Evan Williams 1783 got a makeover

[k-train]

Just looking over the NC ABC Warehouse Inventory and noticed they are using a photo for EW1783 in its new bottle. Also noticed that it's now 90 proof instead of 86. Price in NC is now $19.95

[fosmith]

13 hours ago, k-train said:

Just looking over the NC ABC Warehouse Inventory and noticed they are using a photo for EW1783 in its new bottle. Also noticed that it's now 90 proof instead of 86. Price in NC is now $19.95

Hmm.  I'll keep an eye open for this.  I was never a fan of the 86 proof 1783.  The bottle I bought a few years ago had an astringent quality that was off putting that isn't there in the black label, which is one of my favorite bottom shelfers.  Now, I have an excuse to revisit... 

[Grain Belt]

I’m a definite buyer when it comes my way. 

[TwoFingers]

I guess I'll be a buyer because it is my wife's usual bourbon.  I can already hear her saying something to the effect of "Oh Evan, you got dressed up real fancy tonight."

[PaulO]

I was a regular customer - when it had the 10 year age statement.  Ah, those were the days.

I guess now I understand the recent price bump I've seen.  They actually raised the price before the new make over.

[BDanner]

$2 price bump was a little less than I expected.

 

[BrokeCal]

I've always thought of Heaven Hill's Elijah Craig, same mash bill as Evan Williams, was kind of the upgraded version of EW.  They were always similar, in the way EW BIB is similar to H. Mckenna BIB.

Now that 1783 is 90 proof and 'extra aged' it'd be interesting to compare it to EC.  I would imagine the two bourbons would be extremely similar.

[CardsandBourbon]

Interesting.  With the small bump in proof I may have to give it a try.

[HoustonNit]

I’m glad someone started a thread on this, thanks k-train.  I’m excited and will give this a try.  I’m a big fan of the EW profile and it prefer it over EC and HH profile which I think tastes over Oaked even at 6 years with old BIB HH.  Was hoping they’d put something like this in the portfolio, small batch, hopefully better barrels, and the 86 to 90 proof bump is big for me.  Apparently the 1783 was a favorite of Parker Beam.  He supposedly made the 2017 Parker’s Heritage to be an amped up version of 1783.  To my palate it was on my favorite bourbons of all time.

 

Price increase seems a bit more in my market but will try it. Also hopefully other places in Houston have it closer to $20.

 

Haha wait that’s a 1.75L of the new bottle.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by HoustonNit

[CardsandBourbon]

Hasn't shown up (as of last week) in our neck of the woods.

[HoustonNit]

4 hours ago, CardsandBourbon said:

Hasn't shown up (as of last week) in our neck of the woods.

My coworker who went to TW this morning in search of ER and WA107 checked and the EW1783 was still the old design.

[BDanner]

This has been in the works for a while. In fact, a couple years ago I got an email survey with the new bottle design (they had pretty much finalized it but it was just minor tweaks they were asking about). I'm looking forward to trying it, but all my local stores are fully stocked with the older version so it will probably be a while before it trickles in as I doubt a state run system will clearance price something enough for a label change (even if it is accompanied by a proof change). 

[PaulO]

Today I found the new label product while grocery shopping - $15.99 (on sale).

First impression is good.  I suspect two things - they were aiming for a slightly different profile from other HH brands, and some older barrels did indeed go into the batch.  I get none of that eucalyptus cough drop flavor I sometimes detect in EW.  This is more brown sugar and a little cinnamon on the end.  It's a easy drinker, not complicated.  I don't mean this at all in a bad way, but could be a perfect beginner Bourbon.  90 proof makes it serious in my book.

[CardsandBourbon]

9 hours ago, PaulO said:

Today I found the new label product while grocery shopping - $15.99 (on sale).

First impression is good.  I suspect two things - they were aiming for a slightly different profile from other HH brands, and some older barrels did indeed go into the batch.  I get none of that eucalyptus cough drop flavor I sometimes detect in EW.  This is more brown sugar and a little cinnamon on the end.  It's a easy drinker, not complicated.  I don't mean this at all in a bad way, but could be a perfect beginner Bourbon.  90 proof makes it serious in my book.

Sounds like a solid addition.  I'm going to grab a bottle as soon as it hits the shelves here.  Thanks for the info.

[Freakdog]

Picked up a new bottle today for 14.99. I usually get at least 2 bottles a year of this stuff. My local still had the old price!

First impressions are good. Not as cloyingly sweet as the previous incarnation, but still the same HH profile.

I think the extra age gives a better mouth feel and better overall drinking experience. Definitely a step up.

I will now be buying this at least 4 times a year. I am a big white label fan because its not as sweet as the 1783,but with the reduced

Sweetness and rounder flavors I may need to do a SBS now with the white label. This may be my new HH bottom shelfer.

[PaulO]

The nose on this is subdued.  It's not one of those fill the room with bourbon perfume pours.  I couldn't find the words to describe.  Then it came to me.  It's a slight aroma of pancakes with butter and syrup. 

