Multiple Choice – Evan Williams BiB

I guess I have to thank my friend Serge from Hungry Thirsty Bored yet again for introducing me to “micro batching” syrups. While I already made smaller amounts of around 100 ml each time, through his suggestion I cut that amount in half. This has the clear advantage of using up the syrup pretty quickly. Besides that it gives you the chance to come up with crazy drink ideas like a multivitamin flavoured Whiskey Sour.

First, let us take a quick look at the whiskey I used in the “Multiple Choice”. The Evan Williams Bottled in Bond, might look like your average bottom shelf whiskey, but instead it might just be the best value for money bourbon out there. Heaven Hill supposedly comprises the mash-bill of 78 % corn, 10 % rye and 12 % malted barley. Apart from that, the distillery uses a no. 3 char and enters the spirit with 62,5 % ABV into the barrels. The ageing is done under government oversight and takes at least four years before bottling at 100 proof (50 % ABV).

Corn Whiskey

I guess it should not come as a big surprise that the predominant flavour in the Evan Williams is corn. You get a lot of corn whiskey like flavours paired with some sweet flavours, some glue and a noticeable menthol note. However, for the price of the bottle you will be surprised that the bourbon still is very balanced. I would not recommend sipping it neat, but mixed with ice or in cocktails this is a great whiskey!

Multivitamin Sour

For a drink with the Evan Williams I made a multivitamin syrup by using multivitamin juice instead of water when making a 2:1 simple syrup. Apart from that I kept everything like in a simple sour. – Except that I split the base with some Genever, just to fit the song from Absynthe Minded better. In the end, I also added a few dashes homemade cranberry and mango bitters.

*Make a bittering agent using Swedish herbs and unaged spirit – infuse almonds, dried cranberries and dried mango in white overoproof rum – strain after one week – mix bittering agent and infusions to your liking

The “Multiple Choice” starts off with typical Whiskey Sour notes. However, soon a combination of Genever and exotic fruits take over. You even get some nutty notes from the Old Simon Genever. Yet, the drink does not only taste like nimm2 candy. Instead, it hast a great balance.

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The bourbon was provided by Borco Marken Import.