Tastes

On the nose, this bourbon has a dominate cherry note that floods the front with lighter hints of vanilla, honey sweetness, red delicious apple, yellow cake, maple syrup, and dry oakiness. The taste rounds out these flavors into fewer notes of cherry, vanilla, oak, and generic bourbon sweetness. I have seen descriptions that this is a spicy bourbon with heavy berry notes but for me, it comes off as a complex, desserty-sweet whiskey. The finish is extremely quick with a tannic oak at the end. If you find it on sale it is worth the buy but at $30 it feels a few dollars overpriced.

This is a very tricky rye. On the nose, there are strong fruit notes with raspberry, green apple, and a very light citrusy orange peel. Alongside the fruit notes, there are strong vanilla notes alongside really light floral notes, caramel, clove, pepper, and a rye breadiness. On the nose, this rye would not appear to be the spiciest despite having 65% rye in the mash bill. The taste is really sweet for a rye which helps bring out the vanilla and fruit notes. If you are craving a sweet, fruity whiskey this is a good go-to. The lighter notes get buried on the taste other than the floral notes, which helps to complement the fruitiness of this rye. The finish is where the normal rye notes reappear as the pepper rises up through on the medium-long finish. This really has some nice complexity for the price and I highly recommend.

Warehouse HE barrel No. 35-6A. The nose is a cherry bomb with strong vanilla and oak. On the backend, there is a chocolate *ding* that pairs really nicely. It is almost like a chocolate-covered cherry with a vanilla drizzle. That exact note helps me pick this bourbon bottle out in blind tasting lineups every single time. Past that you get lighter notes of caramel, rye pepper, and a pear/apple note. It doesn't lean strongly in either direction for me but just comes across as a scratchy mix of the two. On the taste, the chocolate note is still prevalent along with the oak and vanilla. The fruit notes mentioned beforehand are stronger and an apple-butter taste mixed with the chocolate is stronger on the midpalate and I did not completely catch this when nosing. The finish is spicy oak, that chocolate ding, and vanilla. The complexity is nice but the ethanol taste is overpowering at the proof. It tastes like it is 120 proof but doesn't have the same density that many bourbons have at the proof point. Adding a few drops of water helps but it would be nice if this stood strong on its own especially because there are so many great bourbons at 100 proof. Because of that, I had to lower the score a bit. It is worth trying if you like some rye spice or want to find an offering that normally does have some nice complexity but it is not something I would get regularly.

The nose is loaded with sweet corn with lighter notes of honey, vanilla, and an oak note that comes off as a chocolate "ding". The rye doesn't jump out the glass when nosing but is more prevalent on the palate. The palate has more heavy corn sweetness, mixed in with spicy rye notes that show up with the vanilla and the light oak. The longer you sit on this the spicier it gets and the more complex the sweetness becomes. It eventually develops into a mild light brown sugar sweetness with a constant hovering oak note. I usually get a floral note in four roses products but at 80 proof it does not jump out the glass like in other offerings.

This is a nice 10-year bourbon that has some well stood out notes. On the nose, you get a nice barrel spice mixed with strong vanilla and cherry. Underneath this, you get a nice orange zest note mixed with rye spices, more oak, cinnamon, and maple brown sugar. The taste hit immediately with the cinnamon and vanilla cream. The finish has more oak and fruity undertones from the cherry, citrus, and a light red apple that is stronger on the palate than on the nose. The finish is moderate with mostly a spicy cinnamon-sugar / vanilla left over. This bourbon is not amazingly balanced but if you like bourbon with spicy rye and oak characteristics along with strong vanilla this will be a standout. Last note: I have been putting this bourbon in multiple blind flights and it is beating out higher proof bourbons. The flavor density at 90 abv is outstanding.

Barreled on 5/20/11; Barrel number 792; bottled on 5/20/2019. On the nose the had an extremely intense cinnamon note which is followed by sugar and bready notes that almost come across as a cinnamon roll. There are lighter notes of oak, cherry, apple, and a faint peanut. The longer it sits in the glass the more fruity the drink becomes. On the palate, there is a thin cinnamon-honey sugar taste. Other lighter notes are subdued, but still present. The finish is short and leaves behind the cinnamon and oak. Compared to the rest of the Evan Williams line I believe this is the tastiest offering but the worst value. Even at such a low price, the other bottlings are similar and I am more likely to go back to those than this if I am looking for a cheap, dependable bourbon.

The nose is sharp and smells young. The oak comes off as a strong peanut and peanut shell dusting scent. There is a consistent corn-bread note which I imagine is simply the corn and the rye shining through more at this bourbon's (likely younger) age. There are also lighter notes of caramel, vanilla, candy corn, leather, sour apple, and cherry. The taste loses a lot of the complexity of the nose and you are left with a bready, caramel, candy corn, and peanut butter taste. The finish is remarkably short for the proof. This is a bourbon that I wish I loved more because of the high proof but it has enough shortfalls to where I might only buy a bottle once a year. For what it is worth if you are not in the mood to drink it neat you still get many of the same flavors even if you add ice or make a highball.

This is a very bourbon-y bourbon. It has its flaws but there are still things to take away from this whiskey. The nose gives you light vanilla, caramel, honey, and peanut butter. The taste continues with the same notes as the nose but with a surprising amount of oak influence for how young this bourbon tastes. The finish has an overwhelming nuttiness along with lighter notes of vanilla, caramel, and honey. The finish is remarkably short, which is to be expected with such an easy-sipping 80 proof.

The nose has notes of heavy cream, vanilla, sour green apple, light raisin, lemon zest, a sour lemon juice scent, and a really light sea-salt note. The peat scent comes across as a lit match or campfire smoke and is very prevalent and strong compared to the other notes when taking a light whiff. The taste has a stronger cream note with more vanilla, caramel, and smoke flavors. The finish is thin with a light tobacco note, ash, and a vanilla-y citrus. This whiskey is missing the strong peat elements such as the briney, savory, oily notes and I wish they found a way to incorporate it.

On the nose, you get lighter notes of vanilla and corn with much louder notes of caramel and peanuts. The nose also has a sugar caned oak note. The sweetness really does pop out the glass. The palate is thin and not as sweet as I expected, with continuing notes of caramel and peanut, and with a much stronger taste compared to the nose of vanilla along with a hint of cherry. The finish is very short and does not have any distinct lingering note other than "generic bourbon flavor". This is a definite improvement to Jim Beam's white label if the prices are comparable in your area.