It’s time to wind this little excursion into Bourbon down and get back to Scottish Single Malts. But not yet. Before I wrap things up, I still have one bottle to review. A bottle which was high on my “wanted” list due to the reputation it has, and which I managed to get hold of a few months back. Today it’s time to review the Elijah Craig 12-year-old Barrel Proof.
TL:DR: A powerful high-proof bourbon, but maybe not the best batch
Score*: 6.5, good stuff undiluted, better with some water
Elijah Craig and its Barrel Proof Bourbon
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon was first launched in 2013 by Heaven Hill Distillery, one of Kentucky’s best-known whiskey producers. The brand is named after Reverend Elijah Craig, an 18th-century Baptist minister and distiller who is often credited with pioneering the use of charred oak barrels in whiskey ageing—as often the case with word-of-mouth claims, the historical accuracy of this claim is debated.
The Barrel Proof was introduced as an extension of the standard Elijah Craig Small Batch, offering a higher-proof, non-chill filtered experience that showcased the whiskey straight from the barrel. Since its debut, it has gained a strong reputation among bourbon enthusiasts and specific batches can be specifically saught after like the B520 whisch won Whisky Advocate’s Whiskey of the Year in 2020.
A different batch is released three times per year and features a unique proof, which can be as high as 70% ABV. The Batch numbering, introduced in 2017, allows enthusiasts to easily track different batches. The first letter indicates which one of the three yearly releases it is, the first number, the bottling month and the last two signal the year. The batch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof I am about to review today is A123, so the first batch of 2023, bottled in January.
The Barrel Proof version is the only widely available Elijah Craig product to retain the 12-year age statement after Heaven Hill removed the 12-year age statement from the standard Elijah Craig Small Batch in 2017.
Elijah Craig 12-year-old Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Specs
Price paid: $87 (Tax included)
Batch: A123
ABV: 62.8%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes (and clearly stated on the label)
Mashbill: 78% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, 10% Rye
Tasting Notes
Colour: Dark coppery amber
Nose: The first thing that hits me is acetone (or, as it may be more familiar to some, nail polish remover), which quickly dissipates, revealing a rich but rather straightforward nose. Notes of cherry, charred wood, caramel, and vanilla make up the core of the aromas. In the background, there is some spice (clove more than cinnamon), chocolate brownies and a touch of mint oil.
With water, the acetone note completely disappears, while the key notes of charred wood, cherries, vanilla and caramel remain. The dilution also reveals a gentler and more complex spice and a slightly perfumy, almost floral, background note.
Taste: Neat, it is unsurprisingly hot, but not as bad as I feared from the 62+%. The mouthfeel is rich and mouthcoating. As on the nose, I get a lot of caramel and cherries, but also some plums, wood tannin and vanilla, but here, the clove spice is significantly stronger. Overall, I am left with the desire for more complexity. The finish is long, hot, with cinnamon and chilli, then notes of cherry and caramel and a touch of chocolate.
Adding a teaspoon of water enhances the mouthfeel, making it oilier while keeping the rich and mouthcoating texture, but it does affect the flavour notes, which become sweeter with more cherry, caramel and citrus peel. The finish becomes a little shorter but not hot at all, with caramel cherry cola, clove and a little citrus.
Score*: 6.5, good stuff, verging on very good with some water
I need to be honest; I was quite hyped about getting my hands on this Elijah Craig Barrel Proof for this review, and while I do enjoy it, I was expecting more. More for the price and more for its reputation. I found this pleasant but quite woody, too much so to be fair. Looking around after writing my tasting notes, I realised I am not the only one who feels that way, this batch has a reputation for being quite wood-driven. It still is a good sipper. But it just does not match my favourite from tis round of Bourbon reviews, the Old Forester 1920
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
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After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A123 enjoyed:
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