Blanton's is a high end bourbon whiskey distilled and aged at the the Ancient Age distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. It's made by the same company which produces (surprisingly enough) Ancient Age.
It's wonderful stuff -- sour mash, ten years old, from a single barrel with the sweeter edge that many of the Frankfort bourbons seem to have. The distillery tour yields a helpful consumer tip, however, which can save the discerning yet impoverished bourbon tippler a few dollars which could better be spent on a perfecta at Keeneland (or Ellis Park if times are really rough.)
Try Ancient Ancient Age. It's fermented in the same vats, distilled in the same stills, aged in same barrels, and bonded in the same warehouses as the esteemed Blanton's. After the master distiller selects the several, "single barrels" which will be bottled as Blanton's, something must be done with the rest of the ten year old whiskey.
Thankfully, they don't just dump it out the back door into the Kentucky River. Instead they pour all those barrels together, creating a blended, sour-mash, ten year old bourbon.
So, let's review. Blanton's comes from a selected single barrel of whiskey. Ancient Ancient Age (or AAA) is the rest of the barrels combined. Both are made from the same process, from the same ingredients, aged (for ten loooong years) the same way, and in the same place. How much difference could there be?
About $10.00 a 1.75 liter.
Make no mistake, Blanton's is absolutely worth the price. It's just useful to know that virtually the same product can be had for about a third less. That is, if you can find AAA outside of the Commonwealth...