Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B519

ELIJAH CRAIG BARREL PROOF SHOWDOWN: 2019 Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A119 Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B519 Continuing to work through whiskies in my collection that I’ve yet to review. I’ve got several years and releases of ECBP; however, my only complete year for all three releases is 2017. For 2019, I was never able to find C919, so this showdown will compare the A119 to the B519. I’ve gone through seven years of community ranking data for each triannual rating of ECBP, and averaged the 21 averages themselves to establish a community mean for the seven-year period 2017-2023. This will enable us to quantify what the group things about a particular release relative to the overall average (mean). At the time of yesterday’s review: • mean(m): 4.26 • standard deviation(s): 0.14 • sample size(n): 3008 (If you don’t care about stats, you can skip the next two paragraphs). Because I’m unable to aggregate all ratings for each specific release (Distiller, are you listening? Give us more data!), I’m unable to establish a standard deviation for a particular release. But I am able to compute the z-score for each particular release relative to the entire sample. The z-score is computed as follows: ((mean for the specific release minus the mean for the entire sample) divided by the overall sample’s standard deviation). This statistic quantifies how much better or worse a particular release is in relation to the community’s ranking of all ECBP over the sample period. Assuming a normal distribution, any z-score within +/- 1.0 standard deviation is assumed to be within “normal” limits (per the empirical rule, ~68% of the distribution is within +/- 1 standard deviation from the mean). A z-score of +/- 2 standard deviations would represent ~95% of the distribution; and +/- 3 is ~99% of the distribution. Thus a z-score of +1.5 would be a significantly better release than normal (and -1.5 would be significantly worse). A z-score of 2.0 would be better than 95% of the sample, etc. (End of stats geek stuff). Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A119 Color is a clear russet mahogany, consistent with Pantone 153. Prominent cherries on the nose, orange marmalade, caramel apples, oaky vanilla, and noticeable alcohol. Just the slightest bit of creaminess on the palate, with caramelized sugar and spicy cinnamon with the alcohol kick, finishing with some tobacco, leather, toasted oak, and lots of vanilla on the medium-long finish. For $75-80, the age statement, barrel proof, and consistent good- to-great quality of ECBP makes this bourbon a no-brainer. Unfortunately, they get scarce pretty quickly, and I’m typically not able to secure all three releases for any given year—though I definitely try. ECBP always represents a great value. This particular batch is very good: complex, robust, and approaching hazmat proof, which doesn’t overwhelm the depth and richness of flavor. Give me a campfire in the woods on a cool fall evening, and this (and a good woman). 4.5 on the Distiller scale. My rating: 4.5 Community: m=4.36, z=0.70, n=270 (moderately better than all ECBPs) 135.2 proof. 12-year age statement. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B519 Bourbonesque clear mahogany (Pantone 153) is indistinguishable in color from the A119. Nose begins with a soft cocoa powder followed by fruity cherries, grilled peaches, and strawberry preserves, and a whiff of cool licorice. The palate has a little sweetness, quickly revealing some espresso bitterness, woody tannins, char, roasted marshmallow, and burnt caramel, before fading to vanilla. Tasted after the A119, the B519’s lower proof is evident: this is a kinder, gentler ECBP. “Gentler,” but not “gentle.” It’s softer than the A119, but has the gusto to wear the ECBP banner proudly. While the community rates this as slightly below all ECBPs over the past seven years, I’d rate it just slightly above, but given the quarter-point increments of the Distiller rating system, there’s not enough to push it to a 4.5 like the A119. Great value as always. Would I buy it again? Yes. I buy every ECBP release that I see. 4.25 on the Distiller scale. My rating: 4.25 Community: m=4.23, z=-0.23, n=305 (slightly worse than all ECBPs) 122.2 proof. 12-year age statement. For the most part, comparing ECBPs is like comparing BMWs with Mercedes, or critiquing any luxury car brand and debating the merits of different options. These tasting “Showdowns” are fun to do, and I believe are good exercises for your nose and palate. Finding the good stuff requires wading through a lot of crap. I’ve waded through a lot of crap already, and am sure that ECBP is among the good stuff. Overall, the A119 is more complex and assertive, whereas the B519 is softer (and still complex). Both are perched near the top of the bourbon world. The A119 appeals a bit more to my palate than the B519, but I will continue to happily drink them both. N.B.: All spirits tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.

