Bottom Shelf Bourbon Taste-Off
- Thread starter Spang
- Start date
EWSB has the best value for the money.
Speaking about JB White, you can buy a little sampler bottle(1.7 fl oz) for a dollar and review it
$0.99 at Total Wine
Speaking about JB White, you can buy a little sampler bottle(1.7 fl oz) for a dollar and review it
$0.99 at Total Wine
Thanks for the excellent write-up! I've been on a bourbon kick lately, and I'm lucky enough that a local near me has a great selection. I've tried most of the ones you've written about, and the only thing I have to recommend should be right in your wheelhouse: Evan Williams white label, their bottled-in-bond selection. It's an excellent, versatile bourbon that is widely available and cheap (750 ml here is usually less than $14, and I got a handle for $24.50). If you can find Very Old Barton in the West, it's worth a try as well. If you want to move up a little, Evan Williams 1783 is excellent, too. Enjoy!
- Thread starter
- #24
I appreciate your great suggestions. I agree that EW White is a great value and a whiskey I like a lot; likewise for EW 1783. Those didn't get in to the taste-off as they come in (here in Oregon) a little above my $14 price limit. I know my "rules" are by definition arbitrary, but I imposed them mostly just to put a practical limit on size of the universe to be sampled. You gotta draw the line somewhere, and I chose $14 for several practical reasons. But I agree that it certainly can make sense to bump up the budget a couple of bucks; in the case of EW White and EW 1783, you get quite a bit of return on that small investment. Alas, VOB is not generally unavailable here in Oregon, so that's a non-option for me.
Thanks for weighing in.
I drink a lot of Beam. It's 10.99 per 750 here in SW Florida in the travel version. I was hoping it would be in the group, but I don't know what they charge locally.
The OP, in his original post, said that it was too expensive in his area to be included.
- Thread starter
- #27
Specifically, JB white is $18 per 750 here in Oregon, so it's nearly 30% over my self-imposed $14 dollar price limit.
- Thread starter
- #28
By popular demand, I decided to make a late roster acquisition and bring Jim Beam white into the taste-off. Several of you guys commented that you’d like to see how I would rate JB white alongside the other selections, and that piqued my curiosity. Not to hedge my bets too much, but I picked up a mini of JB; sort of like signing a power forward to a 10-day contract to test him out.
As I noted in response to several posts on this thread, JB white goes for $18 here in Oregon, so at nearly 30% over my $14 dollar price limit, it’s not likely to ever be in the running for my party pour. But, I know that a lot of people like it (it is, after all, the world’s largest selling bourbon), and apparently in some places it sells at price points where it is competitive with other bottom shelfers. So in the interest of expanding and sharing knowledge, I thought I’d give it a go. Plus, then I get to taste some more whiskey.
I didn’t have the stamina or time to go back through the entire taste-off again, so I decided to put the JB white up against my three top finishers, EW Black, Benchmark, and Ezra Brooks. Think of it as a kind of finals round that includes JB as the higher priced ringer. In keeping with practice, all four bourbons were tasted neat, side-by-side and not blind.
Jim Beam White Label, 80 proof, NAS (but labeled “straight”, so presumably 4 years), (Beam/Suntory, $18)
The nose is straightforward bourbon, but with a few off notes that smell to me like green wood. That character follows through on the palate: good, typical bourbon flavors, not especially intense, but also with some tastes of green wood and grain. A decent bourbon, but it definitely tastes young to me; younger tasting, in fact, than a couple of other bourbons in the field labeled as three years old. I’m guessing JB is pretty much all whiskey that is aged four years-and- a-day, while some of the other NAS or even 3 year AS bourbons have a higher proportion of older whiskey in them. And the difference to me is quite apparent.
If you’ve had the patience to wade through my original post, you’ve seen my notes on EW Black, Benchmark, and Ezra Brooks, and this round didn’t really change my impressions, so I won’t repeat them here. So how did the world’s best -selling bourbon do in this round of four? Well, it came in fourth. That’s not to say I found it bad, at all, but it would definitely be middle-of-the-pack in the overall field. Perhaps on par with EW Green and Henry McKenna, but inferior to the other three bourbons in this round, at least to my palate.
I certainly don’t mean to denigrate in any way the preferences of folks who like JB white; this is after all just my opinion, and what could be more subjective than one’s palate? In locales where JB is in the $12 price range, I agree it certainly represents a good value. But for me, there are a number of other options that I would prefer, and when you bump up to the Oregon price point of $18, the competition gets really stiff. And even for you guys that can get JB for 11 or 12 bucks, let me suggest this: if EW Black or Ezra Brooks is available to you for the same (or less) money, do an honest side-by-side and let us know what you think.
