What Costco's Kirkland Signature Bourbon Whiskey Cost In 2021 Vs 2026

Prices on everything from gas to your Netflix subscription have gone up over the past five years. And yet, reported prices for Costco's Kirkland Signature line of bourbon show little change since 2021. The Kirkland Signature bourbon line consists of four expressions: Kentucky straight, small batch, single barrel, and Bottled-in-Bond. While you might notice some increase, it's minuscule compared to the roughly 14% rise in alcohol prices between 2021 and 2026 based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (via in2013dollars.com).

Be advised prices at Costco do vary by location, but you can use the prices below as a snapshot of Costco pricing at the time. The lowest-priced item in the line is the Kirkland Signature Small Batch Bourbon, which was reportedly $19 for a 1-liter bottle in 2021, the year it was introduced. Today, reviewers online report you can find that same bottle for $19.99, a 5% increase. Kirkland Signature Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon was $25 for a 1-liter bottle at introduction and is still $25 today. The Kirkland Single Barrel Bourbon was introduced at $29.99 for a 1-liter bottle. While the Costco website doesn't currently list the item, according to the Warehouse Runner app, one nearby location in Southern California had it at the time of this writing for a confirmed price of $30.09. Note that Kirkland Signature Kentucky Straight Bourbon was introduced this year so there is no price comparison to make.

The retailer famous for a cheap hot dog combo that's still only $1.50 is No. 3 in the country behind Walmart and Amazon, per National Retail Federation, and that gives it a lot of negotiating power to drive manufacturers (or distillers) to provide better pricing. In addition — thanks in large part to taking in $5.3 billion in membership fees in 2025, says the Costco Annual Report — Costco can afford to work on thinner margins. Costco is known to cap product markup at 15% (via Yahoo Finance). Costco also limits its product selection, allowing it to concentrate sales across a smaller pool of competing products to put the retailer in an even better negotiating position. Case in point, all the expressions being compared here are made by the Barton 1792 Distillery, a partnership that began in 2021. With these factors combined, Costco does seem to be in a more nimble position against price increases compared to other retailers. 

The prices on Kirkland Signature bourbon haven't really changed, and the line remains a value when compared to brand names. Customers love to save by taking advantage of Costco's private label. Why buy a 750-milliliter bottle of Barton 1792 Small Batch for $30 when you can instead pick up a similar product from the same distillery in a bigger bottle at a better price? Displaying Kirkland Signature bottles may not be the most attractive liquor cabinet option, but you can always ditch the bottle it comes in and use a more attractive decanter instead.