Evan WIlliams White Label B.I.B.

Bourbon Review #5: Evan Williams (White Label) Bottled-In- Bond




Category: Go-to 



Price: $18 per one liter bottle 

Availability: Year Round, Everywhere (harder to find than E. W. Black Label)



Proof: 100, A.V.B. 50%

Mashbill: Same as Black Label and 10 Year Single Barrel 

Age: No Age Description 

Distillery: Haven Hill, Bardstown, KY

     Evan Williams, or E & W, as I like to call it, was the favorite “go-to” bourbon for both of my grandfathers. The most common expression within this brand is the black label. In fact, it’s the 2^nd most popular bourbon in the world, just under Jim Beam.

     The White Label expression is a little harder to find, but in my opinion, better in quality. What is the difference between the two? From what I can tell, there isn’t a lot. I think they share a similar, if not identical, mashbill and age. The main difference is that the White Label is a “Bottled in Bond” bourbon, or “B.I.B.”

     I’ll take a moment to describe what this means. From the mid to late 1800’s, bourbon was becoming increasingly popular across this country. At that time, there were no guidelines as to what constituted bourbon. In the days of traveling minstrel shows and shysters pedaling snake oil, folks were putting all kinds of things into whisky and calling it "bourbon". They were doing this primarily to cut cost and turn out a fast product.

     In 1897, the US Government stepped in and came up with some guidelines as to what you had to have in your bottle in order to call it “bourbon”. Much like the German beer law of 1516, B.I.B. was put in to effect to protect the interest of official bourbon distilling companies. This is also where we get certain terminology such as "straight", as in Kentucky “Straight” Bourbon. 

     Without giving you all the boring details, this is what you need to know about B.I.B. bourbons, they are all 100 proof, they have to be run off the still from one season (as opposed to dumped into holding tanks prior to aging), they have to be a minimum of four years old and they have to be aged in a US Government sanctioned warehouse.

     These practices are antiquated by today’s standards. So, as one would imagine, B.I.B. bourbons have been largely discontinued. The few that are still around are retro throwbacks to a day gone by.

   

     Overall: This makes for a great pantry staple bourbon, with a cool retro vibe. When compared to most bourbons in this price range, the flavors are far more concentrated in the mouth, partly due to the elevated proof. For these reasons, I like it much better compared to its 86 proof “Black Label” brother.

     Many folks would overlook this expression and dismiss it as a cheap, bottom shelf bourbon. To quote Jason Pile, “we know better”! I would give it a 6 out of 10. The Colonel says, “If you can find it, buy it!”