Rating: 17/23 N: A definite alcohol bite here. A hint of fudge with some spices and restrained wood. Maybe a hint of root beer too? Giving it a few minutes in the glass, I start to get some chili pepper and a bit of an odd vegetal note. The fudge and root beer largely disappear and some sour mash comes out. I've gone from slightly liking this nose to rather disliking it. P: This sure burns, but oh how there's loads of fudgey bittersweet chocolate with hints of root beer. Light caramel with sour mash that gives a little bit of tangerine and orange peel to the palate. Not the most nuanced release, but a really decadent one. As the palate develops, more vegetal hints come out along with the root beer. The wood and spice are hanging around as well, with the latter mostly appearing as a burning side of this, but bringing in a bit of cinnamon and black pepper. F: Long lingering burn. Some light fudge remains along with a touch of tangerine, a light hint of yeast, and maybe a waft of anise or root beer. - Conclusion - This isn't as nuanced and balanced as Elijah Craig A120, but it's fuller and more decadent. The burn is certainly greater here as well, however. As much as I enjoy this, I'm pretty confident in saying that the A120 is better. This is more bitter with a hint more copper to it. Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.8 (18-19/23) is surprisingly a bit fuller than this is and it's also much funkier, with plenty of burn to it as well. The Wild Turkey gives me sort of a tart cherry and cream cheese danish vibe when tasted alongside this. I'm finding the two to be pretty competitive, though I feel like I like the Wild Turkey a bit more. Resilient 15 (18/23) is smoother with a nicer wood maturity to it and a surprising fullness. This really isn't super full. I'm finding the two to be competitive, but I'm leaning toward the Resilient. This is more complex, but it's just missing something. Old Forester 1920 (18/23) tastes very competitive with this. It's less hot and not super complex, but it has some fairly tasty banana and spice. There is a bit more alcohol bite here, with more of the ethanol bitterness coming through. I'd say that the two are very close, but I'd take the Old Forester if I had to choose. 1792 Full Proof (19/23) is smoother, richer, fuller, and more decadent. It isn't as interesting, but it's better executed overall. I would take the 1792 over this. On the other hand, I would definitely take this over Elijah Craig C920 (15/23). The C920 burns way too much and this has so much more fudgey decadence and way less alcohol flavor as well. Garrison Brothers Single Barrel cask strength (15/23) has a surprising amount of fullness when compared with this. For me, that's a sign that this really isn't as full as it should be. I think this is in the 17 to 18 range. I'm landing on a 17. The fact that just about everything I tried this against was fuller than it, regardless of their proofs, really drives home that as good as this is, it isn't a really great release. Resilient 15, in particular, is kind of a moderately full dram bottled at only 53.5% ABV, yet this was a bit shy of even it in fullness. 17. Thank you @ctbeck11 for this sample!

The nose starts with caramelized bananas, stewed sour cherries and flapjacks cooked in bacon drippings then dark chocolate covered hazelnuts and espresso followed by Granny Smith apple peel, lemon zest and mandarin oranges followed by ginger, spearmint, cloves and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with caramelized bananas, stewed sour cherries and cinnamon sugar dusted donuts then a moderate bitter and sour spice that slowly fades to a spicy mocha and toasted hazelnuts followed by Granny Smith apple peel, sour lemon candy and mandarin orange zest followed by ginger, spearmint, cloves and mildly bitter black tea with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with a spicy mocha, orange peel, caramelized bananas, sour cherries, black pepper, burnt caraway seeds and mildly bitter black tea. Overall, I think this is a solid and tasty bourbon that those traditional bourbon flavors are dialed up with that high proof, but the fruits are on the sour side along with a bitter over-brewed black tea note and moderate spice that my palate doesn't particularly care for and takes away from the experience for me. This is the first of my Elijah Craig series and it should be interesting to see how the different batches compare as I make it through them. Thanks @ctbeck11 for the generous sample.

Elijah Craig is, generally speaking, a 5-star whiskey. This is my opinion after the first two batches I've had. One striking difference with this one is that it sits at 61.1% ABV, which is remarkably low for one of these releases. Let's see if this batch hits as hard as the others despite being in a lower weight class. Nose: Cola, caramel, and brown sugar. Leather and tobacco smoke. Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and oak. Orange peel, walnut, and almond. Mahogany. Hot, in a good way. I really couldn't tell that it's under-proofed in comparison to its contemporaries. Nice start. Palate: Oak and nutty notes of almond and walnut upon entry. Vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, and Gala apple. Orange peel and sundried raisin. Toffee and another sweet note that sits somewhere between maple and molasses. Solid palate. Finish: Carrot cake note I get from Henry McKenna 10. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, oak. Big caramel. Finish as long as the day. 4.75. Not quite up to snuff with the other ECBPs I've had in the past, but it's right there. Even at the lower proof, it's still an absolute monster. At $60, this is highway robbery. VFM through the roof. If you're into Heaven Hill, barrel proof whisky, or Bourbon in general, give this one a shot. Once again, kudos to HH.

Open 2 months Nose - Hot ethanol and ketones overwhelm the nostrils, it's hard to pick out other flavors with this chemical burn. Burnt caramel, strong oak, powdery baking spices, dusty grains are underneath if you take small whiffs. Palate - Front- and mid-palate have more classic ECBP flavors of dense vanilla and caramel sugars, hints of berry compote, and toasted nuts. But the burn returns on the long finish. Very dry, tannic oak and strong ethanol burn with grain dust, toasted bread, and burnt caramel. I lucked into this at the newest Durham ABC, which apparently had been hoarding ECBPs for its grand opening. Maybe it was actually unlucky, because this is easily the worst ECBP I've had (A119, A120, B520, and C920 all were better). Despite this being the lowest proof ECBP I've had, it drinks the hottest by far. Usually I kill these bottles too fast because they're so damn good, but this will last a while. The oak and chemical flavors dominate what you expect from ECBP. You're unlikely to still find this on the shelves, but if you do I recommend avoiding it.

I’ve had this one on deck for a while and finally decided to crack her open. Let’s take a whiff and a sip! The nose has milk chocolate, sweet corn, baking spices, freshly baked bread, brown sugar and a hint of cut grass. Very Heaven Hill, and I like that! The palate is sweet, thick and oily with some sweet corn, baking spices, a hint of cut grass and oak. The finish is long with lingering sweet corn, confectioners sugar, baking spices with a slight nutty character and a smidge of cut grass with some tingling on the sides of the tongue. This might be one of my top Elijah Craig Barrel Proof batches. It reminds me a lot of classic Heaven Hill distillery notes, which I’m a huge fan of. This is a little lower proof than a lot of their batches, but I don’t care. It’s good.