means if the next barrels aren't ready by the time the current bottles sell out, you just have to patiently wait while time does its thing.

This bottle was among the best deals found at Costco. The price for a liter bottle was cheaper than the price for a 750-milliliter bottle at many other retailers. Considering the potential for supply issues, it's really hard not to stock up on such a great product offered at such an amazing price. If you're a bourbon fan, this is one of the brands to put on your Costco shopping list. It's just as good to sip as it is to mix, and having a backup bottle or two can't hurt.

Bulleit makes solid, decent bourbon and rye, and the uniquely shaped bottles and old wild west theme give its products a fun appeal. The brand certainly has its fans, and Costco sells both styles for pretty reasonable prices, so you'll likely save a few dollars purchasing them here as opposed to elsewhere. The only thing keeping this brand out of the best value category is that there are other brands of bourbon and rye that are better purchases in one way or another. If you enjoy Bulleit specifically, it's definitely worth picking up a bottle or two at Costco. However, if you're just looking for the best value bourbon or rye, there are other brands to go for instead.

If Kirkland's bourbon or rye are available, you may want to consider them first. The best value bourbon and rye on this list, namely Buffalo Trace and Sazerac, are arguably better picks than the same style whiskies from Bulleit. This brand is also typically not hard to track down, as its widely available at most other retailers. Bulleit is definitely not a brand to steer away from in terms of quality, but as far as straight value goes, you can do a little bit better with what's offered on Costco's shelves.

To determine this list, I compared the whiskies available at my local Costco to the same brands at other retailers to find out who had the best prices. Using my first-hand experience working with and tasting these whiskies over the years, I determined which brands were specifically worth seeking out based on quality. I took both price and quality into account, using my opinion as well as professional and customer reviews of each product. 

The "worst value" designation does not imply a bad product, only that the brand is easy to find at other retailers for a similar price (or better, in rare cases), so you don't need to make a special trip to Costco for it. Those brands designated "best value" are those worth specifically seeking out at your nearest Costco store. Keep in mind that liquor availability and prices tend to fluctuate, especially whiskies, which need longer aging than many other spirits, so these brands and relative pricing data may differ from store to store and year to year.