Evan Williams Single Barrel, the one vintage-dated, single-barrel whiskey from Heaven Hill, will now turn into a Kentucky-only label, the corporate has confirmed. As soon as present stock sells via, this rye-recipe bourbon will probably be unavailable wherever however the Bluegrass State. The transfer was prompted by the fast progress of Evan Williams 1783, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond, and different merchandise that draw from the identical barrel stock. That put stress on Evan Williams Single Barrel, whose packaging—hand-bottled and wax-sealed—makes it considerably costlier to bottle.
Manufacturers and expressions come and go, so why does this one matter? Debuting in 1995, Evan Williams Single Barrel was a serious participant within the early years of bourbon’s renaissance. It was the primary nationwide extension of Heaven Hill’s flagship label. Initially, it was a 9 yr previous, however the age was lowered to 7 to eight years just a few years in the past. This single barrel expression is bottled at an uncommon, however very particular 86.6 proof (43.3% ABV).
Blanton’s was the primary single-barrel bourbon, adopted by a number of different single-barrel choices. Heaven Hill took the idea one step additional with this “classic” label, which made the collection distinctive. It wasn’t a restricted launch within the normal sense of a finite variety of bottles. Every year, usually in January, Heaven Hill merely modified the yr on the label and commenced to bottle a special batch.
Worth was one other distinction. Blanton’s was about $40 a bottle in 1995. The opposite top-shelf bourbons on the time, Booker’s and Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit, have been about the identical. Evan Williams Single Barrel bought for half as a lot.
From its starting within the Fifties, Evan Williams was all the time the “extra on your cash” bourbon, marketed as delivering extra age and better proof for a cheaper price than class leaders Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s. On that platform, it grew to turn into the No. 3 best-selling American whiskey, a place it holds at present. Customary Evan Williams Black Label misplaced its 7 yr age assertion in 2005, additionally a sufferer of stock stress, however its market share was safe.
Because the Evan Williams Single Barrel collection went on, every classic was a time capsule of the distinctive weather conditions that occurred throughout that exact nine-year interval. It recorded the corporate’s historical past too. Any bottle barreled earlier than November of 1996 was distilled at DSP-KY-31, the Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown that was destroyed by hearth that month. Many of the 1997 classic was distilled at Jim Beam in Clermont. The 1998 and ‘99 have been distilled at Brown-Forman in Shively. The 2000 classic was the primary distilled at Bernheim in Louisville, the corporate’s present distillery.
Evan Williams Single Barrel is on the market on the Evan Williams Bourbon Expertise and choose Kentucky retailers. The steered retail worth is $27.
