Trying my first bottle of EWB...Having some trouble with tasting notes...

[Mr. Bourbon]

Got a friend to pick this up for my on his travels, I payed $29.99 for this, JBW is $28.00.

I'm having a hard time figuring this one out, Seems like all the flavours are together and I can't pick them out.

I mostly smell mostly honey and a bit of oak.

It has a light smooth taste and goes down easy! Seems like a great hot summer night Bourbon to me.

What's your take on EWB? I'm very limited on Bourbons here and I had to check this one out.

[deathevocation]

Got a friend to pick this up for my on his travels, I payed $29.99 for this, JBW is $28.00.

I'm having a hard time figuring this one out, Seems like all the flavours are together and I can't pick them out.

I mostly smell mostly honey and a bit of oak.

It has a light smooth taste and goes down easy! Seems like a great hot summer night Bourbon to me.

What's your take on EWB? I'm very limited on Bourbons here and I had to check this one out.

Great daily drinker. I don't really think much beyond it tastes nice and is easy to drink. Use the search function, plenty of topics on it.

Unfortunately HH decided to go with a bellend distributor here the other year. Proof down to 80% and retail price increased by near 50%.

I guarantee sales to Australia have dropped significantly. Pity.

[squire]

The best thing I can say about it is there's nothing wrong with it. Evan Williams Black is designed to be a crowd pleaser and if you want to say that means it is made to be the most appealing or is crafted to be the least offensive is a matter of perspective. One could say the same for Jim Beam White or Four Roses Yellow.

EWB looks, smells and tastes like a well crafted traditional Bourbon equally at home taken neat, mixed or used in cooking. It's not my first choice for a special gift bottle (though Bourbon fans may prefer it over overpriced NDP stuff) yet it is one I always recommend. It is remarkably consistent and punches above it's weight for the price. Indeed Heaven Hill is to be commended for providing us with such a good product at a value price. For a generally available find anywhere brand it's about the best bang for the buck out there.

[smokinjoe]

The best thing I can say about it is there's nothing wrong with it. Evan Williams Black is designed to be a crowd pleaser and if you want to say that means it is made to be the most appealing or is crafted to be the least offensive is a matter of perspective. One could say the same for Jim Beam White or Four Roses Yellow.

EWB looks, smells and tastes like a well crafted traditional Bourbon equally at home taken neat, mixed or used in cooking. It's not my first choice for a special gift bottle (though Bourbon fans may prefer it over overpriced NDP stuff) yet it is one I always recommend. It is remarkably consistent and punches above it's weight for the price. Indeed Heaven Hill is to be commended for providing us with such a good product at a value price. For a generally available find anywhere brand it's about the best bang for the buck out there.

Nice synopsis, Squire. I'll add that all of these positive things about EWB are true and continue even after HH dropped the 7 yr age statement from it not that long ago. My point is folks, don't fret at the loss of age statements on bourbons. It is nowhere the end-all in the quality of a bourbon.

[Mr. Bourbon]

The best thing I can say about it is there's nothing wrong with it. Evan Williams Black is designed to be a crowd pleaser and if you want to say that means it is made to be the most appealing or is crafted to be the least offensive is a matter of perspective. One could say the same for Jim Beam White or Four Roses Yellow.

EWB looks, smells and tastes like a well crafted traditional Bourbon equally at home taken neat, mixed or used in cooking. It's not my first choice for a special gift bottle (though Bourbon fans may prefer it over overpriced NDP stuff) yet it is one I always recommend. It is remarkably consistent and punches above it's weight for the price. Indeed Heaven Hill is to be commended for providing us with such a good product at a value price. For a generally available find anywhere brand it's about the best bang for the buck out there.

Great reply!

I had a bit more last night and I'm starting to enjoy it. I will have to pick up a bottle of JBW soon and compare both of them. I am glad the EWB is a bit higher in strength though, with more age.

[Jay2]

i perfer the white label

[jackthedog]

While I slightly prefer the EWW as well - the EWB is a fantastic value for the money and I really think squire's post nailed it on this bourbon.

[Quintilian]

The best thing I can say about it is there's nothing wrong with it. Evan Williams Black is designed to be a crowd pleaser and if you want to say that means it is made to be the most appealing or is crafted to be the least offensive is a matter of perspective. One could say the same for Jim Beam White or Four Roses Yellow.

EWB looks, smells and tastes like a well crafted traditional Bourbon equally at home taken neat, mixed or used in cooking. It's not my first choice for a special gift bottle (though Bourbon fans may prefer it over overpriced NDP stuff) yet it is one I always recommend. It is remarkably consistent and punches above it's weight for the price. Indeed Heaven Hill is to be commended for providing us with such a good product at a value price. For a generally available find anywhere brand it's about the best bang for the buck out there.

Squire speaks the truth.

I also agree with Jay2. If you can get your hands on some EW White Label, do yourself a favor and buy some.

[Spade]

I'm a fan. It was my gateway bourbon. I haven't had a bottle of it for a while — I might take care of that this weekend.

[Mr. Bourbon]

I'd like to try the EWW if I could get my hands on it.