[CardsandBourbon]

8 hours ago, PaulO said:

The nose on this is subdued.  It's not one of those fill the room with bourbon perfume pours.  I couldn't find the words to describe.  Then it came to me.  It's a slight aroma of pancakes with butter and syrup. 

 

Now I'm hungry . . . and thirsty. 

[lemonman]

On 6/3/2021 at 10:31 PM, PaulO said:

Today I found the new label product while grocery shopping - $15.99 (on sale).

First impression is good.  I suspect two things - they were aiming for a slightly different profile from other HH brands, and some older barrels did indeed go into the batch.  I get none of that eucalyptus cough drop flavor I sometimes detect in EW.  This is more brown sugar and a little cinnamon on the end.  It's a easy drinker, not complicated.  I don't mean this at all in a bad way, but could be a perfect beginner Bourbon.  90 proof makes it serious in my book.

 

Thanks for the review, I will pick one up when it appears around here. My first impression when I heard about the makeover was that they might be going for a piece of BT's share, given its limited availability in so many areas. Any opinions on how it would stand up to BT?

 

 

 

[BDanner]

On 6/3/2021 at 11:31 PM, PaulO said:

Today I found the new label product while grocery shopping - $15.99 (on sale).

First impression is good.  I suspect two things - they were aiming for a slightly different profile from other HH brands, and some older barrels did indeed go into the batch.  I get none of that eucalyptus cough drop flavor I sometimes detect in EW.  This is more brown sugar and a little cinnamon on the end.  It's a easy drinker, not complicated.  I don't mean this at all in a bad way, but could be a perfect beginner Bourbon.  90 proof makes it serious in my book.

I picked up the new one the other day, as well. I know you're supposed to get vanilla from almost all bourbon, but I usually taste it more as brown sugar, cinnamon, butterscotch, toffee, etc...But this one? VANILLA for days. In fact the most vanilla I have ever gotten from a bourbon. It does get a little more complex the more time you spend with it, but I definitely agree that this is a good "starter" bourbon. You literally CANNOT miss the vanilla in this, which would help someone newer to whiskey start to flesh out other notes. I also think it's suitable for a more experienced palate as kind of a "reset" bourbon to help re-calibrate if you need it. I can definitely see myself picking this up when it's on sale for daily drinker rotation. Good on ice, decent neat, and in that $15-$20 sweet spot.

[BDanner]

On 5/5/2021 at 8:05 PM, k-train said:

Just looking over the NC ABC Warehouse Inventory and noticed they are using a photo for EW1783 in its new bottle. Also noticed that it's now 90 proof instead of 86. Price in NC is now $19.95

FYI...that photo shows a large decorative cork topper, which was in all the survey photos they used when they were going through the redesign. Found it a couple days ago on the shelf at my local ABC and apparently the cork was scrapped somewhere along the way. Plain old black screw cap .

[dwg13013]

As I type, I am trying my first Evan Williams. This a single barrel.  

Won’t make my favorites, but it is good. 86 proof I think 

 

I have not identified nuances as of yet. I just taste bourbon, and like or don’t like. 

[PaulO]

8 hours ago, lemonman said:

 

Thanks for the review, I will pick one up when it appears around here. My first impression when I heard about the makeover was that they might be going for a piece of BT's share, given its limited availability in so many areas. Any opinions on how it would stand up to BT?

 

 

 

It's funny you should mention BT.  I was thinking that BT fans might really like this - if they were given in a blind test.  If you want an easy drinker 90 proof, sort of sweet.  They both have that covered.  I've only tried one bottle of the new 1783, but so far would say I prefer it over BT.  That's just me.  I've enjoyed many HH products over the years. 

[kaiserhog]

Heaven Hill is to be commended.  Usually when there is a rebranding, the price rise is significant and pays for the rebranding and only the rebranding.  Heaven Hill has increased the proof from 86 to 90 along with the new label and bottle and has seemingly minimized the price increase.

[BDanner]

On 6/5/2021 at 6:32 PM, PaulO said:

It's funny you should mention BT.  I was thinking that BT fans might really like this - if they were given in a blind test.  If you want an easy drinker 90 proof, sort of sweet.  They both have that covered.  I've only tried one bottle of the new 1783, but so far would say I prefer it over BT.  That's just me.  I've enjoyed many HH products over the years. 

I'll definitely take it over the BT seeing as to how BT's MSRP is a little over $30 now. This is at least $10 cheaper.

 

[fishnbowljoe]

3 hours ago, BDanner said:

I'll definitely take it over the BT seeing as to how BT's MSRP is a little over $30 now. This is at least $10 cheaper.

 

I love BT. When it’s in stock, I can still find it fairly easily for $24.99 at a few places in my area. Occasionally, one store will have it on sale for $21.99. When it’s in stock at Sam’s Club, liters are $27.99. That being said, I’ll still be on the lookout for the 1783. The odd thing for me with EW is that I really like the EW BIB, but for some reason the 86 proof just doesn’t trip my trigger. 

 

Biba! Joe