As I noted in response to several posts on this thread, JB white goes for $18 here in Oregon, so at nearly 30% over my $14 dollar price limit, it’s not likely to ever be in the running for my party pour. But, I know that a lot of people like it (it is, after all, the world’s largest selling bourbon), and apparently in some places it sells at price points where it is competitive with other bottom shelfers. So in the interest of expanding and sharing knowledge, I thought I’d give it a go. Plus, then I get to taste some more whiskey.
I didn’t have the stamina or time to go back through the entire taste-off again, so I decided to put the JB white up against my three top finishers, EW Black, Benchmark, and Ezra Brooks. Think of it as a kind of finals round that includes JB as the higher priced ringer. In keeping with practice, all four bourbons were tasted neat, side-by-side and not blind.
Jim Beam White Label, 80 proof, NAS (but labeled “straight”, so presumably 4 years), (Beam/Suntory, $18)
The nose is straightforward bourbon, but with a few off notes that smell to me like green wood. That character follows through on the palate: good, typical bourbon flavors, not especially intense, but also with some tastes of green wood and grain. A decent bourbon, but it definitely tastes young to me; younger tasting, in fact, than a couple of other bourbons in the field labeled as three years old. I’m guessing JB is pretty much all whiskey that is aged four years-and- a-day, while some of the other NAS or even 3 year AS bourbons have a higher proportion of older whiskey in them. And the difference to me is quite apparent.
If you’ve had the patience to wade through my original post, you’ve seen my notes on EW Black, Benchmark, and Ezra Brooks, and this round didn’t really change my impressions, so I won’t repeat them here. So how did the world’s best -selling bourbon do in this round of four? Well, it came in fourth. That’s not to say I found it bad, at all, but it would definitely be middle-of-the-pack in the overall field. Perhaps on par with EW Green and Henry McKenna, but inferior to the other three bourbons in this round, at least to my palate.
I certainly don’t mean to denigrate in any way the preferences of folks who like JB white; this is after all just my opinion, and what could be more subjective than one’s palate? In locales where JB is in the $12 price range, I agree it certainly represents a good value. But for me, there are a number of other options that I would prefer, and when you bump up to the Oregon price point of $18, the competition gets really stiff. And even for you guys that can get JB for 11 or 12 bucks, let me suggest this: if EW Black or Ezra Brooks is available to you for the same (or less) money, do an honest side-by-side and let us know what you think.
Last edited:
I've been drinking EW Black since college. It really is a fantastic value at $11 here in Chicago before tax. I've tried many different bourbons, and EW Black is what I keep on hand for mixing, or straight easy drinking. Stepping up the spectrum IMHO would be 4 Roses Yellow, followed by their Single Barrel, and then my beloved Bookers.
Since my last post, I've finished a bottle of Benchmark. My impressions pretty much dovetail with Spang's: Good, decent bourbon, on a level with Evan Williams Green (at the same price point) and Henry McKenna (here in VA/TN priced slightly higher) but below Evan Williams Black. I haven't tried Ezra Brooks (or Jim Beam, for that matter) since high school. I may pick that one up next. I just found out that my favorite local B&M carries Very Old Barton bottled in bond for $25/handle, so I'm at present a very happy man.
I've enjoyed this thread. At some point I may explore the pricier options on the shelf, but for now I'm perfectly happy at the lower depths.
I've enjoyed this thread. At some point I may explore the pricier options on the shelf, but for now I'm perfectly happy at the lower depths.
- Thread starter
- #32
Yeah, I wish I could get the VOB bonded here in Oregon, especially at your $25 per handle price. You should check out Ezra Brooks: it's often a couple of bucks less than EW black 9at least here in Oregon), and though I prefer EW overall, EB is 90 proof Heaven Hill juice at an amazing price. Well worth a spot on your shelf. Thanks for checking in.
I will check out Ezra. I'm finding that I'm a big fan of Heaven Hill in all of its incarnations.
Virginia is an ABC state as well, with all of its inherent advantages and disadvantages.. I'm lucky in that I work in Tennessee, so there are lots of alternatives.
Enjoy your research!
Virginia is an ABC state as well, with all of its inherent advantages and disadvantages.. I'm lucky in that I work in Tennessee, so there are lots of alternatives.
Enjoy your research!
Similar threads
- Locked
- Article
