Normally I would not touch a premade bottled Egg Nog, but this one is excellent!
Notes: Made by Heaven Hill Distillery, maker of many fine whiskies ( see Other below for some other reviews). This Eggnog is quite a blend, made from a traditional recipe of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Blended Whiskey, Rum, and Brandy with Eggnog as all proper eggnogs should be made.
Appearance: Dark egg cream color with a touch of duskiness to it.Nicely thick with no separation or the contents.
First Impression: Nicely aromatic, with whiffs of brandy, rum, and some bourbon notes along with some lighter cinnamon, nutmeg, and maybe allspice notes.Overall a luscious bouquet that takes the edge of all that damn Christmas music and other provocations of the seasons.
Taste: Creamy, thick and spicy entry with the bourbon providing nice vanilla and caramel and slight oak char taste with the rum and brandy offering more mouthfeel, roundness of body, and a touch of its own sweetness in a more caramel cane way than just sugar could muster on its own. The eggs and cream are faultlessly blended with the other alcoholic ingredients for a harmonious and balanced egg nog that stands up and blends with the addition of aromatic nutmeg to make a memorable egg nog that is quite balanced and not overdone as many others are.
Drinks: The traditional of course. Use FRESH nutmegs, not those wooden marbles you have in a jar from when the last time you moved, and use a decent Microplane that you washed all the dust off of so as not to confuse that with your nutmeg or use some fresh mint leaves instead.
Bottle: Square bottle with rounded shoulders, with Evan Williams, embossed on each shoulder. Cream /Off white lettering on a dark green 3/4 wrap label with instruction
Other: Heaven Hill is close to both Buffalo Trace and Woodford Reserve Distillery if you are touring. Home of numerous other whiskies such as Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old, Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel, Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel, Elijah Craig 23-Year-Old Single Barrel, Henry McKenna, Old Fitzgerald, Fighting Cock and Cabin Still among others. This is a single barrel bourbon from ten-year-old barrels that are selected every year. In this case, the statistics were; Barreled on 3/19/20004, Barrel #1, Bottled on 11/16/13. Previous reviews include the 2000 Vintage, the 2002 Vintage, and the 2003 Vintage.
Final Thoughts: Definitely one of the best-premade alcohol already in there egg nogs out there. While you can of course buy non-alcohol egg nog or make your own from scratch, you would also need at least 3 different mixers ( whiskey, rum and brandy) which is more complicated and expensive to do. Unless you want to make a completely homemade egg nog with your custom blend this is certainly the way to go especially for Christmas parties and such.
Website: www.evanwilliams.com