Starting to appreciate the EWB a bit more now. I find the nose on the EWB very interesting compared the the JB line. It's quite different!

[alstevens]

I'm a fan. At a bar I'd pick it over JBW. Which I guess isn't saying too much. OK I'd probably pick it over pretty much all the other 80 proofers I've tried. Including FR Yellow Label too, (which is saying a little more) OF Prime, and WT81, and JTSB80.

I probably won't be buying it for home consumption tho.

If you have the opportunity pick up the BIB version which I believe is what the posts before more are referring to as EWW. Now that stuff I'm going to try to always have a bottle on hand.

[kaiserhog]

I'd like to try the EWW if I could get my hands on it.

Starting to appreciate the EWB a bit more now. I find the nose on the EWB very interesting compared the the JB line. It's quite different!

EWW is bottled in bond which means it is a batch from the same distillery in the same distilling season, it is aged for a minimum for four years under federal supervision for a minimum of four years. EWW is thought to be approximately 5 years old. I think the flavors from EWW are more robust than the EWB, although the black label is very good. EWW in my opinion is as good as bourbon that cost 3-4 times as much. I love the vanilla, oak, baking spice with a small hint of smoke. At $21.00 for 1.75 liters at my local liquor store it is dang near close to perfection.

[jwes1776]

I'm in the minority with the EWB and the EWBiB. EWBiB has a weird peanut butter taste to me, and EWB lacks the smoothness of Jack to my palate. I prefer Dickel 12 to both if I'm drinking something charcoal filtered, but that's just my two cents. To each his or her own.:-)

[Xevious]

EWB is a solid, consistent bourbon. The fact that it is so inexpensive and widely available just makes it that much better. I have nothing negative to say about it.

[kaiserhog]

I'm in the minority with the EWB and the EWBiB. EWBiB has a weird peanut butter taste to me, and EWB lacks the smoothness of Jack to my palate. I prefer Dickel 12 to both if I'm drinking something charcoal filtered, but that's just my two cents. To each his or her own.:-)

[Kartofel]

I think about every bourbon goes through some sort of charcoal filtration before bottling. I don't believe it's the same as the Lincoln County process that Dickel and Daniel's go through before aging. I think the mention of charcoal filtering on the Evan Williams label carries about as much weight as mentioning sour mash. Pretty much everyone does it, but you mention it on the label to make it sound more special than it is. Jim Beam has the green label Choice which also brags about the charcoal filtration, but I haven't found any evidence that it goes through anything that the white label doesn't go through as well.

[squire]

That's correct Robert, charcoal filtering of Kentucky Bourbon is largely cosmetic whereas the Lincoln County Process is unique by filtering new make whisky through 10+ foot deep vats of charcoal thereby effecting an actual change in the character of the whisky. When Jack Daniels became such a sought after brand in the 1950s-60s, a good bit of copy catting went on (square bottles, black labels, etc.) and the words "charcoal filtered" began to appear on many labels. Classic case of a little bit of truth stretched thin.

[JPBoston]

Big fan of EWB and EWW. As has been stated by just about everyone else, it punches well above its price point.

As for tasting notes for EWB, I get mostly corn sweetness, a bit of oak, and a mild rye spice on the finish. I can get a little bit of mint out of that rye spice if I consider it closely enough while sipping.

[Mr. Bourbon]

Big fan of EWB and EWW. As has been stated by just about everyone else, it punches well above its price point.

As for tasting notes for EWB, I get mostly corn sweetness, a bit of oak, and a mild rye spice on the finish. I can get a little bit of mint out of that rye spice if I consider it closely enough while sipping.

Going to have to agree with your tasting notes.

Wish I could get EWB where I live, I can get JBW here but EWB seems a bit more complex and interesting.

[jwes1776]

If I were to make a beer analogy I would say JBW and JD7 are the Budweisers of whiskey. They are consistant, taste good enough, and serve multitude of purposes. EWB is Miller Lite. Same concept, but appeals to a different taste pofile. Dickel 12 is Stella Artois. A step up, but the euro lager of whiskeys. I might grant EWBIB Yeungling status. Better than average, but still not up comparable to the next level up.

Edited May 24, 2015 by jwes1776

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Got a friend to pick this up for my on his travels, I payed $29.99 for this, JBW is $28.00.

I'm having a hard time figuring this one out, Seems like all the flavours are together and I can't pick them out.

I mostly smell mostly honey and a bit of oak.

It has a light smooth taste and goes down easy! Seems like a great hot summer night Bourbon to me.

What's your take on EWB? I'm very limited on Bourbons here and I had to check this one out.

Holy crap $30 for EWB? I can always get 750ml for $11 (sometimes 10) and one store by me has handles for $17.

EWW I can get for $11-12

[kaiserhog]

Holy crap $30 for EWB? I can always get 750ml for $11 (sometimes 10) and one store by me has handles for $17.

EWW I can get for $11-12

I agree, these prices are out of whack.

[fozzy71]

I agree, these prices are out of whack.

Location

P.E.I, Canada