Evan Williams Black Label Bourbon

Evan Williams Black Label is a Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 43% ABV (86 proof), which puts it a little lighter in strength than the 45% to 50% bottlings that cost more. That lower proof shapes how it behaves in the glass: it is easy to sip without water, and it holds up in mixed drinks without getting lost. Bourbon in this tier is made from a corn-heavy mash and aged in new charred oak, so expect caramel and vanilla sweetness up front, a toasted-oak backbone, and a gentle baking-spice finish rather than a hot, peppery one. For neat sipping, pour about an ounce and a half into a Glencairn glass. The tapered rim concentrates the vanilla, caramel and light char aromas, and it lets you check whether the nose leans toward sweet corn or toward oak. Nose it with your mouth slightly open before the first taste. A rocks glass with one large cube is the better choice for slow sipping. Cold dulls sweetness and tightens the spice, so the bourbon tastes drier and cleaner as the ice melts. If neat feels warm at the back of the palate, a few drops of room-temperature water open up the grain and oak. Water usually has more effect at 43% than ice does. The profile suits stirred drinks that need a sturdy but not overbearing base. In an Old Fashioned, use a sugar cube or a teaspoon of rich demerara syrup, two dashes of Angostura bitters and an orange peel. The bourbon's sweetness means you need very little sugar, and the peel oils bring out the spice. A Manhattan works with a sweet vermouth that has some bitterness, such as Carpano Antica or Cocchi di Torino, at roughly two parts bourbon to one part vermouth, with a cherry as garnish. A Whiskey Sour made with fresh lemon juice and a light simple syrup gets the oak and vanilla needed to balance the acid, and a dash of egg white or a few drops of aquafaba gives it a smoother body. For longer drinks, a Highball of bourbon with cold ginger beer or dry ginger ale over ice in a tall glass is simple and works well with this bourbon. Use about two ounces of bourbon to four of mixer, with a lime wedge. For food, barbecued pork, smoked sausage, cheddar and pecan or apple desserts echo the caramel and char without competing with them.