Last year I purchased a bottle of Evan Williams Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon, the 1998 vintage. It sat on my shelf, waiting and waiting to be opened. I had only one bottle and to be honest it looked so nice that I really did not want to ruin the look of my liquor cabinet by opening it. It was in my “save for a special occasion” shelf. Then something wonderful happened. My good friend, Dennis was given a bottle as well. He had no such compunction to save the elixir and he happily agreed to share some samples with me. (In case you feel I was taking advantage of him, I should let you know that this is a mutual thing that we do, I share, and he shares, and everyone is very happy as we both get to try many more wonderful spirits this way.)
Now Evan Williams Single Barrel whiskeys are indeed something very special. They have been winning awards since 1990, in a vast variety of Spirit’s journals, magazines and contests including Gold Medals at the Prestigious San Fransisco World Spirits Competition for their 1993 and 1994 bottlings.
Here is an excerpt from my review:
“…After taking a deep wiff of the air around my whiskey glass, I close my eyes. In my imagination, I have just stumbled into a sawmill where they are cutting large rough timber beams. I can smell the wood tannins exposed on the sides of the timber and the fresh cut wood grain scent is delightful. Of course there is much more than oak timbers in the glass: wild honey, rich vanilla, toffee, caramel and hints of molasses rise from the glass in a rich vibrant aroma which is spicy and tannin filled….”
Your may read the full review here:
Review: Evan Williams Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon
I have supplied a myriad of cocktails for the review for your enjoyment!
This is the final review in my series of Appleton Estate Rum Reviews, which I began to publish about two months ago. The impetus for the review series was an invite offered to me to attend a free tasting of Appleton rums in my hometown. I received a small sample bottle of Appleton VX, and since I owned just about every other Appleton Estate Rum up to the 21 year old I thought it would be fun to review them all. The 30 year old just about to be released in my locale will be missing from this review series unless I can acquire a sample at a later date.
The Rum Howler Blog 