Last week for Bourbon Cheapskate, I wrote about the Member’s Mark Single Barrel I picked up at Sam’s Club. Then, on Tasting Tuesday, one of the highlights was the Evan Williams Single Barrel America 250, which came out extremely well in a blind tasting and finished just a smidge behind the New Riff Single Barrel.
That got me thinking.
What happens if I put a few value-friendly single barrels side by side and see how they compare?
This wasn’t a blind tasting, and I’m not pretending it was. This was more of a practical shelf comparison: four single barrels, all reasonably accessible in one way or another, lined up from lowest proof to highest proof.
The lineup:
Evan Williams Single Barrel, Bourbon Nation Collegiate Edition, Florida Gators Bottle
Benchmark Single Barrel
Member’s Mark Single Barrel
Evan Williams Single Barrel America 250
And since this is Bourbon Cheapskate territory, the main question is simple:
Which bottle gives the best combination of flavor, value and sipping satisfaction?
Evan Williams Single Barrel — Bourbon Nation Collegiate Edition, Florida Gators Bottle
We start with the lowest-proof bottle in the group: Evan Williams Single Barrel at 86.6 proof.
This particular bottle is the Bourbon Nation Collegiate Edition Florida Gators bottle, which means I was probably going to buy it no matter what. I’m a Gator fan. Sometimes that’s all the justification a man needs.
This is a 2018 bourbon. It went into the barrel in August 2018 and came out about two months ago. Like most Evan Williams Single Barrel bottles, it has a light nose, an even lighter color and some nice flavors that simply lack punch.
There’s a little nuttiness. A little fruit. A little oak. But everything feels thin, which makes sense because, again, we’re talking about 86.6 proof. It’s not offensive. It’s not bad. It’s just not big.
The finish suffers for the same reason. There’s not much weight or depth hanging around after the sip is gone.
Still, I wanted the bottle because it’s a Gators bottle, and I won’t regret sipping on it during football season. There are worse things in life than drinking a decent low-proof single barrel while hoping the Gators don’t ruin your Saturday.
And as a gateway single barrel, it works. It’s approachable. It’s easy. It doesn’t ask much of you.
It just also doesn’t give a whole lot back.
Benchmark Single Barrel
Next up is Benchmark Single Barrel, which is one of those bottles that lives on the bottom shelf but carries some undeniable Buffalo Trace DNA.
There are some things we don’t know here. We don’t get barrel dates. We don’t get a mashbill. We don’t get an age statement. Legally, it has to be at least four years old, and I suspect it’s probably hanging pretty close to that minimum.
Like the Evan Williams 86.6, the color is very light. But the nose has a little more going on. There’s a distinctive Buffalo Trace grapiness here, and once you notice that note, it’s hard not to keep noticing it.
The flavor follows the nose. I get grape soda with a little oak in the background. It’s not bad at all, but it also doesn’t feel like something I’d typically pour when I want to sit and think about a bourbon.
This is not really a “slow down and ponder life” bottle.
This is more of a “make a very solid Old Fashioned and don’t feel guilty about it” bottle.
And honestly, there’s value in that. Not every bottle has to be a fireside philosopher. Some bottles just need to show up, do the job and not make you regret the purchase.
Benchmark Single Barrel does that.
But in this group, it’s pretty basic.
Member’s Mark Single Barrel
Now we start getting into the serious value conversation.
The Member’s Mark Single Barrel says “limited edition” on the label, though Sam’s Club seems to bring this one back around every so often. Maybe once a year. Maybe just often enough to keep bourbon cheapskates checking the shelf with hope in their hearts.
At 110 proof, this one brings significantly more punch than the first two bottles. We don’t get an official age statement or mashbill here either, but the general suspicion is that this is Barton 1792 whiskey, probably using its high-rye bourbon mashbill and likely aged somewhere in the five- to six-year range.
The nose comes across a little oaky, and the flavor reminds me of a creamy peanut butter sandwich on buttered bread. That may sound oddly specific, but that’s where it went for me: nutty, creamy, buttery and bready, with enough proof to carry the flavors forward.
It does taste a little youthful in places, but not in a way that ruins the experience. It has some rough edges, but it also has a lot of personality. And at around $19, those rough edges get a lot easier to forgive.
At that price, this bottle is ridiculous.
