Evan Williams Black Label
Bardstown, Kentucky
Heaven Hill's standard mashbill at the lowest common bourbon strength. Younger and lower proof than most, which is exactly what makes it one of the lighter pours in a heavy category.
- Aging
- New charred oak, no age statement (typically 5 years)
- Mashbill
- Corn 78%Rye 10%Malted barley 12%
- Congeners
- High
- Histamines
- Moderate
- Polyphenols
- Moderate
- Sulfites
- Very Low
- Tannins
- Moderate
- Sugar
- Low
- Additives
- Very Low
- Calories
- 105
- Sugar
- 0g
15.1g ethanol at 43% ABV. No sugar, so every calorie here is alcohol.
In its favor
- ✓86 proof, the lowest of the mainstream bourbons
- ✓No additives permitted under US law
- ✓Young enough to have taken less from the barrel
What to watch
- !Still a new-charred-oak bourbon, so congener load is high in absolute terms
- !No age statement
Factor by factor
Congeners High ▾
Byproducts of fermentation (methanol, acetaldehyde, fusel alcohols). Strongly linked to hangover severity; darker, less-distilled spirits carry more.
Histamines Moderate ▾
Produced by bacteria during fermentation/aging. Trigger flushing, headaches, congestion in sensitive drinkers. High in red wine, beer, aged spirits.
Polyphenols Moderate ▾
Plant compounds with antioxidant activity. Slightly protective at low doses but at high concentrations may worsen hangover via tannin/quercetin reactions.
Sulfites Very Low ▾
Preservatives (SO₂) added to wine and some beers. Common trigger of headaches, asthma, and allergic-type reactions.
Tannins Moderate ▾
Astringent polyphenols from skins, seeds, barrels. Bind proteins, slow alcohol clearance, and aggravate dehydration-style symptoms.
Sugar Low ▾
Residual sugar amplifies hangover via blood-sugar swings and dehydration. Liqueurs and cocktails are the main offenders.
Additives Very Low ▾
Colorants, flavorings, glycerin, propylene glycol, sorbates. Cheap spirits and ready-to-drinks often hide these in trade-secret formulas.
Evan Williams Black is the argument against assuming price tracks purity. It is a cheap bourbon, and it is also one of the lightest, for two reasons that both work in the drinker’s favour: it is bottled at 86 proof rather than 90 or 100, and it has not spent long enough in the barrel to pull heavy extract.
Barrel time is the thing people get backwards about bourbon. A twelve-year bourbon is not a cleaner bourbon; it has had four more years of contact with charred new oak, which is where the lignins, tannins and furfurals come from. Age is a flavour virtue and a chemistry cost.