Evan Williams Bottled In Bond Review
Meet Luke
Luke is a Level I Certified Whiskey Specialist with a passion for exploring and unearthing the best whiskeys around. Luke has a preference for Rye whiskeys but has tasted over 250 different whiskeys to date varying from bourbons to scotches. He continues to expand upon his whiskey knowledge by tasting dozens of bottles monthly and reviewing them here on Barrel and Brew as he pursues his Masters of Whiskey certification.
Surprisingly, I’ve only had Evan Williams Bottled In Bond twice before, and it was a couple of years ago. After writing my article on the top bourbons for $25, I got a lot of comments praising different BiB options, so I figured it was high time I got some reviews out there. I’m starting with some of the basics. Yesterday was Jack Daniel’s Bonded, todays review is Evan Williams Bottled In Bond.
Evan Williams BiB is a, typically, highly rated bottle of whiskey given its price tag. In todays review, we’re going to find out if Evan Williams Bottled In Bond is as good as people say it is. Or, are you better off buying something else?
Check out our Evan Williams vs Jack Daniel’s comparison guide for more information on the history behind the company and brand.
Evan Williams Bottled In Bond Overview
- Spirit: Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Bottled In Bond
- Owned By: Heaven Hill
- Distilled By: Heaven Hill
- Aged: 4+ years (claimed to be 5 years)
- ABV: 50% ABV, 100 Proof
- Mashbill: 78% corn, 12% malted barley, 10% rye
- Price: $17-23
Evan Williams is owned and distilled by Heaven Hill, one of the largest spirits producers in the world. In addition to Evan Williams, the 2nd or 3rd best selling bourbon in the world (depending upon whether you count Jack or not), Heaven Hill produces Elijah Craig, Larceny, Heaven Hill, Rittenhouse Rye, Pikesville, and more.
Heaven Hill whiskeys are known to have a peanut-y profile, so that’s one thing we’ll be on the lookout for.
Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond, often referred to as ‘white label’ due to its white label in contrast to their standard expression which uses a black label, is 100 proof and aged 4+ years, following the regulations of the Bottled in Bond label.
There’re people that say Evan Williams BiB is aged 5+ years, but the bottle has no age statement, so all we know for sure is that it’s at least 4 years.
One of the large reasons people love the white label is the price in conjunction with the stronger 100 proof. There are few BiB expressions out there as widely available, known, and appreciated as EW BiB.
What Does Bottled In Bond Mean?
Bottled In Bond is a status, label, classification of a whiskey that is earned by adhering to regulations set for in the Bottled In Bond Act of 1897.
The purpose of the Bottled In Bond Act of 1897 was to ensure the quality and consistency of whiskey being produced at the time.
A whiskey labeled as Bottled In Bond, or BiB, is distilled at a single distillery, by a single distiller, in a single distillation season, aged 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse, and lastly bottled at 100 proof. Every BiB whiskey is 100 proof and aged at least 4 years.
Evan Williams Bottled In Bond Tasting Notes
We’ve covered the basics, now it’s on to the fun part… at least for me. Time to pour myself a glass of EW BiB and find out if it’s good or not.
Nose: Dark, sweet candied fruits – cherry, black licorice. The traditional Heaven Hill peanut and caramel makes its way in. There’s not a lot of wood, but I get tobacco and mint, and a slight apple and brown sugar make for an enticing segue.
It’s not the deepest and richest of aromas, but it’s nice.
Palate: Average to below average viscosity. Soaks into my tongue and cheeks with a slight burn vs coating it. Nothing too thin or too sharp, though.
Caramel, cinnamon and pepper, brown sugar, cherries, and the nuttiness comes in towards the end.
Finish: medium finish in length. I get a touch of the black pepper sizzling with some mint and orange which fades away and leaves a taste of peanuts and dry wood.
Taste Summary
The quintessential Heaven Hill nuttiness is here, but certainly not as strong as say Elijah Craig. It’s more on the nose than the finish, but does make an appearance at the back end of the palate.
