As every surfer and skateboarder knows, there is only so far that momentum will take you before the laws of physics spring back into action – and perhaps Bourbon is finding that out too.

As a category, Bourbon has been beyond bullish in the past 10 years or so, with interest and availability booming as consumers once again realized what a smoking hot proposition it is – packed with flavor, a broad palette of styles available and incredibly good value – especially compared to Scotch or Japanese competitors.

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Bourbon's rise was impressive and seemingly unstoppable, but the hard times of the past year have hit spirits as well as wine and Bourbon might just be in the unfamiliar position of facing a slight decline in its markets.

A report released recently suggested that US whiskey producers – and the majority of US whiskey producers are Bourbon makers – are sitting on more unsold liquor than ever before. Industry analyst Jon Moramarco found that distillers were currently sitting on nine years' worth of unsold inventory, up from four years' worth a decade earlier.

That's a lot of unsold whiskey. That's also a headache for producers: spirits benefit from extra aging, but it is an expensive exercise having thousands of gallons of spirit just sitting around costing you money instead of heading out the door in exchange for much-needed cash. The whiskey lake is affecting the cost of bulk spirits, according to Moramarco, with prices for bulk whiskey falling.

It's great for consumers, of course. Falling prices equals bargains to be had and, as we'll see from our list of the most wanted Bourbons, that's reflected in the prices of this year's Bourbons.

For all those warning signs, from the point of interest, Bourbon remains in rude health. Consumers – especially in the US – comb our site in increasing numbers, looking for good Bourbon buys and that's what is at the heart of our Most Wanted series of stories.

Wine-Searcher gets millions of hits every day and, since we have the biggest online database of wines and spirits available, we are the only site that can measure interest in a product. We track which products are the most searched-for in each category, which is partly what makes us so invaluable to the trade – we measure what people want, making Wine-Searcher the only site that can measure demand in the market.

George T. Stagg Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA, $1,348, 94 / 100

Russell's Reserve 15 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, USA, $601

Blanton's The Original Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, USA, $144, 92 / 100

W. L. Weller 12 Year Old Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, USA, $247, 92 / 100

Eagle Rare 10 Year Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, USA, $67, 90 / 100

Stagg Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA, $312, 91 / 100

William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, USA, $2,160, 93 / 100

Old Rip Van Winkle 'Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve' 15 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, USA, $2,508, 95 / 100

Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, USA, $1,002, 92 / 100

W. L. Weller 'Old Weller Antique 107' Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, USA, $210, 92 / 100

Let's compare this list to last year's. It's very similar; in fact, there are seven Bourbons on here that also featured last year. The Weller Wheated Bourbon has been elbowed off the top spot it claimed last year, with the George T Stagg taking over.

Of the new entrants, it's the Russell's Reserve that impresses most. Made by a father and son team who honed their skills over many years at Wild Turkey, the Russell's Reserve has quickly become a favorite among Bourbon lovers since it first appeared in June last year. To overtake huge Bourbon names like Blanton's Pappy Van Winkle and Weller is quite an achievement.

Congratulations to Weller too, with a third bottling joining the top 10, and to Van Winkle, who made up for the 23-year-old Pappy bottling leaving the top 10 by having the 10-year-old version of Old Rip Van Winkle make its debut.

The other thing to focus on, of course, is price. Given the aforementioned current imbalance between supply and demand, it's unsurprising to see that all these whiskeys have lower global average retail prices (GARPs) than last year, spectacularly so in some cases. The Russell's hit the market with a GARP of $1405 in June 2024 and it has now bottomed out at $569 (at time of writing).

However, these things tend to be cyclical and while US whiskey might be in a trough now, Bourbon is not suffering as badly as the wider US whiskey category. The big question is, though, how long will it take Bourbon to get back on the crest of the wave?

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