Mon 3 Oct 2005
Andrew pointed me towards Spirit Journal's list of the best spirits of 2005. In particular I was awed that #5 on the list is vintage 1995 Evan Williams Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. I'm familiar with Evan Williams as the cheap swill alternative to Jack Daniels, so seeing this bottle so highly rated was amazing, totally leaving aside the fact that it retails for $25. Wow. Good luck finding it though. BevMo has the 1990 vintage.
Update: I can only find the bottle at one store: Wine Exchange. Drop a line if you locate it elsewhere.
Sam's Wine out of chicago seems to have it (although a vintage is not listed): http://www.sams-wine.com/Products/Product.aspx?SKU=78642
I've not tried Evan Williams yet (though I found it via the same report you did), but to call it "the cheap swill alternative to Jack Daniels" is something! Jack Daniels is the cheapest of swills. Vile stuff. Of course, I prefer Scotch to Bourbon, so maybe it's just that Jack Daneils doesn't suit my taste. I rarely drink it even if it's the only thing available.
I don't have a particular love affair with Jack either, but it's interesting how many people do. I think Jack Daniels has a huge cultural value for some folks – it's one of those emblematic liquors. It stands for high class, for fancy parties, for good times, whatever… So it almost stops mattering that it's not the greatest whiskey around.
Evan Williams, on the other hand, stands for the corner convenience store, smelly basements, and morning headaches.