BOTM: 5/12 Evan Williams Single Barrel

[fishnbowljoe]

Guess what? I'm early! :shocked:

Evan Williams Single Barrel. It's been the topic of many discussions here on SB. It varies in taste from year to year, and the descriptors of its flavors from members here, are endless. (I'm not gonna say a word. ) I know a lot of folks have their favorite years, so I won't limit this to the current bottling. Your thoughts and observations on any year will do. Just don't get too carried away. :smiley_acbt:

Have at it folks. Cheers! Joe

[Clavius]

Curious to know what members think of the 2002 vintage...

[clingman71]

DEPS selected 2002. I struggle with HH products, with the exception of PHC10. I not a fan of "minty" bourbons and many HH are heavy with mint. My Kahn's EC12 is frustrating between beautiful vanilla/caramel that I love, too woody, and minty. Each pour is a toss up between those three flavor profiles. It is tiring. So last week I purchased my first EWSB. First pour was beautiful, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, just enough wood, great balance of sweet and spice, crazy good for any price, let alone $21.99.

Second pour tonight. Began with the vanilla/ caramel combo, but after 20-30 minutes in the glass I'm getting cherry Luden's cough drops. It is present in the flavor and aroma, but moreso in the aroma. The brown sugar is still there, but lingering in the mouth behind other flavors. Second pour differs greatly from the first. I'm not getting quite the same sweet/spice balance either, less spice, more heat. Now I'm looking forward to the third pour to see if it is my palate tonight or the bottle. My money is on my palate being just a bit off tonight, at least that's what I hope as pour one was wonderful.

[cbus]

Evan Williams Black Label was my introduction to bourbon, and I enjoyed it quite a bit with my friends. When we decided we wanted to try something that was, maybe, a "step up," if you will, the Single Barrel seemed a natural choice. The one we bought was a TPS barreled in 2000 version, and, to my inexperienced palate, at least, it was really, really good. EWSB is still something I enjoy, but the pours of it I've had since that first bottle have never really matched up with it. This is likely because I have tasted so many more whiskies since then, but whenever I have EWSB, I tend to find myself wanting something more.

[Gillman]

I have to agree with the last post. I preferred the old EW Black Label in fact, i.e., when it was 7 years old. It had a rummy complexity I liked. Certainly EWSB is a respectable shot of whiskey, clean and upfront in the flavors, but I prefer (in that general age bracket) EC 12.

Gary

[weller_tex]

I have always preferred EC12 to any EWSB I have tried (I have had 3 of them).

[Bmac]

I gave this a pour yesterday. I have EWSB Vintage 2000. The nose is light candy and some vanilla with some wood notes. The mouthfeel is surprisingly.oily considering it's 86 proof. I would have thought chill filtered, but maybe not. There is significant heat on arrival. Spice and cinnamon mid pallette. Not much caramel or vanilla as in the nose, but massive wood char notes. Finish was medium and it was mostly wood notes. I should clarify healthy woodnotes, almost smokey.

I added a drop or two of water and WoW! I wouldnt have expected it to improve but a very creamy, buttery note comes out. It was actually sweeter. Bizzare. The power of water is not to be under estimated .

I know a place where I can get a bottle of vintage 1998. Any thoughts as to whether it should remain gathering dust or is there some merit to that year?

[Young Blacksmith]

From what I can recall, the '97 was Beam distilled, '98 and '99 were Brown-Foreman distilled, and the rest have all been either DSP-KY-31 pre-'97, or DSP-KY-1 post '99.

I have and do enjoy the '98s and the '99s. Have yet to pop my '97, will have to pick up another before I do. The '99s I have tried have all been spectacular, but it's been too long to post a tasting note.

I also have an '01 that didn't sing for me, so I mingled it with some EWB to round out the flavors, and will have to get to it this month. So little time, so much bourbon!

[Tucker]

Of the last five vintages, the 2001 and 2002 pale in comparison to the bottles of 2000 and 1998 that I've had. The 1999 is somewhere in the middle.

I'll be using the 2002 in juleps tomorrow. It's lighter and much less complex than the 1998 and 2000. My favorites are the 1994 and 1995 vintages.

[Brisko]

Of the last five vintages, the 2001 and 2002 pale in comparison to the bottles of 2000 and 1998 that I've had. The 1999 is somewhere in the middle.

I'll be using the 2002 in juleps tomorrow. It's lighter and much less complex than the 1998 and 2000. My favorites are the 1994 and 1995 vintages.

I'm going to ask what might be a dumb question, so bear with me. And I'm not just directing it at Tucker, anyone can jump in, please.

Would you say that there is more variation from year to year than there is from barrel to barrel within the same year? Because my very limited experience is that even within the same vintage, different barrels show a fair amount of variation.

[mosugoji64]

So far, I've had '93, '96, '97, '98, '00, and '01. The '93 has a bit of that rummy flavor that I associate with older bourbons. The '97 is the most well rounded and enjoyable on its own. The others are interesting in that they tend to highlight a particular aspect of the HH profile. Interesting, but not completely satisfying. I wish these were 100 proof as HH juice tends to sing at higher proofs, but they're still enjoyable for what they are. I just have to follow them up with something else.

[Tucker]

Would you say that there is more variation from year to year than there is from barrel to barrel within the same year? Because my very limited experience is that even within the same vintage, different barrels show a fair amount of variation.

I've found some slight variation in different barrels from the same year, as would be expected, but it seems that each vintage is fairly distinct from other vintages. Chuck sums it up nicely...

"The great thing about this series is that while the basic profile stays the same there is enough variation from year to year so that you look forward to each new release. EWSBV is an annual harvest of the best 9-year-old bourbon in Heaven Hill's warehouses. Because of that it is much more true to the traditional meaning of 'vintage' than most other annual releases."

