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Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
August 18, 2022 (edited September 25, 2022)
N: Sweet corn heavy early, but it gives way to lighter berry notes (strawberry even?) and some caramel covered banana. Not a lot of depth and a good dash of ethanol, but okay for the price point.
P: Caramel with vanilla deeper in the background behind that. Sweet corn, honey, and maybe some stone fruit. Cinnamon starts to build strong with the second sip. Maybe a few other baking spices in there complicating that. Definite oak tannin and heat, but no particularly noticeable bitterness. Finish brings more caramel, some herbal notes, some mineral notes, middling heat, and finally, late in the finish, a little black licorice.
Back in May, a local shop here ran a deal where if you bought three of these puppies, you could get bottle of ECBP for about normal retail. I'd never had these before, but I figured the deal could also be worked out the other way: buy an ECBP (at the normal markup) and get three of these for free. The numbers were fairly close. Anyway, clearly I pulled the trigger. And now I'm just past halfway down on the third bottle. (Barely touched the ECBP btw - not for any particular reason, just has worked out that way.) I've actually quite enjoyed these bottles. It's a good amount of flavor for the price point. The profile is pretty classic bourbon, well executed. It doesn't require much thought or effort to enjoy and so it makes a nice weeknight pour. It's paired really nicely with a few cigars. I really can't think of anything bad to say about it. I can say there are definitely better, more complex, more interesting bourbons on the market, but none that I can think of sub-$20. Closest I can get is my beloved Buffalo Trace, which usually runs $22-26 around here. The BT is a definite step above this, but it also sometimes disappears from shelves for a few weeks at a time. This would make for an easy and obvious substitute in my rotation for the BT. And I think that's a pretty solid compliment.
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@PBMichiganWolverine I have an excel sheet. Several, in fact. No shame in that.
@PBMichiganWolverine @DjangoJohnson that should be the one that is going home to Kentucky (the vintage one)
@DjangoJohnson @Scott_E I just checked my excel out of curiosity to see if I have this one. ( yes…I have an excel sheet…whole other story ). I apparently have a 8 yr pre-1990 Heaven Hill fire ( not sure what this is ?) and a 2003 vintage one.
@DjangoJohnson I think Heaven Hill is thinking the same way… they aren’t all that different. I will have to get me some 1783 just to be sure (quality control check, lol)
@Scott_E yeah I picked up one a month ago before I knew about this but if I’d have known I’d have bought all three they had. Alas it’s now out of stock but as I said I don’t think the 1783 is too far off the mark
@PBMichiganWolverine @DjangoJohnson if you can find it. Crazy. This was a good sub $30 bourbon. I do still have an unopened one I bought years ago. Will get to it one day.
@Scott_E @DjangoJohnson the market seems to already caught on. The price of the vintage single barrel here locally jumped to $60
@DjangoJohnson @PBMichiganWolverine I wish this app could hyperlink
@DjangoJohnson @PBMichiganWolverine here is that article, if your interested: https://www.whiskyadvocate.com/evan-williams-single-barrel-is-now-kentucky-only/
Good notes. 1783, with its bump in proof, is a great choice for cocktails too.
@PBMichiganWolverine I don’t know either. I can only assume another marketing ploy. I will have to find that article and reread
@PBMichiganWolverine I’ve had them side by side and I can say my single barrel wasn’t all that much better than the 1783 though obviously single barrels vary. Overall I enjoyed both.
@Scott_E really? Wonder why …not like there’s a shortage. Maybe to drive hype?
FYI, I did read that EW Single Barrel will longer be distributed nation-wide and only sold in Kentucky. The 1783 will be taking it’s place.
Nice review, and excellent points all around. I look at this as EW BIB's slightly older, more sophisticated cousin and for just a couple dollars more than Beam White and Evan Williams Black, one of the better VFM's out there.
I'm going to have to finally try this since I'd also like to find a sub for BT considering the high prices and low availability.