Welcome to another installment of Whiskey You Can Drink, wherein I drink whiskey and tell you about it. Today’s entry is Evan Williams, a Heaven Hill (Elijah Craig, Henry McKenna, Larceny) bourbon weighing in at 86 proof. I paid $12 (TWELVE DOLLARS) for this bottle on sale, which is why you can drink it.
Evan Williams was a Welsh immigrant alleged to have established the first commercial distillery in Kentucky, a “fact” which appears to be in dispute. What’s not in dispute is that this is a solid, respectable bourbon, said to be at least four years old, for TWELVE FUCKING DOLLARS. Four years is not bad, considering any corn whiskey could spend literally 5 minutes in a new charred oak barrel and still legally be called bourbon. It also comes in a number of variations, including a bottled-in-bond and a small batch, each sharing the same mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley, and mostly under $20. Evan Williams uses a “sour mash” process that works on the same principal as sourdough bread- you carry over some of the old mash to start the new.
What’s it smell like? On the nose, I– “Lemmy you’re doing it again. I thought we discussed this.” Right. Anyway, there’s not a whole lot going on here, as it is a TWELVE DOLLAR bourbon. It smells like bourbon. Did I mention it only cost TWELVE DOLLARS? There is cinnamon, maybe a little clove. I’m trying hard to find some fruit, and all I come up with is something a little buttery instead, and maybe a single dark cherry.
What’s it taste like? On the…………………………………Ahem. Yeah. Anyways, take a stick of Big Red. Take a stick of Juicy Fruit. Chew them at the same time. You didn’t really just do that, did you? Gross. But it works as a metaphor. Look at me, being all literary and shit. But I digress. Looking a little harder, you might find black pepper and a hint of clove at the finish. It is light for a bourbon, and at 78% corn maybe not as sweet as you might expect.
Should you buy it? Hell yes. It’s a TWELVE DOLLAR bourbon that doesn’t taste like turpentine and motor oil. Listen, if you can’t handle it straight, I can attest that it goes really well with Coke and a lime wedge. That’s my go-to drink at my favorite seedy heavy metal dive bar. It also plays well on the rocks with a splash of Rose’s lime juice, or throw it in some flavored seltzer. If all else fails, send me the unused portion and I’ll give you back your TWELVE FUCKING DOLLARS and offer you a non-apology for your booze snobbery.
Will I buy it again? What do you think? A Scotch drinker who claims not to even like bourbon turned me on to this about ten years ago, and it has pretty much been my “what’s cheap that’s not beer?” drink since then. I never even bothered to explore the rest of the bottom shelf. That’s about to change, though, since I found out that Benchmark 8 is the little brother to Buffalo Trace. Keep an eye on this space.
Nothing wrong with a decent cheap booze.
Sounds like something I should look at but too bad Bourbon kills me though. I’ve had good stuff and stuff like Jack no matter what my insides feel it.
It’s on my list of forbidden booze:
Rum
Tequila
Bourbon
Red Wine
Champagne
Fortunately I haven’t run into the booze I can’t drink yet.
I’m with you on red wine, it turns me into a blubbering mess.
I’m sure I’ll forget the name, but “Kentucky’s 1st Distiller” is pretty memorable, so I’ll keep that in mind. $12 for drinkable Bourbon is a deal.
Not cheap, “excellent value”.
I think at 8o proof it wouldn’t be as good. I wasn’t all that impressed with the last bottle of Jim Beam I bought. I used to like that quite a bit. This is better.