Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B521

93? Amanda, go home, you're drunk. So this is already the least loved ECBP, perhaps ever. Nose - classic vanilla forward bourbon, really what I want in a bourbon. Oak notes at the end. Nothing epic but very very nice and pleasing. Slight smoked oak notes at the end, good char. As it opens it gets a bit bitter. It's lacking anything special for an ECBP but honestly just fine. Taste - This is where I get some of the issues with this batch. It's very very easy to drink for the proof. But that's also a problem,there's none of the deep richness or depth I expect on an ECBP. It's creamy with some nutty notes, great bourbon classic notes, but it's just missing ECBP depth and richness. Water, a lot of water, brings out some cherry notes which I like. I can tell this is aged and I can tell it's really well made. I both do an don't get some of the love hate here. I guess I should do a side by side but for now I'm ok with a 2.75 here which I've given 3.0 to better ECBP's but I think I've been overly critical in the past. This is way better than an average bourbon and even better than an average scotch. I will say this, there's no "WOW" here. I'll try and come back to this..

Very special bourbon. I will be nursing this bottle over time. Deep amber. Smooth. Rich flavor. Long char finish. Oily. Tasted it side by side with Knob 15. EC 12 is superior. I feel like that is saying a lot because KC 15 is really good.

Flat and one-dimensional. I have no idea how this scored a 93. I love ECBP, but this was an insane miss. It has nothing to do with proof. The flavors just aren’t there.