The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B+
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A124
(Credit: Richard Thomas)
When Heaven Hill finally took the 12 year age statement off Elijah Craig Barrel Proof last year, several years after taking the Elijah Craig Small Batch no age statement in 2016, it was an even noteworthy for just how little comment it attracted. Sure, some croaked, but compared to the outrage that similar transitions sparked during the middle 2010s, the response was relatively muted. It seems that the folks stoking the outrage in that bygone era have all either taken their ball and gone home or else otherwise fallen into irrelevancy.
That just leaves the question of whether the transition itself is an objectively good thing, which is something we can only even take a guess at after a few years have passed. The croakers of yeseteryear would seize upon any underaged, inferior expression to declare “See! I told you so! It’s all a scam!” Really, the only justification for that declaration is if said batch became the norm for the entire series. Hence, the need to observe and comment over time.
Which brings me to Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A124, the first batch of this year. This one is aged 10 years, 9 months, and came out at 119 proof. That makes it the youngest ever “ECBP,” and the second lowest ever in proof (including when the 12 year statement was in effect). Fans should have an inkling of the latter point instinctively, since Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is routinely above 120 proof. One way to look at this latest batch is that it’s Elijah Craig Small Batch, but a little past the upper end of its age range and uncut.
So, it’s an atypical batch. And you know what? I dug that atypical batch.
The Bourbon
The pour had a pretty standard amber appearance. The nose is akin to somehow turning fruit cocktail into a caramel candy fruit, with a current of dry wood and cookie spices.
Taking a sip, one gets the biting into brown sugar and cinnamon dusted graham cracker kind of sweetness. The spice blend here is hotter than in the nose. It’s a hefty dose of cinnamon, but now with ginger too. That spicy kick turns things dry on the back end. The finish rolls out of that too, with cinnamon fading to peppery and woody before disappearing all together.
The Price
ECBP is currently running at $75 per fifth bottle. Taken in the long view, it’s come up about $15 over the past decade, but has been holding steady this past few years.
Another thing to think about when considering how much or whether the loss of the age statement matters is this: Elijah Craig Small Batch costs $28 to $32 a bottle. This is a little older than the oldest barrels used to form that small batch, uncut, and costs maybe 2 1/2 times as much. Whether those two pluses are worth the extra price paid is a question worth asking, but most people agreed it was based just on the difference of 1 year, 3 months plus.