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showpost.php?p=230368&postcount=14

It could be that my dislike of a first bottle from a vintage discourages me from buying another bottle from the same vintage.

[Bmac]

So little time, so much bourbon!

Ain't that the truth -__-. I have so much bourbon to get through it's insane.

[Kyjd75]

So far, I've had '93, '96, '97, '98, '00, and '01. The '93 has a bit of that rummy flavor that I associate with older bourbons. The '97 is the most well rounded and enjoyable on its own. The others are interesting in that they tend to highlight a particular aspect of the HH profile. Interesting, but not completely satisfying. I wish these were 100 proof as HH juice tends to sing at higher proofs, but they're still enjoyable for what they are. I just have to follow them up with something else.

For 100 proof try the Henry McKenna single barrel. 10 years old and I think even better than the EWSB.

---

I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?pmq5g0

[mosugoji64]

For 100 proof try the Henry McKenna single barrel. 10 years old and I think even better than the EWSB.

I'd like to pick that one up for a try. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Playing around with some vattings of EWSB could be a lot of fun. I tried mixing all of the ones I have open one evening in equal proportions and the result tasted like cologne. :puke:

[Bmac]

I tried mixing all of the ones I have open one evening in equal proportions and the result tasted like cologne. :puke:

I did the same once. I mixed all the bourbons I had in small little parts (25 at the time) and it tasted terrible. I discovered that you really need a core whiskey to comprise at least 50% of the mix. After that, you can mix as many whiskeys as you want in small bits. The results are better when you mix similar flavor profiles. Sometimes it seems that one flavor profile might balance another, but sometimes it masks or replaces the other. It can be a lot of fun....and it can waste quite a bit of whiskey. So I recommend using sampler bottles to test before vatting larger amounts.

[CorvallisCracker]

For 100 proof try the Henry McKenna single barrel. 10 years old and I think even better than the EWSB.

More consistent too.

No local store sells it, but one in Eugene does. Whenever I'm down there I swing by and buy a bottle or two.

[CoMobourbon]

Ain't that the truth -__-. I have so much bourbon to get through it's insane.

So little time, so much bourbon!

My deepest sympathies go out to you two. Truly I cannot imagine what it must be going through what you are going through right now.

(The subtext, gentlemen: cry me a f------ river.)

[boss302]

Just finished off a bottle of EWSB 2001. Honestly, I thought it was one of the best bourbons out there for under $30.

A little too straightforward, perhaps-- but ample notes of vanilla, clove and mint tea-- which is pretty much the distillery character of HH. But it had a very mellow texture that made it very sip-able, and will probably serve as my means of introducing my friends to decent bourbon (I used to use Basil Hayden's for this, but that stuff is getting really pricey!).

I felt like I got more than my money's worth, which is more than I can say for a lot of stuff out there...

[Bmac]

My deepest sympathies go out to you two. Truly I cannot imagine what it must be going through what you are going through right now.

(The subtext, gentlemen: cry me a f------ river.)

I probably wouldn't require the world's smallest violin playing "My Heart Pumps Purple P!$$ for You" if I had more friends that liked Bourbon and didn't live several cities away. :hot:

...oh woe is me.....(ultra-sarcastic subtext)

[CoMobourbon]

I probably wouldn't require the world's smallest violin playing "My Heart Pumps Purple P!$$ for You" if I had more friends that liked Bourbon and didn't live several cities away. :hot:

...oh woe is me.....(ultra-sarcastic subtext)

All I was saying was that 'more for me!' seems like a pretty good problem to have (as far as problems go), but you have expressed quite a noble sentiment. To be honest, I am not 100% sure I would want tons of thirsty friends. Heck, I am of two minds about whether I should try to get the wife into bourbon too. It would be fun, but she would drink up my very meager collection of good stuff!

Fortunately, there are tons of solid, tasty, accessible bourbons out there like EWSB; even if these kinds of products are not necessarily equal to BTAC, I still can get to them without a sprawling network of contacts and social connections, which for better or worse I lack.

[boneuphtoner]

This BOTM is the first one were I've actually got a bottle of what is being discussed available. As a relative newbie, I only recently purchased the 2002 vintage when it went on sale (just last week). Anyway, at first pour, I must say I agree with a couple of previous posts....it seems to be a very nice product....much more refined than EW Black...but IMHO, EC12 blows it out of the water....can't believe this is the same juice. EC12 is MUCH richer, with much more heft, and for my money, that is what separates good bourbon from great bourbon.

We'll see where this goes after subsequent pours.....

[AaronWF]

IMHO, EC12 blows it out of the water....can't believe this is the same juice. EC12 is MUCH richer, with much more heft, and for my money, that is what separates good bourbon from great bourbon.

I agree with you 100% there. The EC12 I'm drinking right now beats out all 3 EWSB vintages I've had: '99, '00, '01.

The '00 is my favorite, especially Binny's barrels, but Binny's '01 is also better than a TPS '01 I had last year.

The '99 Binny's bottle was like kissing wheatgrass in a headlock.

I wish these were 100 proof as HH juice tends to sing at higher proofs, but they're still enjoyable for what they are.

That's been my experience with PHC, still have yet to pop that HH 6yo BiB. I've had some superlative EC18, up to par with Pappy20, at 90pf. My current EC12 echoes my favorite EC18, and it's just a standard release.

[bad_scientist]

The '99 Binny's bottle was like kissing wheatgrass in a headlock.

Hey, that sounds pretty good to me! At least it has some oomph, unlike the disgustingly mundane '01 I bought on sale last year. The 2000 is still one of my favorite drinking bourbons. As in, made for taking big sips.

[mosugoji64]

still have yet to pop that HH 6yo BiB.

I was wondering if you'd tried it yet. Let us know your thoughts when you get around to it.