Evan Williams Black Label (43.0%): I am a big advocate of price/value ratio in whisky. To release a quality whisk(e)y worldwide with a decent price tag and a consistent taste profile is a damn hard job. That's actually how I got into my blend project where I taste blended Scotch whiskies under $30 and trying to find the best bang for the buck. The situation is a little different in bourbon world. If we are looking for a fair fight among low shelf bourbon expressions I think we should lower the price category all the way down to under $20 dollar range where we can still find many decent bourbons to taste and talk about. Evan Williams Black Label fits pretty perfect under this category. This bottle can be purchased under $15 in most states. The spirit in the bottle is distilled from a high rye mash bill by Heaven Hill Distilleries Bardstown, Kentucky. It is aged between 5 - 7 years. Color: Polished copper, dark amber. Nose: Vanilla extract, agave syrup and unstruck matches. Cream soda, hardwood shavings and yellow gummy bears. Adding a splash of water made it dusty and chalky in a best possible way. I can nose baby bananas and mint leaves now. Palate: Corn bread, cloves and cinnamon. Dried sour cherries, allspice and soot. Water thinned out the texture a little bit and added some alcohol burn. Birch beer, butcher's wax and hardwood furniture. Finish: Hot on the sides of the tongue. Sweet and oaky. Overall: Unbelievable value for $12..! Smooth, easy going and pretty tasty. It's not very complex and layered but definitely still one of my favorite dive bar whiskeys all time. I think it is a perfect bottle to keep in the whiskey cabinet to be your everyday bourbon. It is unbeatable at this price.
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