Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2005 brings us to the end of the EW SiBV runI have, but you can expect that I’ll be picking up a bottle each year moving forward to keep the Vintage tally running. I’ll also be keeping my eyes peeled at stores in the hopes that I come across some of the older vintages like the 2002 or earlier. Not because they’re bound to be better or anything, just to try them out and continue the comparison.
If doing something like this yourself sounds interesting it wouldn’t be too hard to pull off and would only cost you $23ish a year. Grab a bottle or two of this year’s vintage, put a bottle in a closet or liquor cabinet and repeat over the next couple of years. Then at some future date pull them all out and taste them side by side. This time around it happened all by accident, but maybe the next time you see a run of them like that on this blog it will be on purpose…
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2005 Info
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distiller: Heaven Hill
Mashbill: 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% barley
Cask: new charred oak
Age: 9 years (3/29/05 – 2/10/15)
ABV: 43.3%
Barrel: 410
Price: $23
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2005 Review
EYE
Dark amber
NOSE
Toffee heavy dark sweets, oak, roasted nuts, dark fruit leather, peppery spice and lighter notes of citric acid, candied lemon and artificial sweetener. It’s a super sweet nose and feels a wee bit off balanced from how heavy the sweetness rests here.
PALATE
Butterscotch heavy dark sweets, roasted nuts, cinnamon heavy spice, leather, Twizzlers and a watery woody character like a worn toothpick. It’s a bit watery and unbalanced here as well.
FINISH
Medium and spicy with notes of nuts butterscotch, cinnamon and mint.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
It’s a bit unbalanced, has a medium body and warm smooth feel.
OVERALL
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2005, barrel 410, has a nose that’s a bit heavy on the sweetness, a palate that’s a bit watery and a finish that’s pretty decent, my favorite part in fact. In doing this parade of Vintages over the last couple of days this definitely sticks out as being the weakest of the bunch. That said it’s still not a bad bourbon. In fact, it’s better than some “bargain bourbons” out there and definitely worth a try.
SCORE: 84/100
