Evan Williams Black Label

So this is Heaven Hill's flag bearer and the second best selling straight bourbon brand in the USA and the world. No longer age stated, but said to be somewhere around four years+.

All Heaven Hill's bourbon comes from the same high corn masbill. 78% Corn, 10% rye and 12% barley. This is interesting because I love the white label Heaven Hill, which must be essentially the same juice, but you can pick up variation in the aromas and flavours and they are different proofs.

On the nose I find this quite grain forward, with the corn very prominent and touches of barley chaff. Lots of sweetcorn. There's a clear mint, herbal and spice thing going on which gives way to the caramels and brown sugars, with butterscotch and cinnamon. I swear I get a little bit of dill pickle which I associate with rye, but there's so little in the mashbill it maybe just the mintiness from the corn that I sometimes get.

Taste is a little wood astringent, caramel, sweetcorn, vanilla, buttery, with some nice cinnamon spices. Honey. Quite buttery. I know it sounds obvious saying sweetcorn, but it's not always so prominent in bourbons. But in this I can really pick it out.

Finish is buttered popcorn and some astringent oak wood.

Very solid, nothing amazing. Goes well with a boilermaker.

If I'm going for Heaven Hill product I will choose the White Label HH, Bottled in Bond 6 year old or Elijah Craig, but this is still enjoyable. Next I need to try the white label version of EW.

Find where to buy Evan Williams whisky