There’s real flavor here. There’s proof. There’s body. There’s enough going on that you don’t spend the whole time thinking about what it lacks. You spend more time wondering how this thing costs less than a pizza and a couple of sodas.
Without a doubt, Member’s Mark Single Barrel is one of the best bargains in the bourbon world.
Evan Williams Single Barrel America 250
And now we come to the winner.
For this comparison, I used Barrel 92 of the Evan Williams Single Barrel America 250, though I’ve managed to squirrel away several bottles from different barrels.
That’s one of the fun parts of this release. Evan Williams apparently made 250 barrels, and each barrel should offer a slightly different experience. The first two I opened were very different, but both were very good.
Barrel 92 is more fruit-forward and carries some of the signature Evan Williams cherry cola notes. Barrel 139 is a touch creamier, with some fruit still there, but more nutty and buttery notes. They’re different enough to notice, but similar enough to reassure me that this release is just plain strong.
I think I have enough of these bottles that I’ll be sipping on America 250 for a while, even if Evan Williams — as expected — does not come forward with a higher-proof version of the single barrel as a standard offering.
And that’s a shame, because this bottle answers a question I’ve had for years:
What would Evan Williams Single Barrel taste like if Heaven Hill stopped watering it all the way down to 86.6 proof?
The answer?
It would taste pretty fantastic.
This particular bottle is just over seven years old. It went into the barrel in December 2018 and came out in February 2026. The proof is 117.76, because apparently someone at Heaven Hill decided that if you’re going to make a bottle for America’s 250th birthday, you might as well proof it patriotically.
And I appreciate that kind of commitment to the bit.
As an experiment, I watered down a half-ounce of the America 250, following strict instructions, to see what happened when it got closer to the regular Evan Williams Single Barrel range. The result told me a lot. The core flavors were still there, but the color, mouthfeel and finish all suffered.
That’s the difference.
At full strength, this bourbon has weight. It has body. It has flavor that hangs around.
I get cherry cola, caramel, oak and vanilla. The extra proof gives the bourbon structure, and the mouthfeel keeps it from disappearing too quickly. The finish is where this bottle really separates itself from the standard 86.6-proof version. Instead of fading out, it lingers with real flavor.
This is the Evan Williams Single Barrel I always wanted.
And honestly, I can’t believe it has taken Heaven Hill this long to even contemplate giving us something like this.
The Finish Line
After tasting through the four bottles, here’s where they landed.
4th Place: Benchmark Single Barrel
Nice, but very basic. There are clear Buffalo Trace qualities here, especially that grapey note, but this isn’t one I’d usually reach for as a sipper. I’d gladly use it in an Old Fashioned, though.
3rd Place: Evan Williams Single Barrel, 86.6 Proof
A solid gateway single barrel. It’s sippable, especially if you want something lower proof, but don’t expect too much. It has good flavors, but they’re diluted and thin. I’m still glad to have the Florida Gators bottle, because game-day sipping doesn’t always require greatness. Sometimes it just requires orange, blue and bourbon.
2nd Place: Member’s Mark Single Barrel
At $19, you simply cannot regret this purchase. There’s too much good going on to obsess over what it’s missing. It’s a little youthful, sure, but it’s creamy, flavorful, punchy and wildly affordable. This is what Bourbon Cheapskate is all about.
1st Place: Evan Williams Single Barrel America 250
This one wins, and it wins clearly. It has everything I wish the regular Evan Williams Single Barrel had: proof, body, finish and full flavor. The cherry cola, caramel, oak and vanilla all come through beautifully, and the higher proof lets those flavors do their job.
Pound for pound, Evan Williams Single Barrel America 250 is one of the best bottles on my shelf.
Final Thoughts
The biggest lesson here is that “single barrel” doesn’t automatically mean special. A single barrel still has to deliver. Proof matters. Age matters. Barrel selection matters. Mouthfeel matters. Finish matters.
The regular Evan Williams Single Barrel is pleasant but watered down. Benchmark Single Barrel is useful but basic. Member’s Mark Single Barrel is a screaming bargain.
But the Evan Williams America 250?
That’s the bottle that makes me wonder what Heaven Hill has been waiting for.
Because if Evan Williams Single Barrel can taste like this at higher proof, then maybe the real question isn’t whether America 250 is worth buying.
The real question is why this isn’t already a regular bottle.
