Review: Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon (90 Proof)

Sample bottle provided by Heaven Hill.

AT A GLANCE

• Owned, Distilled and Bottled by: Heaven Hill Distillery, Bardstown, KY

• Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Column Still

• Age: NAS (6+ years)

• Strength: 45% ABV

• Price: $22

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch Bourbon commemorate the year that according to legend Evan Williams became Kentucky's first distiller. While there isn’t any direct historical evidence to support this, EW 1783 has been a mainstay of the Heaven Hill portfolio for over 30 years. In the 1990s 1784 had a 10-year age statement and bottled at 86 proof. Around 2004, Heaven Hill transitioned 1783 from its age statement to a “Small Batch” selection of 5 to 6 year old barrels. However in 2021, Heaven Hill updated the brand again with a new bottle design, an increase in the average barrel age (now 6-8 years) and bumped the strength to 90 proof.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The whiskey has a nice light aroma of oak and green apple with just a touch of brown sugar.

Palate: On the palate there are flavors of sweet cherry, green apple, vanilla, oak and just a touch of tannins on the backend that help moderate the bourbon's sweetness.

Finish: The finish is long with a nice medium sweetness that includes notes of wood sugars, cooked green apple, cinnamon, and a faint note of rich cocktail cherries in syrup.

Conclusion: The new formulation of Evan Williams 1783 is excellent and misses out on all the hype that goes to Elijah Craig. 1783 has the benefit of pulling from more mature barrels than the Bottled in Bond or the black label and the higher proof helps carry those flavors better than the lower proof version of 1783 ever did. The 86-proof version of 1783 did not seem to have much of a purpose in the lineup between the standard EW black label (also at 86 proof) and the EW single barrel. However, now at 90 proof and pulling from mostly 6 year old barrels, Heaven Hill has found a new sweet spot in terms of both quality and value. If you are a fan of the black label like I am, you need to give 1783 another chance and I think you will be pleasantly surprised how good it is. It is so so easy to drink neat, and it is affordable enough to mix with or use in cocktails without giving it a second thought. If you like the Heaven Hill profile and or you like bourbons that tend to be a little fruitier and sweeter than oaky and high proof, Evan Williams 1783 is a must buy for your home bar.

Old Grand-Dad 114, The Budget Sipper that Online Bourbon Communities Love

Bottle purchased at retail by EZdrinking.

AT A GLANCE

• Spirit: Old Grand-Dad 114 Kentucky Straigh Bourbon Whiskey

• Owned by: Beam Suntory

• Distilled and Bottled by: Jim Beam American Stillhouse, Clermont, KY

• Mash Bill: 63% Corn, 27% Rye, 10% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Column Still

• Age: NAS (minimum of 4 years)

• Strength: 57% ABV

• Price: $30

Old Grand-Dad bourbon is one of the few pre-prohibition brans that has survive to the present. In 1882, Colonel Raymond Bishop Hayden and his business partner F.L. Ferriell built the R.B. Hayden & Company Distillery, in Nelson County, Kentucky and created the Old Grand-Dad brand to honor the legacy of Hayden’s grandfather Meredith Basil Hayden, Sr. for whom the current Basil Hayden brad is also named after. Basil Hayden was born in Maryland to Catholic parents who fled persecution in England. In 1785 Hayden moved his family and a group of other Catholics to Nelson County, and began distilling three years later. Hayden was known for making bourbon with a high rye content so when Raymond Hayden created the brand, he too made a high rye bourbon.

In 1899, the Wathen family purchased the distillery and they continued selling Old Grand-Dad, preserving the legacy of Basil Hayden. During National Prohibition the Wathen family was able to secure a permit to continue distilling and selling medicinal alcohol. In 1929, National Distillers purchased the Old Taylor Distillery and the Old Grand-Dad brand from the Wathen’s and expanded the Old Grand-Dad line to include the 114 expression along with an 86 proof bottling and a bottled in bond.

Then in 1987, Beam purchased National Distillers which gave them ownership of the Old Crow, Old-Grand Dad and Old Taylor thought they eventually sold Old Taylor to Sazerac. Beam absorbed the Old Crow brand but did not keep its original mash bill but did keep the Old-Grand Dad high rye bourbon mash bill and yeast strain which they still use today.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: At 57% ABV the nose is surprisingly muted with notes of caramel, toffee, clove, and green apple slices dusted with cinnamon.

