Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch A118

Barrel select (ACE Spirits): Straight, overwhelmed. On ice, a lot better tasting. Strong flavor and profile

750ml bought at Mike's Liquors in Forest Heights, MD today. Fun times, love the bulletproof glass. Maybe trusting Google reviews for "best liquor store in Maryland" is inherently a bad idea. Poured neat in Glencairn at home. Nose is nutty, toasty, spicy and has some heat. Taste has an initial harsh bite, followed by vanilla, oak, spice, grains. Long lingering nutty spice burn with a prominent bitter presence. Good, but I don't love it, and the bitterness is too much for me. Add three drops of water: opens up vanilla and caramel on the nose; spice is still strong, but the bitterness has softened with the caramel coming on. Much much better. Maybe my first bourbon where adding a little water not only enhanced the character, but nearly killed the off-note too. Meaning,for example, that adding a few drops of water to George T. can bring out some more complexity and soften the heat, but there were no significant perceived flaws to fix by adding the water (for me). Here, adding the water not only enhanced the character, but actually overcame the flaw. Neat: 3.5. Add 3 drops: 4.0 Rather than average the two, I will give the higher score because it was minimal water added. 8/14/19