🥃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

🥃📰 First Look: NEW Old Fitzgerald 7-Year Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon

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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...

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