Palate: On the palate the alcohol is fairly moderate though the bourbon has an intense flavor of baked apple, baking spices, warm oak, and just hit of vanilla sweetness.

Finish: The whiskey has a long finish with lingering flavors of cinnamon apple, vanilla, and just a touch of caramel.

Conclusion: Old Grand-Dad 114 is a gem of a whiskey hidden in plain sight. This is a great example of how higher proof whiskeys can sometimes drink softer and with grater flavor intensity than at 80 proof. For these reasons it is no wonder that OGD 114 is a fan favorite of both experts and online bourbon communities. Lastly, if you are a fan of Jim Beam bourbons or find some of their 80 proof offerings somewhat lackluster, this higher proof bottling has a good chance of winning you over.

Most Underrated Wheated Bourbon

Bottle purchased at retail by EZdrinking.

AT A GLANCE

• Spirit: Florida Straight Bourbon Whiskey

• Owned, Distilled and Bottled by: St. Augustine Distillery, St. Augustine, FL

• Spirit Type: Bourbon

• Mash Bill: 60% Florida Corn, 22% Malted Barley, 18% Florida Wheat

• Still Type: Pot Still

• Aged: Aged 3 Years

• Strength: 44% ABV

• Price: $50

This summer I got to visit St. Augustine Distillery, right before they were name the 2024 Distillery of the Year by the American Distilling Institute. Philip McDaniel and Mike Diaz opened the distillery in 2014 and released Florida’s first bourbon in 2016. McDaniel and Diaz solicited the help of Master Distiller Dave Pickerell who helped them develop their wheated mash bill using local grains and a maturation plan for how to age their bourbon in the hot and humid Florida climate.

Over the last eight years, the age statement on their bourbon has only crept up from two to three years. And while many whiskey fans have been conditioned to only think older is better, St. Augustine’s Florida Straight Bourbon is a good example of how hotter climates can, in the right hands, produce a more mature tasting whiskey in less time. With over 175,000 annual visitors, I believe the results speak for themselves. Their Florida Straight Bourbon is perfectly crafted for their unique location and they are making what I believe to be the most underrated wheated bourbon in the country.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The bourbon opens with an inviting aroma of vanilla caramel and a touch of green apple. Underneath that are warm smells of baked bread and toasted wood with just a hint of sweet cherries and cloves.

Palate: At first sip the whiskey has a slight bight of cinnamon that then softens on the tongue. There is a pronounced grain and oak character followed by notes tobacco, vanilla, and a hint of candied orange peel.

Finish: The finish has a light sweetness with lingering notes of oak, tobacco and leather.

Conclusion: Yes St. Augustine's Florida Straight Bourbon is a touch young but the whiskey is a testament to the skill and ingenuity of the team to craft a very good wheated bourbon in their hot and humid environment. For those who like their bourbons a little lighter and with less oak, this is a good fit. I have enjoyed drinking this neat, on the rocks, with water and in an Old Fashioned. I have also observed that having a pour half way through the bottle is a more enjoyable experience than when you first crack it open, which tells me that a little aeration won’t hurt. If you are a fan of Maker's Mark and have been looking for something new to scratch that wheated bourbon itch, I cannot recommend this more. I am also confident that as they are able to gradually push the age of their whiskey some of the young grain quality will fall away and you will see that St. Augustine's is making one of the most underrated wheated bourbons outside of Kentucky.

Review: Wilderness Trail Yellow Label Single Barrel Bourbon Bottled in Bond

Bottle purchased at retail by EZdrinking.

AT A GLANCE

• Owned by: Campari Group

• Distilled and Bottled by: Wilderness Trail Distillery, Danville, KY

• Spirit Type: Bourbon

• Mash Bill: 64% Corn, 24% Wheat, 12% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Column

• Age: Bottled in Bond (minimum 4 years)

• Strength: 50% ABV

• Price: $55

In 2012 after a decade of working as fermentation consultants for other distilleries and alcohol produces, Shane Baker and Pat Heist founded Wilderness Trail Distillery. As with other start-up distilleries, Wilderness Trail began by selling their vodka and an aged spirit distilled from sorghum molasses while their bourbon aged. And rather than developing just one whiskey, Baker and Heist, make three, a wheated bourbon, and a high-rye bourbon and a rye whiskey made from a mash of 56% rye, 33% corn, and 11% malted barley. Wilderness Trail has slowly built a steady following and grew their distribution across the country. Then, in November 2022, Campari Group purchased a 70% stake in Wilderness Trail for $600 million.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The whiskey has a lovely aroma of dark caramel, with softer notes of vanilla and sweet cinnamon.

