Review #201: Elijah Craig Barrel Select

AGE: 8 yr

MASH BILL: 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley

PROOF: 125

COST: $30 for 200mL bottle

When I visited Heaven Hill previously, I have passed on getting a “grenade” when they had them available for no reason other than the though, “they couldn’t be too different from ECBP.” But in a recent visit to the distillery, I decided to pick one up. They only had five left for the day, so perhaps a little FOMO kicked in. Whatever it was, this little dude came home with me. Let’s see if my decision to pass on these in the past was a mistake or not.

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Mahogany in color (1.6), very thick and oily looking, clinging to the glass. 

NOSE: Surprisingly bright smelling versus what I’m used to with Elijah Craig. Caramel, cherry pie filling, a little lemon peel, seasoned oak, and a touch of clove. It’s rather bright and sweet smelling though that oak does make its presence well known.

PALATE: Soft, velvety mouthfeel. Caramelized brown sugar, Maraschino cherry, and a light vanilla extract open this sip up. With a vigorous chew, this explodes with vanilla and tannins. That light lemon note from the nose remains consistent. I’ve not gotten lemon from EC in the past, so this is something I wasn’t expecting, but isn’t necessarily bad. In a strange way, it’s kinda like when you cook with lemon juice it helps enhance and amplify other flavors more than it does provide a citrus note itself. A touch of mint and black pepper start to appear going into the finish.

FINISH: A long, tannic, spicy finish. This is a stark contrast to the sweeter palate. Lots of clove shows up here in the finish that I wasn’t getting previously. The oak notes are a bit younger here too, having a little more of a green feel to them. Black pepper and vanilla extract show up late. Going late into the finish there’s almost a cedar or sandalwood note along with that black pepper that persists for a solid 45+ seconds after the swallow.

RATING: 8.1/10

OVERALL: Well, this was a unique enough profile compared to other ECBP picks that I can see why it was made a barrel select pick at the distillery. It’s surprisingly bright and almost delicate event. The cherry notes aren’t quite as strong as I have found in ECBP releases, and the oak notes are definitely a bit different and evolve throughout the sip. It’s a complex pour, but when I think about it being a EC bourbon, I find that the profile isn’t that disconnected from what my brain would expect – there are enough similarities that I think you could place it if you’re familiar with the Elijah Craig profile. It’s just different enough from most ECBP releases that it was worth getting for $30 to try out.

 

1 | Disgusting | Watershed Apple Brandy Finished Bourbon

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, Hillrock Estate Sauternes CS

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

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, BBCo Origin High Wheat, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, Maker's Mark Wood Finishing releases, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Woodford Reserve Batch Proof 121.2, BBCo Disco #7 and #13, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08, RR15