Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch Bourbon

Great rice for all of the flavors and butter feel. Brown sugar, vanilla, baking spices and hot cinnamon (neat) at the end. A couple of drops of water takes a little of the bite out at the finish. Just right for me. Purchased in state store, Virginia.

I've seen this recommended as an alternative to Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond, the seemingly untouchable value champion in bourbon. So I gave it a try. To my tastes it's not as quite good as the bonded, but it is good. It's kind of hard for me to compare one bourbon to another because so much of the flavor is the same, and maybe that's even more the case here considering these come from the same distillery. But here goes. The nose has charred wood, vanilla, a bit of cinnamon, and some brown sugar. The taste is relatively gentle, with honey and vanilla along with more char. Maybe like burnt toast with honey spread on it? Cinnamon comes in toward the end and lingers through the long-lasting finish. I guess the main things I notice here compared to the bonded is that this is softer, subtler, and has more charred-wood notes. Its sweetness is also different, with more of a lighter honey dimension and less of the darker brown sugar type notes. I may just be talking nonsense here because it's hard for me to put my finger on the differences, but one way or another they do taste different and personally I prefer the bottled-in-bond to this. At $19 this is a few bucks more than the bonded, but still a good value. It's really just a matter of preference probably. But as for me I'll probably stick with the bonded.

Not offensive. But if you're more than an occasional bourbon fan, just stick with the Evan Williams BiB white label. 1783 has some notes that make it feel a little older than it is, but it might actually detract from the juice as it leaves you wanting a higher proof and a few more years to really hit the target. BiB knows what it is and does it exceptionally well at the price point, so stick with it instead.

It was sweet on the nose for me. I was picking up some peanut butter that made me think of a Reese’s peanut butter cup. I was caught off guard with the spice that came with my first few sips. It was smoky and full of cinnamon like a stick of Big Red. I was ready to give it a lower score, but as it aired out, the neat pour grew on me. I usually pick a rye for most of my cocktails, but I think this would serve as a good base as well. It got sweeter as well and the spice subsided a bit. It does have a nice, long finish that got better the more I drank it. I’ll have to try a pour with a big ice cube next time to see how the flavor changes.