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Larceny, Old Fitzgerald, Parker's and Elijah Craig. Savvy buyers know that many of their bottles meet or beat those of similarly priced and exhaustingly hunted Buffalo Trace products. Take a scroll through Reddit, X(formerly known as Twitter) or many a forum and you'll see this bottle as a recurring pick for the best value in bourbon. Here's my take on the budget beast, Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond:
🛒Sourced: 1.75L Tower Spirits - ATL, GA $26.89 - This is a competitive intent price match of Total Wine which is $26.99. That's $11.57 for the 750ml equivalent. Rock bottom prices for a bonded whiskey.
🧪Proof: 100, 50%
📚Background: As regulated by the Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897, Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond is a beefed up version of the ever population Evan Williams black label. Master Williams, the namesake, opened Kentucky's first commercial distillery along the bands of the Ohio river just a hop skip and a jump over from the current day facility in Louisville, Kentucky. Consistently in the top handful of best selling Kentucky Straight Bourbons, the bottled-in-bond version ups the proof from 86 to 100 and is the product of a single distillery and season, aged for a minimum of four years. It's a glass bottle with a plastic cap, loving textured with a raised "Evan Williams" scrawl on the four sides and crowned with the Bottled-in-Bond green seal of approval.
🥔Mash Bill: Mash Bill 78% Corn. 12% Malted Barley. 10% Rye. The same as Evan Williams.
👃Nose: Light Light Light, can take a big old whiff and not even flinch. It's 100 proof but smoother than butter. Caramel, vanilla, the usual stuff. As reliable as grilled cheese and tomato soup.
😜Palate: Bourbon flavored bourbon, small amount of wood, some sweetness, vanilla, caramel, and grain. A little bit of nuttiness but less so than you'd find in the typical Turkey or Beam. Oak at the end. None of it overbearing. Just a good, clean, regular bourbon pour.
🏆 Overall: 5/10 - Good | A Reliable Workhorse - It's my daily driver and part of me wants to rate it higher, but this is the honest number. Incredible value with enough flavor and proof to make your happy. Somewhat monotone with traditional whiskey flavors, it's the quintessence of a basic bottle of brown and there is something beautiful about that. Throw it in some coke, make a mint julip, or heavy pour an evening sipper. No regrets here. For a night out on the town, a 50/50 bottle of EWBiB and diet sweet tea makes certified party fuel (non-stick in case you spill it and easy on the tum tum). Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond has a permanent home on my shelf.
💵Would buy again? Yes, always on my shelf. This may well be the best value in all of whiskey.
⚖️Rating Scale:
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume it by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.