🥃Review #6: Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey 1.75L bottle

🛒Sourced: Costco 52.99 - 1.75L

🧪Proof: 94 📚Background: Heaven Hill's mainstay named after Reverend Elijah Craig himself, the man credited with first using charred oak barrels to age whiskey. ECSB is made using Level 3 charred barrels (35 second burn) which is fairly typical despite it's use in the manufacturer copy. Currently a blend of 8-12 year old whiskey, HH dropped the 12-year age statement in 2016, likely due to increased demand for the more premium EC offerings. 🥔Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 12% malt barley, 10% rye. An Elijah Craig or Larceny barrel hunt will cull out 200 barrels or less to be dumped and mingled.

👃Nose: Some reasonable complexity here, not much alcohol, vanilla bean and fruited sweetness. 😛Palate: Smooth and even throughout with mild warmth. Wood character with some spices, nutmeg is the official consensus and I agree. Finish is very sweet. ✍Notes on use: I would drink this neat, with a small ice cube, or in a lower dilution cocktail. Might want a little more proof for a good old fashioned or Manhattan, personal preference. It doesn't take much to blow up the nuances in this pour. 🏆Overall: 5.5/10- Average Plus - With a laundry list of Awards and Distinctions, ECSB is a solid daily driver and does have a good amount of wood character due to the older barrels in the blend. 48.99 at Total Wine and I think I paid a little more than that at Costco, not a bad way to spend it but if you're value maxing there are other options. If you like this bottle, the barrel proof offerings are a must.... maybe even if you didn't like this bottle, Elijah Craig's other offerings are solid to the extreme.

💵Would buy again? No, I'll spend on the higher end Elijah Craig Options

Rating Scale:

1 Undrinkable

2 Bad

3 Poor

4 Below Average

5 Average

6 Above Average

7 Very Good

8 Great

9 Excellent
10 Perfect

🥃 Review #40: Kirkland Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2024)

Like Costco's other Scotches, the Kirkland Signature Islay Single Malt is bottled for Alexander Murray and imported by MISA Imports after being distilled and aged in Scotland (TTB.gov plant registry TX-I-1277). The isle of Islay is one of the southern most islands in Scotland and is one of the five whisky regions ensconced in law. There are only nine active distilleries on the island, and the Islay style is typified by strong peat or smoky flavors. As a single malt, we know that the juice in this bottle comes entirely from one of those nine! All of the distilleries are significantly smaller than Glenlivet and many of the mainland producers. Taste testing has people split between Caol Illa, Bruichladdich (Port Charlotte), and Bunnahabhain as being the source. Caol Illa and Laphroig both have done deals for private brand scotch without rights to name the source distillery, but Laphroig does not match the flavor profile for this bottle. Realistically, Caol Illa is the most likely cand...

🍺🍷🥃 Beer, Wine, and Spirits Rebate Website Master List

If there is anything I love more than a good drink, it's saving money buying that good drink! The rules for providing discounts on alcohol differ substantially between states with some allowing outright discounts or coupons and others entirely disallowing any sort of purchase incentive. Thankfully though, in my native Georgia as well as most states, a simple reimbursement approach is permissible. Alcohol Rebate Site Master List The following sites are relatively stable for each manufacturer. New offers usually come out every few months. None of these are affiliate links and I provide no assurance as to the process. I have saved so much money using rebates and hope you have similar success. Best practices and general process advice will be presented at the bottom. New sites will be added as I uncover them. Beer Rebates Boston Beer Company Brands - Angry Orchard, Dogfish head, Hard Mountain Dew, Samuel Adams, Sun Crusher, Truly, and Twisted Tea. Some brands may not have active...

🍺 Costco's Kirkland Vintage Ale 2025 - Review & Tasting Notes

Fall is in the air, and that means we have yet another year of Kirkland's Vintage Ale! Brewed proudly by Deschutes (pronounced "Da-Shootz") in Bend, Oregon, this Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout spends nine months in the wood, picking up what the whiskey left behind (mostly vanillin and tannins). Bottled over the summer, this particular beer is from Lot B. Neither Costco nor the packaging give us much additional detail beyond the ABV and style. I remember finding last year 's edition to be solid but nothing to write home about, fairly dry but a pleasant pour. The use of the work "vintage" to me implies that some changes may be made year-to-year but we'll have to see if our taste buds can help us validate. How does the 2025 vintage fair? 💅Style: Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout 🛒Sourced: $7.99 Costco, GA for a 22oz bottle. $2 cheaper than the 2024 edition! 💥Hops: Not Mentioned sadly. Other ingredients include chocolate malt, milled oats and Dutc...

🥃Review #20 Elijah Craig Barrel Proof - Private Barrel Distiller's Selection

📚 Background: Released in three batches per year, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey is almost always a hit with aficionados. Barrel proof means that, of course, the whiskey is not cut with water after being dumped from the barrel. The "Private Barrel" moniker further tells you that not the barrel was specially selected and not batched or blended. This can cut both ways as single barrel whiskies sometimes differ significantly from their batched counterparts which have the benefit of distiller curation to even out any off notes. If your local store owner's tastes align with yours, their barrel picks may be better than anything else you can find. On the other hand, a less conscientious selector may pick you a big loser of a barrel. This bottle comes from Costco which means that the private barrel is a "distiller's selection" and not picked by a Costco employee specifically. Typically for these big releases the manufacturer will try...

🥃 Review #34: ASW Fiddler Toasted Wheat Cask Strength Bourbon

Founded by University of Georgia graduates Jim Chasteen and Charlie Thompson, American Spirit Whiskey Distillery ("ASW") is a craft producer out of Atlanta, GA with the plant registry DSP-GA-20014. As Southern Pot-Still Pioneers, they are one of the few producers to distill in the ancient Scottish Tradition of small, grain-in batches (where grain solids are left in for the remainder of the distillation process) though they also partner with Midwest Grain Products to source distillate for further aging, finishing and blending before bottling as is the case here. This bottle is from the June 2023 batch which is a blend of two principal spirits. ASW's master distiller, Justin Maglitz, is accomplished old-time string music fiddler and he often experiments with various factors between batches. As such, the "Fiddler" brand name fits perfectly. No two batches are truly the same, but all of the ones I've had so far have been to my liking. This bottle shares the same...

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