Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch A120

Open 2 months Nose - Dense caramel and toffee, strong ethanol and oak, snickerdoodle and gingerbread cookies, candied dates and raisins. Palate - Caramel drizzled over cheap dry pie crust, more shortbread than cookie, cinnamon and nutmeg, light caramel. The finish is super oily, it coats the mouth immediately. The tannic oak and ethanol completely dominate the palate, it is hot even with small sips. You need a minute to recover your sense of taste before taking another sip because it is hot, oily, and dry. Any hint of sugar or fruit vanishes quickly from the mid-palate. I was excited to pick this up in August because I thought I missed it. The new ABC store in Durham stockpiled hundreds of ECBP B519, A120, and B520. (They still have cases of these after being open more than 2 months.) However, I think this batch is clearly inferior to A119 and B520. It has all of those notes you want in ECBP, but the ethanol dominates the palate. This is the highest proof whiskey I've had, but I've had multiple above 130 proof that I prefer. So, I do not think the ethanol % is the issue. The flavors just don't mesh as well together compared to two previous ECBP batches I've purchased. After being open 2 months and splitting the bottle with a friend, I thought it would mellow out a bit, but it hasn't. People clearly like this more than I do, but for me the A119 was better and the B520 was in a different league altogether.

This barrel strength bourbon is very tasty. It was a little spicy for my taste but I think it was a great bourbon to try while on the tour!

Breaded peaches on nose Candied fruit taste Peppermint finish lingers

Nose: Sweet oaky caramel, maybe a little nuttininess but mostly just a big sweet caramel bomb. Really good but not complex. After a few sips a really fresh vanilla comes through. Palate: Big sweet caramel and vanilla notes with very sticky mouthfeel. Reminds me of eating vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce. The more you sip the more the vanilla overtakes the caramel. A little oak comes through towards the end of the palate but doesn't come anywhere close to balance out the sweetness. Finish: Sweet vanilla dominates a very long finish. Overall: This one really punched me in the face with sweetness. While it may not have as much going on as other ECBPs, it's still extremely flavorful.

Nose: Vanilla, maple syrup, chocolate Palate: Vanilla ice cream with a butterscotch drizzle (butterscotch, not caramel according to the gf), rich oily complexity, chocolate molten lava cake Finish: Long and robust, giving a Kentucky hug that trails with syrupy sweetness