Evan Williams Single Barrel 1999

[DeanSheen]

I just got back from the store with some 1999 and am trying it for the first time. While looking around here I saw this thread on the 1998 mentions that 1999 is supposed to be the first year at Bernheim post fire.

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7860&highlight=Evan+Williams

Being new to this hobby and this pour I must say this stuff is extremely smooth. It's very polite, seems a good introductory bourbon for guests. I like it, the smooth finish hides the proof quite well and there is little if any burn.

I'm curious as to what some vets think about this vintage. Is this getting back to the roots of what it was before the fire or simply not that different from previous expressions?

[George]

I'll have to look for a bottle of the 1999. The EWSB 1998 I purchased was the only "premium" bourbon I've tried to date that I actually disliked. My guess is that it was just a bad bottle, given the good things I've read about it.

[jburlowski]

Haven't seen it here in No. KY yet (although I've been looking.). I suspect the stores are waiting to clear out their stock of the 1998 expression first. I'd love to hear your further impressions.

[sailor22]

I'm with George on the '98 iteration - I didn't care for it at all.

[cowdery]

I'll have to look for a bottle of the 1999. The EWSB 1998 I purchased was the only "premium" bourbon I've tried to date that I actually disliked. My guess is that it was just a bad bottle, given the good things I've read about it.

Be careful. So-called "bad bottles" are extremely rare and the 1999 is very similar to the 1998.

[cowdery]

With EWSB, distributors will clear out the previous year before they start to buy in and push through the new vintage. Stores may go either way, as some recognize that many enthusiasts will want the new vintage right away, and having more than one vintage on the shelf at a time is a plus, not a minus.

I was assuming that the 1999 release would be bourbon made at Bernheim after Heaven Hill's takeover but I have been informed that is not the case. Most if not all of it will be whiskey made under the direction of Parker Beam and Craig Beam at the Brown-Forman Distillery.

While they have been unfailingly truthful about where the whiskey has been made during this period, they haven't exactly been falling over themselves to provide information. I wanted to interview Parker and Craig about the challenges involved in making their whiskey at, ultimately, four different distilleries, especially with regard to the EWSB vintage bottlings, which I consider Heaven Hill's signature product. The powers that be were not enthusiastic.

[DeanSheen]

I had 3 pours of this throughout the evening. I'll stick with the smooth, polite and drinkable analogies. Midway through my second pour I started noticing a bit of bitterness in the back of my tongue. I could not place it until I stepped outside for some air.

The bitterness reminded me of when we had our oak floors put it. It's the kind sensation if you take a new piece of oak flooring, hold it up to your nose and inhale. It's like new oak.

EWSB 99 to me is a good Change Of Pace bourbon. It's just darn drinkable and not very demanding. There really is not anything to fall into, but I'm not always into it for the romance.

~DS

Haven't seen it here in No. KY yet (although I've been looking.). I suspect the stores are waiting to clear out their stock of the 1998 expression first. I'd love to hear your further impressions.

[p_elliott]

I haven't had the the 99 yet but EWSB is one of my favorite pours especially for the money!

[George]

Be careful. So-called "bad bottles" are extremely rare and the 1999 is very similar to the 1998.

Fair enough. I just found the bottle I purchased to be like no other bourbon I had tasted to this point, and not in a good way. It wasn't just slightly different; it was very, very different.

Any way, I plan to try EWSB again at some point and give it another go.

Thanks.

[George]

Fair enough. I just found the bottle I purchased to be like no other bourbon I had tasted to this point, and not in a good way. It wasn't just slightly different; it was very, very different.

Any way, I plan to try EWSB again at some point and give it another go.

Thanks.

After my bad experience with the 1998, I thought I'd give the 1999 a try. I'm happy to say that I like it a lot.

It in no way resembles the 1998 bottle I had. I liked the nose and found it to have a nice balance of sweet, spice, and wood. I like sweeter bourbons, and this seemed to hit that note with me. I'll see if my view changes at all as I go through the bottle.

[smokinjoe]

The 1994 is my favorite expression of the EWSB. The 1999 is next, amongst all the other years. I have been totally diggin' it.

[HipFlask]

I have gone through three bottles of this quite quickly as my wife really likes this bourbon with sprite and ice. I really like it just poured into a glass. very nice bourbon that is smooth and easy. vanilla and oak are both present here. It is usaully inbetween pour. Try 07 WLW, a EWSB, and then a VWFRR 13 yr at 18. make a good transition drink :grin: