Evan Williams 1783 Bourbon (80 Proof)

Classic bourbon flavors: caramel sweetness, vanilla and oak. I’m getting a little spice at the end. Very, very smooth and very, very nice.

This is a new one to me; an expression I've never tasted before. I love EW and there is usually a bottle of Bottled in Bond or Single Barrel in my rotation. I've been curious about the 1783 for a while, but never enough to pull the trigger. Well this weekend I'm doing a bacon-fat-washed bourbon experiment for some cocktails I'm dreaming up (I'm also creating a bacon washed tequila) and this is going to be the foundation. Let's see what its all about... Tasted neat from a glencairn and allowed to rest for a solid 10 minutes while my dogs wrestle and run around like little furry loonatics. The pour is a brassy color. A swirl shows thin sheeting and small, quick tears running into the bowl. The nose offers up sweet but soft notes of vanilla, creamed corn, and some slight oaky barrel notes. It's pleasant and simple. Don't expect complexity, but for a $17 bottle it presents surprisingly well. On the palate this delivers what the nose teases. Its a sweet dram, soft and easy. There is very little spice - just a touch of black pepper. There's a good dose of sweet vanilla, a touch of oak, a bit of corn and just the faintest whiff of something that reminds me of Dr. Pepper. Make no mistake, this isn't a Spinal Tap whiskey and the taste volume doesn't go to "11" - it barely makes it to "4" but what's there is easy to enjoy and not demanding at all. This is a wholly average bourbon. There's nothing special about it other than its really inexpensive and it tastes good. Exactly what I was hoping for! I rate liquor on a bell curve scale and an average whiskey should be a 2.5, with almost all of the bigger brands mainstream offerings ending up between 2 and 3. This is right there plus a quarter point for its affordability.

Sweet notes and a hint of wood