Average

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

45% ABV
$20
Website

What the Distillery Says

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch honors the year that Evan Williams founded Kentucky’s First Distillery. Pulled from fewer than 300 barrels, this extra-aged small Batch Bourbon won the 2019 Consumers’ 2019 SIP Award.

Proof: 90 Proof
Age: 6-8 Years Old

Tasting Notes
Color: Brilliant honey
Aroma: Oaky vanilla, sautéed butter, and sweet corn
Taste: Semi-sweet, oaky, and honeyed
Finish: Lean, off-dry, and regal

What Gary Says

Nose:  Salted caramel, vanilla, richhouse mustiness with a hint of cocoa.
Palate:  Sweet vanilla, caramel, honey, bit of clove and cinnamon with subtle mint.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with oak, caramel and bitter chocolate.
Comments:  One of the first dusty bourbons I ever had the good fortune to buy was the 10 year age stated Evan Williams 1783.  From what I recall from that, it had quite a bit more mint than this – although it would have been pre-fire Heaven Hill – so entirely different distillate. This is not that whiskey. When I first tried this, I thought it was quite nice – a solid albeit, sweet bourbon. It got me thinking how it might compare to Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond (which is a few dollar cheaper, but higher ABV).  In a blind side-by-side-by-side (which included Benchmark Bonded), this was very similar/close to the Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. On the nose, they were incredibly similar, with this having just a touch more oak, and on the palate, this had a bit more spice – although these differences were subtle.  I actually preferred the BIB over this by a hair, but both were quite nice – and liked both more than the Benchmark Bonded (which was the most expense in that three-way tasting).

Rating: Average/Stands Out

Wild Turkey Distiller’s Reserve 13 Year Old
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

45.5% ABV
$50-$70 (Japanese market)
Website

What the Distillery Says

(I think*)
The highest peak of Kentucky Straight Bourbon by a world-famous parent-child distiller.

There are parents and children who devote their lives and passions to making bourbon. Jimmy Russell and Eddie Russell continue to adhere to the traditional recipes of their predecessors and never compromise. After 13 years of aging while being nurtured by its sincere attitude and the rich nature of Kentucky, it is finished in a premium bourbon with a dignified style and a special taste suitable for Wild Turkey.

* The above is what Google Translate showed that Wild Turkey’s Japanese web-site (which I needed to VPN into Japan to get to) says about this product.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla, oak and rickhouse must, leather, baking spices with toasted orange zest.
Palate:  Soft caramel, vanilla, oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, faint sour citrus note with a bit of pepper.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with oak, caramel and soft pepper.
Comments:  For Wild Turkey fans, I’m guessing this is a miss more than a hit. It has that mature oak note (with the oak heavier on the nose than on the palate) but this lacks the spice kick I look for (and frankly expect) in Wild Turkey – and for the age, it isn’t as complex as I had hoped. The nose has more complexity for me than the palate. I was really looking forward to trying this, but was disappointed. I have fond memories of some dusty Wild Turkey 12 yr old bourbon, which this bears no resemblance to, but that probably wasn’t a fair expectation.  Maybe if this was a higher proof it would have delivered.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

Smoke Wagon Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

50% ABV
$45-60
Website

What the Producer Says

Our high rye content bourbon is aged in the heart of a century-old brick warehouse. To ensure a unique and consistent flavor, barrels are hand selected to create a perfect blend that is smooth and at the same time bold and intense.

Released in 2016, our goal was to create a unique great tasting high rye content bourbon. The problem is that rye ages much faster than corn. So while our younger vintages had a big rye spice flavor (which we love) the mouth feel was too thin and it lacked the sweet, delicate complexity of a well aged spirit. Our older vintages had the smoothness and sweet notes that can only be achieved by moving in and out of #4 char and caramelized oak for many, many years, but the nice rye spice had been aged out!

So what to do? Find the perfect blend.

We combined the two. The younger vintages maintain the bold spiciness of the rye, cut down on the tannins and keep it fruit forward. The older vintage brings in a creamy mouth feel with sweet aromas and taste notes that only appear over time from aging in a barrel. We hope you enjoy drinking it as much as we enjoy making it.

Nose: Balanced oak nose with hints of fruit and dried apricots.
Taste: Initial sweet notes on the front of the tongue. Well balanced mouth feel with spicy notes including white pepper on the middle and back of the tongue from the younger vintage and high rye mash bill. Good balance of sweet and oak flavors including hints of caramel (from the #4 charred barrels, caramelized wood sugar), fruit flavor and rye spice. Finishes smooth with no alcohol burn even at 100 proof.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla, oak, salted caramel, musty, cocoa, brown sugar and baked glazed cinnamon buns.
Palate:  Vanilla, caramel cream candies, cinnamon, oak, rye spice, pepper and subtle clove.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with caramel, pepper and oak.
Comments:  Spicy – not objectionable, but for $45 (or more) there are plenty of options for a spicy rye bourbon at nearly half the price that I like as well. Bit of water thickens it up a bit, and tamps the oak edges slightly.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

Broken Barrel Cask Strength
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Broken Barrel Staves

57.5% ABV
$45
Website

We would like to thank Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

Broken Barrel Bourbon features a unique blend of corn, rye, and barley that makes it perfectly balanced to infuse. We partnered with an incredible world-class Kentucky Bourbon distillery to select the finest bourbon base for our products. The bourbon is aged a minimum of one year (it has to be) to be called a Kentucky Bourbon, which also ensures a specific quality we’re looking for before incorporate our Oak Bill™.

WHAT IS THE OAK BILL?

After a minimum of one year in new charred oak barrels, the bourbon is dumped to steel tanks, where each batch of Broken Barrel is hit with new French oak staves, ex-bourbon barrel staves, and a blend of ex-sherry cask staves.

Rich, complex, layered and beyond beautiful, Broken Barrel boldly goes where other whiskies won’t – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mash Bill:
70% Corn
21% Rye
9% Malted Barley

Oak Bill™
40% French Oak Staves
40% Ex-Bourbon Cask Staves
20% Sherry Cask Staves

A note about Staves – there is a tremendous amount of surface area when using staves to age and flavor a whiskey – much more than merely using the inside of a barrel. There are several more surfaces making contact with the liquid, each adding its own character and flavor.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Salted caramel, candy corn, vanilla, bit of oak and subtle dark fruits.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel with caramel and toffee, sharpens with pepper spice and cinnamon, dark fruit notes of black cherry and raisins.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with pepper, oak and dried fruits.
Comments:  Very similar to the Small Batch – guessing it is the same spirit just bottled at a higher proof.  Bit tannic/sharp, although some water tamps that a bit. Similarly young, although I found dialing this in around 105 proof or so definitely brings it up a notch over the Small Batch.

Rating: Average/Stands Out