Palate: On the palate the bourbon is velvety, umptious, and tick with rich caramel, vanilla, toffee, sweet cherry, and ripe nectarine, balanced with warm notes oak and baking spices.

Finish: On the finish, more of the vanilla and oak flavors come forward with bright notes of hot cinnamon mingled with the alcohol.

Conclusion: Wilderness trail is hands down one of the best new bourbons to hit store shelves in a long time. Despite its 50% ABV bottling strength the whiskey is not overly hot and leans toward the sweeter side of the bourbon flavor spectrum. If it is available in your area, do yourself a favor and buy a bottle.

No you should not expect to pay $10 per year of age for a bottle of Bourbon or Rye Whiskey

Recently I have been spending more time lurking on the r/bourbon subreddit and watching a variety of Whiskey Tube channels to get a sense of how engaged consumers are talking about American whiskey and what they think is worth spending their money on. One of the more common axioms in these spaces is the idea that a fair retail price for a bottle of bourbon or rye whiskey is around $10 for each year it aged in a barrel. At first glance I can understand where this idea might have come from but if we interrogate the idea, it quickly breaks down.

Most whiskey fans are well aware of angel’s share, the fact that spirits stored in oak barrels slowly evaporates so the volume of liquid that went in is not how much that comes out after four, eight or twelve years. Because of angel’s share, there is a real cost for distillers to age a whiskey longer because there will be less of it each extra year they wait before bottling. So, in real terms older whiskey costs a distiller more to bottle than younger whiskey. However, as the production capacity of a distillery grows, they are able to produce the same whiskey with greater economies of scale because buying grain by the truck loads or rail cars costs less per pound than by 2000lb totes. The same is also true for any other hard goods like bottles, labels, or closures. Large distilleries are also more efficient with their time since there is less down time for their stills and fermenters compared to small distillers that can only run one or two production shifts with significant down time for their equipment. So generally smaller distilleries have higher fixed cost per bottle because they are less “efficient” with their capital. This is why a blanket price metric doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Many craft bourbons and rye whiskeys are priced higher than $10 per year of age because of these higher fixed costs and a more constrained supply. Garrison Brothers Small Batch Bourbon and Old Crow Bourbon are both aged for three years but the former retails for $80 a bottle and the later sits on the bottom shelf at about $12 for 750ml. Garrison Brothers is pot distilled using a more expensive locally grown corn, and the intense climate in the Texas Hill Country means they have a much higher angel’s share than most Kentucky Bourbons. Despite having the same age statement these are two very different bourbons and even if you don’t know all the exact production details, on taste alone, $30 for Old Crow would be highway robbery and an incredible deal for Garrison Brothers.

Conversely, many great bourbons from the heritage distillers in Kentucky and Tennessee are priced below $10 per year. Russel’s Reserve 10 Year Old Bourbon retails for about $44 and George Dickel Bottled in Bond which ranges between 11 and 13 years old has a suggested retail price of $40! Now I would be willing to pay a little more for these because the quality is there, I also have no interest in paying $100 or more for these whiskeys just because of their age. In reality the price for these whiskeys is not just about age. Weller 12 Year Old has an SRP around $43 but you’d be lucky to find it most places below $150 because of its limited availability and the all the hype around it and Pappy Van Winkle.

Now whether it is worth it to you to pay $200 for Weller 12, $40 for George Dickel BIB at 13 years or less than $20 for the four year old Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is a completely subjective decision informed by your income and what you value. But the idea that it is “fair” to pay $10 per year of age for American whiskey is a silly metric that doesn’t reflect the whiskey market. In reality, this just sounds like a made up “fact” that some salesman came up with as a way to convince people that its ok for them to spend $80 on an otherwise mid 8 year old whiskey.

Buy what you like and spend what you feel comfortable with but I’m sorry to say that setting a fair price for bourbon and rye whiskey is more complicated than simply how long it was aged.