Evan Williams 1783 Bourbon (80 Proof)

Light on the palate notes of caramel. I’ve had way worse $15 bottles and worse $30 bottles. This is just fine, even neat.

Evan Williams 1783 may be the best sub $15 bottle of bourbon you can easily find. But to be honest, on the first few tastes I nearly wrote this one off because it's so different than the norm. After a while though, I started to warm to it and appreciate the flavors of 1783 and now it's in my rotation as a cheap daily sip. Enjoyed neat in a rocks glass. On the nose I get a strong sweetness, with smells of bubble gum, cola, butter, slight florals and nuttiness with a backdrop of light oak. First impression, this isn't a typical bourbon nose that I'm used to, kinda weird really. Compared to EW Black and EW BiB, I wasn't expecting such a huge difference. The sweetness here on the nose is greater than what you would typically expect, even from a wheater. The palate confirms the nose, it's very very sweet syrup. Sweeter than just about any other bourbon I've had, again including wheaters known for their sweetness. At first I was very put off by it, but now most of the way through the bottle, I actually like it. The mouthfeel is extremely thin and watery, which was again very offputting at first, but now that I’ve adjusted to it and expect it, doesn’t really bother me. The flavors here are also in another ballpark than regular EW Black or BiB, or most any other bourbon really. 1783 gives off more melted butter, cola, cotton candy, yet is also somewhat peanutnutty, again with a backdrop of light barrel to finish up the sip. It's honestly such a strange palate for a regular bourbon drinker, it took a while to appreciate the flavors. There is little to no spice and burn here, it's a smooth operator. This one would be a great starter bourbon for the non initiated because it's almost like drinking cola and certainly won't hurt you with spice or heat. I'm used to sipping fire breathing monsters at 120 proof or others with high spiciness, so 1783 is honestly like drinking water for me. It's a very relaxed sip and won't wake you up, but when that's what I'm in the mood for, it's just fine. The finish actually lingers a while with more residual light cola sweetness, light tobacco. Once the flavors are fully absorbed on the palate, the lingering light tobacco finish is worth the wait here. Overall, despite being very underwhelmed and a bit disappointed initially with 1783, I can now certainly appreciate what it offers, especially at $15 a bottle. The smoothness, sweetness, and fairly atypical bourbon profile have made this an interesting changeup in the daily rotation. While 1783 won't be unseating any of my regular inexpensive daily favorites, like Turkey 101, Buffalo Trace, or Beam Distiller's Cut, I have gained an appreciation for the product. I simply can't think of another sub $15 bottle I'd rather sip! It's cheap, it's different, and I like it! Bourbon can be a lot like women. Some are love at first sight and others you have to get to know better before you develop feelings. With 1783 it took a few dates but we're good friends now! Cheers!