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🧪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
10 Perfect