Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage

Boston baked beans.

Super smooth, wonderful notes of sweet caramel and a nice waft of vanilla on the nose.

Spicy intriguing bouquet. Bright and rather fruity on the palate. Warm and pleasant finish.

Kind of caustic and thin.

So I tried this at a bar and enjoyed it - very strong vanilla. Then I heard a rumor from K&L that Evan Williams wasn't going to sell this in California any more. True or not, it worked and a bought a "2014 vintage" Evan Williams Single Barrel. My past experience was with Evan Williams BiB which I rushed out to buy after hearing glowing reviews. It was a chore to get through that bottle, which had a very strong peanut/ethanol thing going on with maybe a bit of honey. But it just didn't do it for me. I was thinking this SiB would be different based on my experience at the bar. Unfortunately, the bottle I have just doesn't do it for me. The nose is decent enough, a little caramel and a little honey. The body is super thin, with a high note of the dreaded peanut/ethanol punching through everything else. Maybe a bit of honey on the finish with some spice. It's not bad, but I don't really look forward to it and only use it as a palate prep for stuff I really want to drink given the relatively weak bottling strength. I'm thinking Evan Williams just isn't for me and I'll continue to use Wild Turkey 101 for my cheap daily.

Super smooth. Light sweetness on first taste. Not too burning, much fuller than I expected. A quality pour.

Taste: Strong vanilla up front. Some caramel and dill. Oak tannins in the finish. Mild sweetness. Smell: Strong caramel and vanilla with an ethanol sting Look: Deep amber