I'm in kind of the same boat as the OP. Always drank top shelf, now due to finances, I'm forced to explore the bottom shelf.
I will echo the above sentiments about Evan Williams black label -- and it's always been my "go to" bourbon mixer, even before I had to cut the budget. It's good, cheap, and tasty on it's own or mixed. IMHO it is better than Beam, Jack and a few others that are supposedly "better".
Other good candidates are Old Grandad, Wild Turkey and Ezra Brooks.
Another cheap alternative I've found is Canadian. I tried regular Canadian Club, and found it a little wishy-washy, but then I tried their 9 Year old "Triple Aged". It's actually very good and fairly cheap -- about $12 for a 750ml in my neck of the woods.
I will echo the above sentiments about Evan Williams black label -- and it's always been my "go to" bourbon mixer, even before I had to cut the budget. It's good, cheap, and tasty on it's own or mixed. IMHO it is better than Beam, Jack and a few others that are supposedly "better".
Other good candidates are Old Grandad, Wild Turkey and Ezra Brooks.
Another cheap alternative I've found is Canadian. I tried regular Canadian Club, and found it a little wishy-washy, but then I tried their 9 Year old "Triple Aged". It's actually very good and fairly cheap -- about $12 for a 750ml in my neck of the woods.