516283 Tue May 06 04:46:10 -0700 2008 5 36 Spirits 0 3660485 I bought my first bottle of Even Williams Single Barrel yesterday. http://www.evanwilliams.com/about_brands_article.shtml?article=MjM5OXN1cGVyMjM5NnNlY3JldDI0MDM= It is a pretty good bourbon I have to say. It has a pretty good bottle design and I like how the dates are hand written on the back. But I'm not a big fan of cork tops. The mouth is always too big and you wind up getting runs after pouring. I like screw tops. Anyway, not a hill to die on. I was a little disappointed with the nose. Everything I read lead me to believe that it would have a really good nose. Fragrant and heavy. But I found it to be pretty standard for a bourbon. It has a very standard "bourbon" smell about it. Corn and Charred Oak. Nothing that stands out about it too me. The taste is pretty good. Pretty heavy on the charred oak though. I wouldn't say nearly as much as a Tennessee bourbon, not "charcoally" but there is a strong "burnt" taste to it. It is also sweet though, but I'm not sure if it's enough to round it out though for me. I have a big sweet tooth. There is not hint of ethanol, which is very good and I would say it has a mid-deep body. Nice color and a little depth. But not great character and depth. The finish was a little disappointing. It was a little too short and hot for my taste. There was a little "stickyness" and a little tongue numbing and lingering after taste, but not as much as I would have liked. The predominant after taste is the burnt or charred Oak. All in all, I wouldn't turn it down if offered to me, but for now, I'll stick with my Buffalo Trace. Tue May 06 04:46:12 -0700 2008 181130 theginguy 1 3661310 If you like sweet, you should try Eagle Rare, which is made by Buffalo Trace distillery...very sweet stuff. They make a ten year old single barrel and an older version (17 I think). Tue May 06 09:31:29 -0700 2008 3660485 10132 sku 2 3663098 Eagle Rare is one of my favorites. :) Tue May 06 17:16:41 -0700 2008 3661310 181130 theginguy 3 3680872 Count me as another vote for Eagle Rare. Yum. Mon May 12 17:32:14 -0700 2008 3663098 34763 slobhan 1 3667797 Which year? It's going to vary a bit year-to-year and within a given year's selections. I see that as a step up from the monolithic sameness of, for example, Jack Daniels higher end bottlings. I just picked up the last '97 bottle from a local shop. My Dad wanted to try, and we opened that one instead of the '94 that was in the cabinet. I still need to taste it and see what I think. Buffalo Trace is some good stuff, definitely. Thu May 08 06:50:49 -0700 2008 3660485 12626 ted 2 3680721 >>>>>Which year? It's going to vary a bit year-to-year and within a given year's selections... Yes--year to year and barrel to barrel. Last year I had an Evan Williams Single Barrel from Binnys in Chicago that was rich with big caramel and vanilla, but still so smooth and gentle--it was just about perfect. The next one I bought (elsewhere) had hardly any character at all. Since then I''ve tried a couple that were right in between--nice flavors, gentle, subtle, but still complex and really tasty--hard to put it down. Sometimes they will be labeled as being selected by the retailer (like the one for Binny's in Chicago--which was gobsmacking). Buffalo Trace also have barrel selects that individual retailers spec out (like Cork & Bottle in Covington, KY which will often have two barrel selections available from Buffalo Trace or Weller that have different flavor and character). Mon May 12 16:41:55 -0700 2008 3667797 159765 dwh