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📚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 and pick groups of barrels with a similar flavor profile that they further deem to be reasonably good representations of the craft. For a big account like Costco, this does mean we're less likely to get a true "unicorn" honey barrel, but it could be a step above the random local store's pick (not yours though, your guy knows what he's doing).
🛒Sourced: $82.99 GA 750ml - Costco, Christmas 2023 - Cracked and Paired initially with Die Hard
🧪Proof: 127 proof, 63.5% ABV
🎨Color: R6 - Strong red brown character, Fairly thick legs in line with the proof
🥔Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley same as the flagship. Our barrel is no. 6665380 which starts with the devil's number and then gets even sweeter. This bottle bears an 8-year age statement which aligns with some of the younger recent releases (eight is the youngest bottle they'll put out of this series). Note that these bottles are not chill filtered.... they don't need it at this proof point; you won't see any cloudiness!
👃Nose: Very wood forward. After getting through the oak and proof, there is an absolute TON of vanilla. For me this nose is sweet, squarely between buttery and candy. In a word: marshmallow. I can honestly say that's not a flavor I've had many times before in whiskey.
😜Palate: Neat, this at the upper end of my range for enjoyable heat. I suspect I'll enjoy this one with a big ice cube a bit more (edit: yes - can confirm it's perfect with about 5 minutes of melt and chill on it +1.5). Very much wood on the tongue before opening into the vanilla/mallow as described. I would say that there is a bit of baking spices, but you'll have to try hard to find them.
💦Finish: Very long and very dry indeed. Double your water ration for nights sipping this bad boy. Pretty much all wood and some corny sweetness. This is the only place I found any nuttiness. There is a redeeming black cherry here that I quite enjoy, but it's not enough to redeem an overall monotone profile.
🏆 Overall: 5.5 Neat, 6.75 with ice - Very Good - A Cut Above - This is where my preference is showing, a bit hot for my taste. I enjoyed the smell more than the mouth experience. It's a good bottle of whiskey no doubt about it, but the regular Barrel Proof batch releases typically have a bit more age on them which I do think that results in a good bit of additional flavor and diminished heat. After adding the hunk of ice, I can more clearly pick out the baked goods flavors, including a surprising brown sugar blast on the finish. Think I prefer the standard ECBP blend to this particular single barrel bottle.
1/4 bottle remaining update: I am very happy to have tried this with ice. The water agitates the whiskey just enough to kick up a delicious dessert flavor profile. A little bit of oxidation has similarly calmed down some of the rough edges. Finding myself much more excited reaching for this one now.
See how this bottle compared to our review of the Elijah Craig Small Batch Flagship.
💵Would buy again? Yes, but only to try other editions. I would not buy this specific barrel. I had the pleasuring of bottling a batch of the Elijah Craig distillery barrel proof which was a good deal more interesting.
⚖️Rating Scale:
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume it by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good, an agreeable dram indeed
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.