Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A124

Cost: $80 for 750 mL bottle

Age: 10 years 9 months

Mash Bill: 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley

Proof: 119

I love me some ECBP! In the last couple of years, while there have certainly been better batches than others, I wouldn’t kick any of them out of bed! Sure, there were all the haters that vowed to never drink ECBP again because they dropped the 12 year age statement, and all I have to say to that is 1) please do, because that will leave more inventory for me to find and 2) do you really think a few months are going to be a major difference in flavor when we’re talking 11-12 years? And even after B523 initially had some mixed reviews after being the first less than 12 year batch, it ultimately wound up being well regarded across the bourbon world. Enter batch A124. A sub-11 year batch! Now this one has seen more mixed reviews than I think even B523 did. What I will say is I have seen very few reviews that consider this batch a favorite, and while I’ve not seen anyone say other batches over the last couple years was “awful,” I have seen a few people say that about A124. I have my doubts A124 is awful though. Lets find out!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

Appearance: Lightly charred oak in color (1.7), a nice oily appearance on the sides of the glass, beading very nicely and slowly forming fat beads that leave thin, but very slow legs.

Nose: It’s brighter than I’m accustomed to ECBP nosing. There’s a sweet floral note like orange blossom that accompanies cherry syrup and vanilla frosting when I hold my nose at the top of the glass. Dipping it towards the bottom of the glass, I get a dominant rich cherry pie filling, black pepper, and a nice subtle background of leather and charred oak. This isn’t the decadent pastry nose that other batches have had, but it’s complex.

Palate: Sweet cinnamon, almost like a Hot Tamale candy. The cherries from the nose sadly don’t show back up, and I am instead picking up toasted pecan, some barrel char, white pepper and rye spice. There is an astringentness that is present, and the mouthfeel is pretty thin. I would say this is probably the thinnest mouthfeel I’ve had from ECBP batches in recent memory. However, the flavor is robust, so the thinness and lack of ability to really coat the mouth well doesn’t prevent you from picking up the notes.

Finish: The astringentness from the palate fades into the finish and mixes with an almost sour cherry or watermelon note that makes me think of Warheads candies. It’s not as sour as a Warhead, but just has that effect of making the muscles in my mouth tighten up a bit. The dominant notes though would be a sweet oak note, a little cherry licorice, and a rye spice that lingers the longest. The finish is rather long, slightly tannic, and is accompanied by a very faint hug deep down in the chest.

Rating: 6.6/10

Value: 7.8/10 (this value is based on a ratio of the $/mL to the rating above compared to this same ratio for all other r/Bourbon reviews I’ve made and normalized to 10)

Overall: Well…it’s the lowest ranked ECBP batch since I’ve been doing reviews. It was a bit hot/astringent and didn’t have the dessert vibes I’ve gotten from other recent ECBP batches. It had that little interesting sourness going from the end of the sip and into the finish, but it didn’t bother me too much. I attributed it more to the astringentness than an off flavor of the bourbon itself. A 6.6 is still a solid score! And when you factor in the value of this bottle: $80 for double digit age statement and barrel proof, it’s still a great offering, and by no means awful!

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Widow Jane Decadence

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, WhistlePig PiggyBack SiB, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, JD SiB BiB, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Barrel Bourbon Batch T8ke, BBC DS #7, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08