The king has been crowned!  The number 1 budget bourbon is Heaven Hill's Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond.  It's truly amazing the range of profiles that Heaven Hill develops through it's products while really only using to two mashbills.  In comparison to Buffalo Trace, who also utilizes mainly 2 mashbills, my personal belief is that Heaven Hill is able to develop a wider variance of flavors across it's brands.  There seems to one or two key notes that run through most of the Buffalo Trace products within the same mashbill, which is what you would expect but again, Heaven Hill works some magic with their ageing process to develop these flavors. 

The Evan Williams brand is the second largest selling brand of bourbon in the country. Evan Williams himself is credited with establishing the first commercial bourbon distillery in the country.  There are quite a few Evan Williams brand offerings: Green label, Black Label, 1783 Small Batch, Single Barrel, other high age stated that are sold only at the visitor's center, and many flavored variations.  Evan Williams also has it's own "Bourbon Experience" in Louisville.  This is a big brand with many really good offerings but this "White Label" bottled-in-bond may be the best of the bunch.  

Stats: NAS (min. 4 yrs as BiB); 100 proof; 78% Corn 10% Rye 12% Malted Barley; $15

Verdict: Many have lauded praise on this offering for its value and clearly it hits the right spots on my palate.  I get primarily sweet notes initially with caramel, vanilla, even cane sugar, but that meets some light citrus, fruit, and oak.  Those don't sound like anything outstanding in terms of profile but the way the flavors develop and roll from one to another is what sets it apart for me.  I mentioned in a previous post that the top 3 were all very close from a scoring perspective but this one stood out with its delivery of flavors with a tempered alcohol burn. This is obviously one that stays on my shelf and I reach for often.  I also like to blind it with other higher priced bottles and surprise guests that a $15 bottle can deliver $45 quality.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!  And don't forget to check out the other Top 5 lists from the menu above!

Final Top 5 Budget Bourbon Rankings:

1. Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond

2. Heaven Hill 6 Year "Green Label"

3. Wild Turkey 101

4. Jim Beam Bonded

5. J.W. Dant Bottled-in-Bond