geologyjane
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
January 26, 2020 (edited April 7, 2022)
Following up my review of Evan Williams Black Label, I wanted to see how the Evan Williams Single Barrel would stack up against it. Would the extra $15 per bottle, years of age, and 0.3% ABV make a difference? Let's find out!
Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, 10% Rye
Age: NAS (but between 7-8 years)
ABV: 43.3%
Price: $24.99 (typically $25-$32)
Nose: By comparison to the EW Black Label, the nose seems extraordinary. Sweet, rich caramel. Cherries, red apple, vanilla, toasty oak, and cherry blossoms. Faint red licorice, mild spice, and pink bubblegum. Surprisingly concentrated for only a 0.3% ABV bump over the EW Black Label - that's clearly some quality barrel time showing.
Palate: Wow. What a difference over the EW Black Label. Sweet, oaky, and fruity - all well-integrated. Rich and mouthcoating. Toffee and dark caramel, oak char, cherries, red licorice, and spice. Mild herbal, floral, and salty notes. I think this bottle has even improved a bit since opening a few week ago.
Finish: Medium length. Dominated by sweet, dark caramel, then drying oak and char astringency with salty minerals. Yum.
Verdict: Yep. That extra $15, ABV, and time in the barrel makes a huge difference. Way more going on in this dram. I might ruffle some feathers saying this, but I think this was better than the last Four Roses Single Barrel I had. However, it's not quite a 4-star dram for me...yet. I wish it had just a bit more "oomph". 46%? 48%? Could be lights out! As it is, it's very good (though my bottle was apparently not to the outlier caliber of Rob Morton's of Distiller - 96 seems a little high). In any case, this bottle offers excellent VFM with the caveat that it is a single barrel release and some variation is to be expected. Recommended.
3.75 ~ 86 ~ Very Good
25.0
USD
per
Bottle
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Thanks for the clarification. I hadn't purchased a bottle in so long I had no idea if they were still listing the barrel and bottle dates. The good news is they seem to be creeping upwards in age. I stopped in a store this afternoon and if my math is correct, what they had on the shelves was just shy of 9.
@PBMichiganWolverine Haha ever the optimist. If bourbon NAS has thought me anything it's when demand exceeds supply prices go up and/or quality deteriorates. Noahs Mill, Rowan Creek, Johnny Drum...the list is endless!
@BDanner - Henry McKenna 10 is still sitting on my wish list. I have yet to see a bottle of it in the wild (somebody had to give it a whisky of the year award while I was still deep in Scotch and Irish). I will find a bottle someday!
Alright, clarification time. Not to worry, EW is still hand-writing the labels on these. Since I didn’t have it handy with me when I wrote my review, I resorted to using the Distiller age (NAS since it varies) and info provided from Heaven Hill (7-8 years). The 7-8 years seems accurate based upon what I’ve seen on shelves. The bottle for this tasting was born 2010.05.04 and bottled 2018.05.08 (just barely makes 8 years). I also have another bottle I adopted from a dusty store shelf but haven’t opened yet: 2008.11.12 to 2016.11.02 (7 years). I have yet to see anything older than 8 years, but perhaps it’s just how they’re being distributed and I’m stuck in a 7-8 year distribution bubble. Hope this helps clear it up and I can now edit my review to include this info above!
@BDanner I had a bottle of the 2005 and it was quite good and the price even better. Agree with @Generously_Paul about transparency. I believe that transparency will become a differentiator as the market becomes more saturated with whiskey. Things may swing back to age statements once again amongst more insight into the make. We shall see...
FYI- I have a bottle I got last September from Total Wine and it has dates on the back: barreled 1-22-11, barrel #558, bottled on 3-25-19
@Generously_Paul @BDanner @geologyjane so much for transparency, but i guess they’re keeping in line with other NAS bottles. Hopefully, quality won’t decline. I have a bottle from 2004 and a 12 yr old ( can’t remember from when). Would be interesting to compare those with today’s line.
@BDanner that’s a shock that the barreled/bottled dates are no longer being used. Even if the age is getting progressively younger I feel that transparency goes so far with the customer that it’s worth putting it on the bottle. I have a 2006 vintage that is only about 10 days away from being a 10 year old. Still haven’t cracked the seal but I’m getting closer to it.
They don't put the barrel and bottle date on them anymore? The first bottle I bought was around 10 years old, but they steadily decreased release date after release date. My 2005 bottle was one of the best bottles of bourbon I've ever had (if memory serves). I stopped buying this one when the Henry McKenna showed up in NC at roughly the same price and minimum 10 years. May have to revisit.