Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage

A bourbon making its way into my glass, a rare occurrence. This dram from single barrel number 1146 was filled on the 18th of June 2013 and bottled on the 5th of November 2021. Graciously received from @cascode. N: Sweet buttery, and caramel laden, corn (unsurprisingly). A slightly dusty or gristy backdrop brings with it some wood shavings and a touch of herbal-menthol influence. P: Surprisingly vibrant and lively. Sweet, sure, but there is a depth to the sweetness. Not just corn and vanilla, but candied ginger, strawberries and cream, desiccated orange rind, and a little honey. There is a wonderful warmth to a well balanced astringency that delivers the best of the oak and a peppery spice. The end of the palate just about gets into a leathery presence. F: Medium. Coconut, a little cocoa powder, dark caramel and something fresh and red berry like. Whilst I am not well versed in bourbon, I am a particular fan of the leathery and thick caramel richness of the bourbon I do like, namely Woodford Double Oak and Russels Reserve. This one caught me off guard. From what I felt was a lacklustre nose the palate and finish gave me a varied and lively flavour experience that had me confused over what I was drinking. Certainly a fun and interesting dram that I would be pleased to have on permanent rotation. Distiller whisky taste #229 [Pictured here with a piece of Morton Gneiss from southwestern Minnesota, and the USAs oldest rock. Originally this was a granite crystallised form molten rock deep below the earths surface 3.5 billion years ago. Two and a half billion years ago it as caught up in tectonic collision that subjected it to immense pressures and temperatures and caused it to be intruded by another granite. The mixing of these two granites was further overprinted 1.7 billion years ago by more metamorphism to produce this wonderful gneiss.

Since becoming a KY only product, I am having a tougher time finding this and it's now $40-50 per bottle. I have only seen two bottles in the last year. First one was quite good, this one meh! 15-20 Years ago this was one of my favorites, It was released twice a year in ample supply and ten years old. A few years ago, it became an eight year product and lost some of its complexity. Visiting with the HH folks shortly after the switch to 8 year they claimed there would never be another supply issue. Never was only 3-4 years. Earlier this year, I found a 2014 bottle. It was quite good. Excellent fragrance, deep and rich on the palate. This one is a 2015 and has no nose and no depth. We tasted it against an open bottle of 1783 and everyone found 1783 to be preferential. This is a single barrel product so YMMV but this one is way off after distribution was cut back and pricing nearly doubled. I'm not giving up on it and maybe my expectations are too high but I won't be going out of my way to find it.

Nose: the usual vanilla and caramel notes with a hint of fruits. Sweet smell on the nose Taste: like the nose, traditional bourbon taste - at least for me. Smooth vanilla and caramel-brown sugar up front. The sweet intro is prevelant throughout, then opens up with slight oak notes at the end. Finish: moderate finish with a light spice and heat. There is also a slight leather and oak finish that lingers into your next sip Overall: Your traditional bourbon that is a cut above of the rest for me. I enjoyed the EW White Label, so as a SiB this is a treat. This is my go to sipper. Hard to beat at msrp or close to. Sad that theyre only going to sell this out of Kentucky only from now one. Definitely will make a game out of asking for this when checking out whiskey from now on. If you see it at less than 35$, grab it and give it a try. Rating: 6.75/10- t8ke scale (almost makes 7 but not quiete. Still a great pick). 6 | Very Good | A cut above.

EVAN WILLIAMS SINGLE BARREL 2016 BARREL #217 Barreled on 5/2/16 Bottled on 8/20/24 Age: 8yrs 3mos 18days Color: Auburn 1.5 NOSE: Savory Smoke. Oak, Vanilla Coke, Powdered Sugar, Bubble Gum, Mint, Hickory Smoke. NEAT: Overall Dry Character. Medium Mouthfeel. Lots of Oak up front. That savory Hickory Smoke too. There’s the Mint, Vanilla Coke, and Bubblegum in the Mid-Palate. There’s some Black Pepper on the Finish with a Mild, but building KYHug. Mildly Tannic Oak and Bubblegum layer the palate and build with each sip. SPLASH: Nose gets a slight plastic note. Vanilla and Tannins become more dominant. The coating finish gets Sweeter and Minty. A little less Dry. VERDICT: Totally surprised to see this locally since last I heard, this was going to Kentucky only distribution. This is an excellent Barrel. Unique flavor profile and a GREAT value at $40. I’m going back tomorrow for a backup bottle. Welcome back Evan Williams Single Barrel!

PUT IN OAK // 2015 BARRELED ON // 10.6.15 BARREL No. // 511 BOTTLED ON // 3.14.24 NEAT NOSE - Immediately as I sniff this pour, I prepare myself for dissapointment. I have to darn near allow the bourbon to run up and touch my nose just to pick up any notes from the aroma. Nevertheless, I do pick up very faint notes of caramel and oak. PALATE - Still disappointed. After I swirl the bourbon around in my mouth, all I pick up is faint notes of caramel. FINISH - A completely unexpected turn of events. On the finish, there is an explosion of caramel, cinnamon, honey, and oak! Certainly not what I was expecting, but this one took me for a surprise! Medium finish, no burn. BUY? - Absolutely. I hope they continue to release these outside of Kentucky. I was surprised to see this im Texas, knowing that these have been exclusive to Kentucky. BUY AGAIN? - Yes. This is a great value at the price and an amazing sipper.

This is one of the bottles that first got me into sipping bourbon. I heard that they had stopped bottling it, and I stopped seeing it on shelves for a few years, but it seems like its back. Still one of the best value bottles out there. 👃 Not a lot. Sipping in a glass with a rock of ice tonight, so that might be why 👄 Probably need to re-do this without the ice... But I am getting a kinda unique note... Birthday cake. There's a little caramel too 🏁 This one has a strange part one and part two. At first, there's a shitty pickle alcohol note (not all of it, just in the background), but then after a moment, that goes away and you're left with a traditional sweet cinnamon finsh Thanks for coming to my TED talk