Whisky Connosr
Menu
Shop Join

Evan Williams White Label Bottled in Bond

You Sap!

3 279

@RianCReview by @RianC

13th Nov 2018

0

  • Nose
    ~
  • Taste
    ~
  • Finish
    ~
  • Balance
    ~
  • Overall
    79

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Had my first bottle of this Heaven Hill product a year or so ago and liked it that much I've since bought another two! It was much to my disappointment though that when I opened this a couple of months back it was not what I had experienced last time out. This had an off-putting nutty, bitter, wood-sap note that completely dominated the nose and palette. To improve things a bit I have decanted this bottle several times and left the lid off overnight a good few times as well.

Result? It's got better, slowly, and is now at a point where it can be sipped neat - hence the review. Bottle's about 2/3's full and review is without water.

Nose - acetone, fudgey toffee and a sour, yeasty note; some mint and nuts too. There's still some of that bitter-wood sappy note but it's softer and more integrated than at first acquaintances. Quite sharp.

Taste - Immediately nutty, like pecan and walnuts, with caramel and cherry syrup developing. There's an undercurrent of the wood sap. Definitely a 'sour mash'!

Finish - Medium. Wood sap and bitter tannins with a touch of the sweetness lingering on the tongue.

Obvioulsy, I imagine, this hasn't delighted me quite like the last bottle which was exceptional as soon as I opened it. I remember forcing myself to drink other whisk(e)ys as I was draining it so quickly! Not so here, I'm afraid. This may keep improving but it seems to have settled down now to a point where I don't expect much more from it. In fairness, I could imagine some bourbon fans getting on with this profile but not me. It goes rather nicely indeed on ice though - losing all bitterness and becoming much sweeter. Adding water just increases the sappy side. I imagine it would also do well in a cocktail. Ah well, you can't win them all, I just hope the other bottle's a bit more like the first . . .

Related Evan Williams reviews

2 comments

@casualtorture
casualtorture commented

I enjoy this one. I've had about 3 bottles of it the last year or 2. It's my go-to when I actually want to do some drinking with the 'bros.' It tastes fine neat and mixes with coke very well. This is one I don't feel bad about mixing.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC commented

@casualtorture - I'd have scored the last bottle 89-90, seriously, it was that good - although definitely on the sweeter side. This just seems to have had a bad barrel or something in the mix and it's put it out of kilter. I'll see how the other bottle fares before pulling the trigger again but whilst it's, by bourbon standards, not expensive in the UK (c£30) were I paying US prices I'd possibly always have one.

The standard Black is also pretty decent stuff.

5 years ago 0

You must be signed-in to comment here

Sign in