Rating: 12/23 I've heard that this is a great budget bourbon. In fact, I know of a very good local bar that uses it as their well spirit, so I have high hopes (I mean, not sky high, but high for a <$20 bourbon). N: Hmm, this is lighter than I'd expected. There's more mineral. There's also a kind of aged funk, savoriness, and some pepperiness, but, yeah, I do believe that this is Evan Williams. I think I might be getting a little bit of apple bordering on apricot from this, which I do rather appreciate. P: Yeah, it has this light minerality to it. There is a sort of rich maturity, but the palate is not terribly full. The complexity is adequate, but it's nothing to write home about. I get some pepperiness, which is kind an an interesting break from the pure cinnamon. I do actually worry about using it for mixing because it's a bit heavy on the minerality and not quite the usual bourbon cinnamon/cherry profile. There is a fair amount of vanilla though. The savoriness and fullness of the bonded proof here is quite beneficial to this bourbon. F: The minerality is still present, but it isn't overwhelming. I get some sweet creek water in it and there's still some richness suggesting the age. Not a great finish, but it's fine. So, I prefer Wild Turkey 101 and I wouldn't be enthusiastic about drinking this neat. I also worry a bit about using it in a mixed drink because of its minerality. It's far from a bad bourbon and the extra proof is really nice, but it isn't something I would want to buy again. It strikes me as a fair value for the money and competitive with Jim Beam Black (side note: isn't it weird that Evan Williams chose white as their more premium color when just about everyone else chooses black?). I'm looking at a 12 to 13 for this. I have no doubt that it's better than Evan Williams Black and most bourbons in the $15 range, but it also is just $5 less than Wild Turkey 101, which I enjoy a lot more. For me, the decision is clear. Having gone back and forth a bit, I'd say I prefer the complexity and balance of Jim Beam Black slightly, but I would rate this a bit above Ancient Age and Ezra Brooks. They have a 13 and an 11 (tied), respectively, so this is getting a 12. <===breaking news===> Last second update: I realized I had a sip left that had been sitting on the counter for an hour. I tasted it and it was way way better! I got less minerality, more richness, and more complexity. It had a quite good peanut brittle character to it that just isn't at all present right out of the bottle. It was at least on par with Wild Turkey 101 right out of the bottle under those circumstances. It reminded me a bit of a less spicy George Dickel Bottled In Bond (2019 release) that also lacked that Dickel vitamin flavor, so I side-by-sided them and confirmed exactly that. Choosing between the two of them is tough. I'm going to have to pour some more of this and give it some time so that I can take this evolution into consideration. This got a LOT better when the last sip was left on the counter for over an hour. Now, I've done the same with something resembling a third of a pour, but the outcome was not anywhere near what I had last time (spoilers). For comparison, I did a similar pour of Wild Turkey 101 side by side and after the hour, I found that this had not changed much and the Wild Turkey was still better (even though its quality hadn't particularly improved either). I did try this straight out of the bottle last time right after having the heavily oxidized sip out of the glass, and the difference was night and day. This time, however, the flavors are pretty similar. The flavor this time has a bit of those nice toasty flavors from last time, but it sacrifices the fullness of the spirit straight out of the bottle and it's at best a 1 point improvement. Side by side, the Dickel is leagues better. I think this might be a situation like with my bottle of Russell's Reserve Single Barrel that say nearly empty on the shelf for at least a year where heavy oxidation somehow dramatically improves the dregs of the bottle (or, in this case, glass). As disappointing as it is to say that, it's clear that pouring a dram and waiting an hour isn't sufficient to achieve that awesome (probably in the 16-18 range - it was only one sip, so it was really hard to tell) sip that I got before. If you want to pour a bunch of tiny glasses of this and wait an hour for each of them, you might be able to get a tremendous improvement, but that's an unreasonable expectation, so I can't factor it into my rating. Unfortunately, this is staying a 12.