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.

Review: New Riff Kentucky Straight Bourbon Bottled in Bond

Sample bottle provided by New Riff Distilling

AT A GLANCE

• Owned, Distilled and Bottled by: New Riff Distilling

• Spirit Type: Bourbon

• Mash Bill: non-GMO- 65% Corn,30% Rye, 5% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Column Still

• Aged: 4 years in 53-gallon toasted and charred new oak barrels

• Strength: 50% ABV

• Price: $42

Ken Lewis, a Kentucky liquor retailer founded New Riff Distilling in 2014, to create a new expression of sour mashed, bottled in bond Kentucky straight bourbon and rye with out chill filtration. Because New Riff is family run it allows them the flexibility to place the pursuit of excellent whiskey over pure commercial success.

Their bourbon is distilled from a high-rye bourbon mash, which is aged for a minimum of four years and bottled in bond.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The whiskey has as nice aroma of oak, vanilla, cinnamon, followed by light fruit notes like pomegranate and sweet cherries.

Palate: On the palate the whiskey is light on the tongue and has a wonderful flavor of caramel, red apple, oak and a touch of spice both from the rye and from the barrel.

Finish: On the finish there is a slight bitterness from the oak tannins, that fades into a soft and sweet sensation of baking spice and vanilla.

Conclusion: New Riff is an excellent whiskey with a classic bourbon profile that is sure to make any fan of the spirit happy to add it to their liquor cabinet. If you do not mind a little heat, drink neat, otherwise it will work well on the rocks or in a number of cocktails such as an old fashioned or manhattan.

My beverage biases

I want to acknowledge upfront that the tastings of spirits, beer, wine and coffee that I write about will be skewed by my own judgments and biases about different beverages. Like anyone else, these judgments and biases are formed out out my own life experiences and the physical limits of my ability to taste and smell. For example, I tend to enjoy drinking rye based whiskeys over wheated whiskeys, or I tend to like coffee made from lightly roasted beans more than dark roasted coffee. While drink writers very rarely write about their own biases, my hope is that by reflecting on them from time to time I may be able to improve my ability to think objectively about what I'm drinking and allow the reader to think critically about my or any other drink writer's work.

One of the primary judgments I make about beverages is that, if it isn't good on its own it's not worth drinking. While I do enjoy a good cocktail or cappuccino from time to time my first instinct is to drink the spirit or coffee on its own without adulteration. Which often means, given the choice between drinking something with a poor tasting base, gussied up to become palatable, and water, I'll chose water. One caveat to this is that, during graduate school I became willing to drink bad coffee with cream and or sugar, simply as a caffeine delivery device.