Evan Williams 12 Year Bourbon

The flavor notes on this one are pretty simple because it is a classic exemplar of the sweet side of the bourbon spectrum: vanilla, Hershey's chocolate sauce, spice, and cherry cola. It's pleasurable, if not overly complex. Its profile feels younger than expected, with relatively little oak. But, holy crap, they sell this bourbon for $125 (or was it $129?). That is a lot of money for a bourbon that isn't a limited annual release or special edition. Actually, that's a lot of money for any bourbon. Spoiler: I don't think it's worth it. It's a very solid bourbon, but the price just blows my mind. This same distillery, Heaven Hill, releases its powerhouse Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, also with a 12-year age statement, for about $70 to $80. It's stellar. Until a few months ago, its 10-year Henry McKenna Single Barrel was widely available for $40 (then it won Whiskey of the Year and became impossible to find). McKenna's not quite in my wheelhouse, but it's an impressive and award-winning bottle. What makes this one worth the premium, aside from the artificial scarcity produced by selling it only at the Evan Williams Experience? To add some bizarre insult to injury, Heaven Hill apparently exports this to Japan and sells it for $30 over there. Go figure. Try it at the Evan Williams Speakeasy Tour, where $20 gets you a taste of this, Evan Williams BIB, Pikesville Rye, and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.

I am a big EW fan, so I wanted to like this more, but the fact is that it isn’t much of an improvement over the EWSB, which goes for about $30 where I live. This is a good bourbon, but not worth $130.

Rich and strong, with sweet and oak first, cinnamon spice underneath. Reminds me of 101 or Weller 107. Very nice.

very good, but not worthy of the $130 price tag

So I payed $150 for two bottles of this when a friend got back from japan which is considerably below the gift shop price of around $125 each. That being said I don’t judge taste by price so let’s get into it shall we. Nose: lots of oak like tons, cherry cola(I’ve noticed in older heaven hill products ), slight peanuts and strangely I got some apples. Taste: oak and oak again! Kind of reminds me of some of the older age stated Elijah Craig 12year stuff . But with a hint more proof. Finish is long and slow with that oakey profile again. Overall I’d say nothing incredibly stands out but I’d put it above most of the stuff out. If given the chance while at duty free pick it up. However at the gift shop prices pass on it. 88/100