Evan Williams Single Barrel 2004 (Bottled 2014)

This will be among my first Heaven Hill products I’ve tasted, and it’s silly that it’s taken me so long. This version was barreled in 2004, and bottled in 2014 making it 10 years old. Lets see if I can detect the age, or see if this distillery I’m so inexperienced with sticks out:

Source: Sample from Master of Malt.
Setup: Blind in a trio tasting with Michter's US*1 Straight Rye & Smooth Ambler Wheated Bourbon.
Drank: Neat, in a Glencairn. Rested 15 minutes.

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Nose: Cedar, cream and yellow apple. Deep syrupy brown sugar notes. Mild nose, but a good balance of wood and sweetness.
Palate: Mildly viscous mouthfeel, goes down smooth with little spice, notes of citrus/orange pulp.
Finish: Finishes reasonably short with cedar and citrus, fading to a bitter woody note.
Overall: Not bad by any means, but it’s pretty simple, I am missing some complexity here. The nose is really enjoyable, regardless.
Blind guess: Something low proof produced by Buffalo Trace?

Rating (given blind): 5

Thoughts: Haha, so I didn’t pick up that I didn’t know distillery at all. Interesting! Definitely did not detect the age, apart from the bitter twang on the finish. Given that this can retail in the low $20s in some parts of the US, it seems like a no brainer to having sitting on a shelf. Solid bottle for the price.