Review #297 - Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A121
Batch A121 of Heaven Hill's Elijah Craig Barrel Proof bourbon was released in January 2021. This was back when the ECBP bottles had a standard 12 year age statement, and it came with a barrel proof strength of 61.8% ABV (123.6 proof), as well as a guarantee of no chill filtration.
Elijah Craig uses a bourbon mashbill that consists of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye - slightly unusual, in that the barley is a larger proportion of the grains than the rye.
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A121
USA - Bourbon
Price Paid: USD 60 (2023, at auction)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 70 (2024)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 61.8% ABV
Details: Not chill filtered; batch A121
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 3 months; bottles at 100%, 90%, and 80% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: A little closed up at first, but opens to deep, rich, mature flavors. Leather, strong oak which is nicely integrated, wood sugars, and some hints of unsmoked cigars; a bit decadent, with sweeter flavors of butterscotch, caramel corn, and just a little hint of cherry cola. Just slightly musty and earthy at times.
Palate: A medium-thick mouthfeel; oak is the first flavor, and it's quite strong, accented by wood smoke and tobacco smoke. Dense and nicely layered, with old worn leather, brown sugar, and some spices: anise and black pepper. Subtle sweetness comes in from dark, syrupy cherries.
Finish: Medium-long, with chocolate, sweet and tannic oak, and some wood smoke. More mature flavors of pipe tobacco, leather, and peppery oak arrive, and in the end, a creamy flavor, along with lingering oily texture.
Final Note: Very nice, which you expect from Elijah Craig Barrel Proof - it's a very solid, generally consistent high proof bourbon. This batch has nice old oak notes, and the sweeter side was subtle - just hints of brown sugar and cherries here and there. Still, it was never overly bitter or tannic... aged very well.
Great value, which is also a theme with ECBP - these are released at a very fair price, and because of that, they often fly off of shelves, which can make them harder to find in certain places.
Our Average Rating: 7.8 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 8.00
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Elijah Craig reviews:
