Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A119 Review

Steve Coomes -

BOTTLES DETAILS

  • DISTILLER: Heaven Hill
  • MASH BILL: 78% Corn  |  12% Rye  |  10% Malt
  • AGE: 12 years
  • YEAR: 2019
  • PROOF: 135.2 (67.6% ABV)
  • MSRP: $60

STEVE'S NOTES

NOSE: Warmed Chocolate | Banana Bread | Orange Hard Candy | New Ball Glove Leather

TASTE: Cocoa balanced perfectly with old oak | Soothing warmth | Juicy Fruit gum

FINISH: Lengthy, warming  and honeyed

SHARE WITH: Bourbon fans who love a potent sip, and newcomers needing to experience one

WORTH THE PRICE: All day long. You’ll want two. At least.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bottle

OVERALL: At a dinner to meet Heaven Hill’s new master distiller, Colin O’Driscoll, my Bourbon & Banter colleague Matt Evans took one sniff and pronounced it a “chocolate bomb.” That was dead on. A friend at the same dinner asked, “Did you add water?” I answered, “Why? It’s soft at 135 proof!” Whiskey nerd that he is, I knew he meant “Did you act professionally and discover anything important by adding water like rational people do?” So I did, and it turned into honey: extraordinarily delicious, but I missed the oomph of the barrel strength. So, I advise no water be added.

BRAND NOTES

ELIJAH CRAIG BARREL PROOF BATCHES

Each batch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is an uncut Small Batch of 12-year-old Bourbon bottled straight from the barrel. The variance in proof from batch to batch presents a unique opportunity to explore the impact of the angel's share and the resulting proof in a small batch of barrels. The first letter of the batch number indicates which of that year's releases the bottle was a part of, starting with "A," while the second digit is a number that determines the month of the year the bottle was released. The third and fourth digits indicate the year. Hover over the years below to see the full list of releases and their respective proofs.

NOSE: Caramel with toasted oak, fruit notes of apple and orange

TASTE: Rich vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch along with spices of black pepper and cinnamon at the back of the palate

FINISH: Nicely layered showcasing all flavors, fades slowly then lingers as it cools

Disclaimer: Heaven Hill  provided Bourbon & Banter with a sample of their product for this review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.