Evan William is well known for producing several bourbons that are sold exclusively at their Evan Williams Bourbon Experience location and select Kentucky retailers, and Evan Williams Master Blend is one such release. The bourbon is produced by blending together Evan Williams 23 Year Old, Single Barrel, 1783, Bottled in Bond, and Signature Black. The company does not disclose the percentages of each base bourbon in the blend.

Evan Williams Master Blend greets you with a straightforward and simple aroma. Classic scents of caramel and vanilla are readily noticeable, while a soft oak bubbles beneath. Inhaling deeper pulls out a light, sweet peach scent. While pleasing, it’s also quickly forgettable.

The midpoint spans slightly more than the aroma, with caramel, baking spices, vanilla, and oak forming the base. A faint note of peach bread is present, while a pleasing rye spice and white peppercorn add contrast to the initial sweetness. Noticeable, though, is the thin mouthfeel that the flavors ride in on.

The finish is the weakest part of the sip, seeing as it comes and goes before you get a chance to figure out what it offers. A quick hit of rye spice and oak appears along with a light, sweet vanilla. The oak and vanilla quickly drop off as the rye spice stays for just a beat before showing itself out the door. The result is that the finish ends things on a down note.

Evan Williams Master Blend, in concept, sounds like a bourbon lover's dream. A well-known Kentucky distillery blends together several of its best-known bourbons into one super bourbon. What could go wrong? Apparently a lot.

For starters, the sip isn’t as full-flavored as one might expect. Knowing that 23 year old bourbon is part of the blend might make you expect a more defined sip. In reality, the amount of Evan Williams 23 Year Old used in this blend is probably single-digit percentage points, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just 1% or 2% of the overall blend. Instead, it comes across as tasting like the vast majority of Evan Williams younger bourbons.

Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with this, as on their own, these releases normally deliver an average to above-average sip. However, knowing that this is billed as their Master Blend, you expect a lot more than what is actually delivered. In the end, Evan Williams Master Blend has a hard time standing out, not just among competitors, but among other Evan Williams bourbons.

Bottles that are almost exclusively limited to a distillery can range in prices from $50 to several hundred dollars. Evan Williams Master Blend’s price of $80 comes across as a good value on paper, especially considering the blend contains 23 year old bourbon. It’s packaged in a premium wax topped bottle, much like Evan Williams 12 Year, and is adorned with the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience mark.

It’s upon closer inspection that the cracks start to show. The wax-dipped bottle is really just a screw-top. The bottle contains no information on the proportions of the various bourbons in the blend, and the company is tight-lipped about this on their website. Additionally, the actual sip the bourbon delivers is just average at best. While Evan Williams Master Blend may come across as a good value, in reality, its asking price is below average in the end.

In theory, Evan Williams Master Blend should work. In reality, the sip is fine but completely forgettable, blending into a sea of hundreds of other average bourbons. While it makes for a fun souvenir for casual visitors to take home, long-time fans of the brand will quickly forget about this bourbon after trying it. Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, while other times the parts outshine the end result. Evan Williams Master Blend is a perfectly acceptable average bourbon, but when you call something a Master Blend, consumers expect it to stand out rather than blend in.