Review #85 - Evan Williams Black Label
Black Label Mini-Series: Part 1 of 3
Heaven Hill's Evan Williams is one of the bestselling brands of bourbon, and the backbone of the line is the entry level black label bottling. With no age statement, no special finishing barrels, and coming in at 43% ABV (86 proof), it's your typical entry level bourbon that's available everywhere, consistent, and reasonably priced.
This bourbon has a relatively corn-heavy mashbill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% barley, and is generally believed to be aged between 4 and 7 years (it's a minimum of 4 years due to the use of 'Straight' on the label and lack of an age statement). A favorite of many and a popular entry point to the hobby, this whisky has a lot to offer, especially at its very reasonable price - we can pick it up for $11 nearby.
Evan Williams Black Label
USA - Bourbon
Current Locally Available Price: USD 11 (2023)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 43% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 6 months; bottles at 50%, 100%, and 40% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Starts out a bit soft and mild, and generally a bit sweet, but not entirely unbalanced. Some lighter tones of citrus and something slightly floral at the beginning, and then we get more brown sugar and caramel, some baking spices in general. Along with a medium amount of semi-dry oak, there's a distinct nuttiness in here, and along with some cherry, we end with a bit of sweet sauce and corn grain.
Palate: More balanced between sweet and dry on the palate, and there's some ethanol taste up front - the mouthfeel is medium-thin. Plenty of oak, it's warming and comes with a decent amount of nuttiness again, like salted peanut or even nut butter. The sweetness comes from a little bit of sugar and a sort of low-quality chalky chocolate, and while the cherry note from the nose is still here, it's reduced in effect. There's a bit of vanilla and mild wood smoke before just a tiny hint of tobacco spice finishes the experience.
Finish: The finish is medium-short in length, and it's light and a little warm. The flavors have started to trail off at this point, but there are some lingering: fruits of raspberry or sour strawberry; baking notes of cloves, mild pepper, brown sugar, and maple sugar; there's just a hint of peanut again, and we finish with some mild, dry oak.
Final Note: This bourbon is alright - we can see it as a decent starting point, a good entry for those not accustomed to higher proof spirits. It's not really offensive in any way, doesn't really take any risks or have complexity, but it does have a few solid, defined flavors that are well developed. The real item of note here is in the price - it has solid flavor development for a very cheap $11 to $15 cost, which puts it firmly in the top tier of value picks. We would be happy to recommend this to anyone that's curious about it.
Our Average Rating: 4.9 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 8.78
