Although bottled in Bardstown, the product is distilled at the Heaven Hill distillery in Louisville, Kentucky. The "standard issue" Evan Williams bourbon is sold as the mass-market "Black Label" variety. The company also bottles several other varieties, including a "White Label" that is bottled in bond, an "Evan Williams 1783" bourbon that is produced in more limited quantities, and a nine-year-old single barrel bourbon sold in vintage-dated bottles sealed with black wax. Occasionally available in some regions is a "Green Label" variety that is 80 proof and represents a younger, lighter-bodied version of the bourbon found in "Black Label" bottles at a more affordable price. As of 2010, Evan Williams was the second largest-selling brand of Kentucky straight bourbon and had the fastest-growing market share among the top-volume American whiskey brands, according to a press release issued by the producer citing A.C. Nielsen Scantrack 2010 data. Evan Williams Black is 43% alc/vol, unlike some popular whiskeys which are bottled at the statutory minimum of 40% alc/vol.
Origin of the name
Evan Williams was a Welsh immigrant, who was born in Dale, Pembrokeshire, but emigrated to the United States towards the end of the 18th century. Williams settled in Kentucky and began distilling in 1783, in what is now Louisville, Kentucky. A historical marker in Louisville says the site was Kentucky's first commercial distillery. Williams was elected to serve as the first wharf master of Louisville in 1797. This heritage is emphasized on the bottle label of the best selling variant, the black label, which bears the inscriptions "Since 1783" and "Kentucky's 1st distiller". However, the inscriptions should not be construed as indicating that the brand has continuously existed since the time of the historic distillery. The modern whiskey brand was introduced in 1957 and has no direct connection to the historic distillery. Moreover, historian Michael Veach of the Filson Historical Society has stated that key details of the historical claims about Williams appear to be false. Veach said that the assertion that Williams was Kentucky's first distiller did not appear until an 1892 publication by Reuben Durrett, more than a century after the fact. He also said that the dating is disproved by a record of Williams traveling from London to Philadelphia in May 1794, showing that Williams could only have begun his distillery substantially later. Veach indicated that the true identity of Kentucky's first distiller may never really be known, since record-keeping about such matters was poor, and there are others that seem more likely as candidates for first distiller, including Jacob Myers and brothers Joseph and Samuel Davis. Records reportedly indicate that Myers and the Davis brothers both arrived in 1779.
Varieties
Varieties of whiskey using the Evan Williams brand name include the following:
Evan Williams Honey Reserve, 70 proof, introduced in 2009
Evan Williams Cherry Reserve, 70 proof, introduced in 2010
Evan Williams Kentucky Cider, 34 proof
Evan Williams Cinnamon Reserve, 70 proof, introduced in 2015
Evan Williams Bourbon Experience
The whiskey and its history are featured in the "Evan Williams Bourbon Experience", a tourist attraction in Louisville that is part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Awards and reviews
On February 16, 2011, the "Black Label" expression tied with 100 proof Very Old Barton as "Best Buy Whisky of the Year" in the 17th Annual Malt Advocate Whiskey Awards.
