Evan Williams Fire

Very smooth. Nice kick of cinnamon but goes down without a fight. Pleasant aftertaste

This actually was not meant to be next in line for tasting, but after spending way too long researching the super secret 42 proof Ohio special version of Fireball Whisky, I resigned to it not being worth adding as a variant on Distiller, and to ironically move forward to another cinnamon whiskey. I've never been a fan of cinnamon in my spirits, at least in an artificial flavor (because heaven knows I put multiple sticks in my hot toddy batches), and I find that most of the American distilleries make too similar tasting competition in this regard. Evan Williams and Jim Beam are especially two of the tightest and most similar when it comes to their entire product line, but for the time being, let's see how the former presents their cinnamon idea. Pale, golden straw is the color shown in the glass, which is miles away from even the base black label bourbon, which itself is also light and watery. Red Hots candy unsurprisingly leads the nose, along with a lot of honey, and an unknown grape-like malty note. It's hard to tell if the cinnamon or the proof (which is not terribly low for a flavored spirit) is causing a slight nose burn, but in either case, it isn't quite strong enough to force a drawback. The initial flavor is full of thick, sugary syrup, like eating melted hard candies. Speaking of candy, the Red Hots note is spot on, providing cinnamon and overwhelming sweetness without fail. The texture is even heavy and moves slowly through the mouth, which is a first for something that isn't a cordial or below 30 proof. The finish is slightly dry, but leaves the lips sticky and wanting for more (but not this). I was definitely in my very early teens the first (and probably last) time I had Fireball, and although I don't know which "version" or proof I had at that time, I would wager that it was somehow more enjoyable than this. The real disappointment here is how sugary and syrupy a 70 proof whiskey product is from one of the biggest American distilleries and producers of bourbon in our country. In the end, it's difficult to drink, both due to the taste, as well as being physically barring with its thicker texture, and isn't worth any level of purchase, given that there are no less than half a dozen other easy-to-find competing cinnamon spirits.

Fireball is better

This is the best cinnamon whiskey I have tried.