Evan Williams Bourbon Review

Evan Williams Bourbon
Black Label
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
86 Proof
Charcoal Filtered
~$12 at TW&M
Review

Please enjoy my Evan Williams Bourbon Review!

About Evan Williams Bourbon, From The Horse’s Mouth

From the Evan Williams website: “Our Kentucky Straight Bourbon is full of character and simply done right. Named after Evan Williams, who opened Kentucky’s First Distillery along the banks of the Ohio River in 1783, it’s aged far longer than required by law. The result is a Bourbon that’s smooth, rich, and easy to enjoy.”

Evan Williams Black Label

Evan Williams Bourbon, also known as Evan Williams Black Label was introduced in 1957. Originally a 7 year 90 proof bourbon with flashy packaging, it has made some changes over the years. EW Black is made from Heaven Hill’s standard bourbon mash bill: 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley. It’s non-age stated, but I have it on reasonably good authority that this bourbon is around 5 to 5 1/2 years old. There’s a lower proof version of Evan Williams, the Green Label, which is 80 proof, but this 86 proof Black Label is their flagship product and the one that accounts for Evan Williams being the second best selling bourbon in the world. (In case you were wondering, Jim Beam is first).

Hey, Why Does The Bottle Look Like Jack Daniels?

What about the bottle? Well, in the 50s Jack Daniel’s was all the rage. So the similarity of Evan Williams’ bottle to Jack Daniel’s bottle is not coincidence. Nor are the words Sour Mash and Charcoal Mellowed on the label. As they say “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. The first part of that proverb may be true here, but the second half “… that mediocrity can pay to greatness” is certainly up to debate. Evan Williams vs Jack Daniels? I think that would be quite the heated discussion. Calling either one of these whiskeys mediocre would be a call to arms.

Evan Williams Bourbon Tasting Notes

Let’s taste it:

🛌 Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

👉Nose: Brown sugar, baking spices, caramel, light oak and smokiness, cherry, hint of cinnamon; light to medium alcohol
👉Taste: Caramel, honey, baking spices, black tea, light cherry, bit of smoke and char
👉Finish: Similar flavors continue and slowly fade with a gradual building of black pepper lingering into the moderately long finish

The baking spices and brown sugar dominate the nose, with dark cherries and some oak in the back. However, the flavors are fairly subdued. The flavors carry over to the taste, which starts out fairly sweet with brown sugar replaced by some honey. In the finish, those flavors slowly fade and black pepper builds, although some sweetness remains. There are overall some nice classic bourbon flavors in here, albeit without a lot of complexity.

A Perfectly Decent Bourbon

Evan Williams Bourbon, Black Label, is a perfectly decent bourbon in its own right. However, for just a few extra bucks, you can get a whole lot more of a good thing with Evan Williams Bottled in Bond, one of my favorite value bourbons! Are you an Evan Williams Bourbon fan? Cheers!🥃

But wait, there’s more!

I hope you have enjoyed my Evan Williams Bourbon Review! To learn more about a bourbon with similar flavors but so much more, check out my Evan Williams Bottled In Bond Bourbon review!

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!