There’s plenty of sweet caramel on the palate and more spice than the nose let on with some pepper and cinnamon to provide some heat. Some of those darker fruits and brown sugar make its way in too. \
The finish is where some of the mint and citrus from the rye content mix with black pepper. There’s not much wood or oak around this whiskey, but I can still taste some of the effects of the wood. First with the leather on the nose and on the finish with some dry oak and peanut.
Overall, Evan Williams Bottled In Bond is pretty decent whiskey. I don’t really have much to say about it – good or bad. Perhaps I wish it was a little more viscous, but that’s really my only critique and it’s not even all that thin.
Value
This is kind of what I expected based on my memory of EW BiB and how people talk about it.
People love Evan Williams Bottled in Bond because it’s a decent whiskey that you can get for less than $20!!! (it may be $20-22 at local retailers now just based on inflation and other costs and what not, but still very cheap).
As I’m sipping this White Label, I keep thinking about all the bottles that I like more… The only thing is that I keep comparing it to $30 bottles and not $20 ones.
There’s nothing amazing or life changing about Evan Williams Bottled In Bond, but it is one of the better $18 whiskeys available. If that’s your price range, this will be a great daily sipper for you. I could (and probably should) replace Jim Beam with this on my list of top $25 and under bourbons.
The Top 5 Bourbons for $25
Evan Williams Bottled In Bond Summary
For just a couple extra bucks, you can upgrade from Evan Williams Black Label to White Label, or Bottled In Bond. It’s not a whole lot better than their standard black label offering, but it’s 100 proof vs 86 proof and has a little more spice to it.
This is about as cheap and available of whiskey you can get that is still good to sip neat, high proof, and has some character… If Evan Williams Bottled In Bond falls in your usual price range, then I recommend picking up a bottle.
For those that often enjoy more expensive bourbons, it never hurts to have an affordable and versatile whiskey sitting around.
Good review but fix the spelling errors. They all involve ‘s if that helps.
Thanks, I got a little trigger happy with the apostrophes there.
Have you ever tried David Nicholson 1843 100 proof bourbon, Lux Row distillers in Bardstown. I think it’s only available around St Louis. Been drinking this for over 40 years.
I haven’t tried that, but I’ll keep my eye out for it. I like the whiskey that Lux Row produces
Hi Luke,
Thanks for this review.
A little off-topic, but what are your favorite rye-heavy bourbons? Have you tried Smokewagon Small Batch out of Las Vegas?
I love Smoke Wagon, a fantastic high-rye bourbon. Perhaps my favorite. Bulleit and Redemption are two options I enjoy. Rabbit Hole Heigold, Redwood Empire, and George Remus are a couple others that I really like as well.
Nice review. The biggest selling point for me with EW BiB is how well it stands up in a cocktail, especially at the price. I almost always drink my bourbon neat but I occasionally enjoy a cocktail and white label has enough proof to stand up to mixers (especially Ginger Ale IMO).
The Evan Williams Bonded is a great bourbon especially for the price it less than $34 for 1.5 L it has become our house bourbon I highly recommend. Luke I would really like to see you review Ancient Age bourbon it is surprising good for the price it is even cheaper then the EV BiB.
Looks like it’s out of stock at my Total Wine. I’ll keep an eye out for it at my local liquor store.
I think your right about 1843 only being in the st.Louis area, I’m 53, my father Charlie passed away at 91 in july 2022. My dad always drank 1843. With white soda, always called it a high ball, didnt like dark soda with his liquor. I’m a religious Jack and coke drinker,I would tell him to spend the extra money and get Jack but he never would. He always had a bottle of 1843 in the kitchen cupboard. Maryland heights, mo
Didn’t realize Heaven Hill distilled all of these fine affordable bourbons. Besides Elijah Craig, I really enjoy the Evan Williams 1783.