Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is the uncut version of what used to be Elijah Craig 12. That product has since lost its age statement but per Heaven Hill, the barrel proof version will continue to be age stated. Given the crazy market for bourbon we live in right now though your guess is as good as mine as to how long that will last.
Since its release back in 2013, there have been 10 different batches of the barrel proof product. The batches can be distinguished by the proof so if you want to know which one you have, bourbonr maintains a nice cheat sheet mapping proofs to batch numbers. Though it’s not what I would call easy to find, this product has enjoyed some success in that it’s not as difficult to obtain as other more limited releases like the Antique Collection or Parker’s Heritage Collection. Because of that accessibility, I’ve been able to obtain or sample every batch minus the latest one. In my experience, even when including the lowest and highest proof batches, they’ve all been very good and consistently in the same wheelhouse of quality.
Aged 12 years; 67.8% ABV; $56
Nose: Needs a lot of air time before the intense ethanol dies down. Once you get over that - heaps of wood, dark fudgy sweets, and dark fruits.
Taste: Just like the nose with a thick and chewy mouthfeel. Dark wood sugars, dark fruits, chocolate fudge, and cherries are the prominent flavors. It tastes old enough to have absorbed a ton of wood sugar flavors without being overly tannic or having any of the musty / funky flavors that come with too much age like in the 18+ year versions of this line. Taste-wise it reminds me in a lot of ways of my favorite annual release, George T. Stagg.
Thoughts: A high proof oak bomb. If you can handle the heat and don’t mind the intense woodiness, you’ll be rewarded with tons of flavors. I have to give Heaven Hill some praise for maintaining such consistency through all the different batches which is more than can be said about similar products from Buffalo Trace. Given the price point, quality, and availability of this product, it gets my vote for best in class over competitors such as Stagg Jr and Colonel Taylor Barrel Proof.
Rating: A- / B+
Value: As always, I don’t factor price into my ratings. At retail or somewhere close to it, this bottle is a good buy. I’ve paid as much as $70 off the shelf and have no regrets.
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