Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch C922

 

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch C922 – 124.8 Proof

Appearance: iron oxide in color, fat legs, very oily

Nose: A dark brown sugar comes in but is quickly replaced by warm, earthy scents like turmeric, some wood char, a dash of cinnamon, and then the sweetness comes back in and lingers. This smells delicious!

Palate: Rye spice, charred oak, and cinnamon are the dominating flavors. There’s a light orange profile that makes it quite bright even with the more muted, earth notes that dominate. For me, I have to take a REALLY tiny sip to get past the proofiness of this one, but I guess that’s to be expected for a 62.4% abv. I was expecting a heavy oiliness on the pallet based on the appearance on the sides of the Glencairn, but it wasn’t as pronounced as expected, and I think that’s due to the high alcohol content thinning that mouthfeel at first…

Finish: There’s a lingering heat, but not a burn. It’s almost like the heat that would linger from raw, cinnamon powder on your tongue. As the alcohol finishes evaporating off the pallet, the oiliness I was looking for earlier shows up. It leaves the mouth feeling very well coated and leaves a subtle leatheriness and sweetness. It’s a long finish – particularly for the mouthfeel and the leather profile. My favorite part of this bourbon though is how the heat you feel on the pallet almost seems to vanish in the finish and leaves no burn as it goes down. It just kinda disappears in the chest and back of the throat. I like that because it feels like it’s playing mind games with me based on the proof and heat on the pallet, its just not what I expected in the finish.

Rating: 8.5/10

Overall: Great experience! I’m normally not a fan of high proof spirits, but this was fantastic!

Behind the Bottle: This is the final batch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof in 2022 - bottled in September of 2022. I got this bottle when we visited the Heaven Hill Distillery on December 30, 2022. We were given the “opportunity” to purchase this bottle because we got to sample it as part of one of the tastings we did (it was only made available to purchase if you got to taste it during a tasting/tour). Then a day later, when we were at the Evan Williams Experience in downtown Louisville, we found that we could buy it off the shelf for the same price there, even just coming in right off the street. So there’s that…

Regardless, this was the last of 5 premium bottles that we got to sample as part of our tasting at Heaven Hill (also Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel, Heaven Hill 7 year Bottled-in-Bond, Henry McKenna, and Parker’s Heritage 12th Edition - 2018 Orange Curacao finish), and I absolutely loved this ECBP the most out of all 5! So when I got the opportunity to purchase one, I couldn’t miss it. It’s a real treat and with this being the first ECBP batch I’ve ever had, I’ll definitely be hunting all future ECBP batches. Great bourbon!

If you saw my last review (Bourbz Review #2: Bardstown Fusion #8), you might remember that I was looking forward to comparing this ECBP bottle to Bardstown Fusion Series #8 because 30% of that blended whiskey is from a barrel very similar to this ECBP batch. In short, these are two TOTALLY different bourbons. While 30% of Fusion Series #8 has what could be this same ECBP bourbon, they are very different experiences. The similarities between the two bottles is that they both had a rye spice on the pallet, a mild sweetness in the finish, and very little burn. But those first two I would say are similar to saying two cars are similar because they both have tires. And on the mild burn/hug in the finish, when comparing the two side by side, this ECBP is noticeably less burn than Fusion #8 – they’re not even close. So really, in the end, I would say the 30% of this bourbon being in Fusion #8 is kinda wasted…it should have just been left on it’s own.

ECBP batch C922...if you ever get a chance to buy a bottle, don't pass on it!

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect