Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B520

This was hyped up to be the new hotness in ECBP. Perhaps there was a slight let down, when it truly didn't beat the C919, for me, which is very good BTW. This is a burdened bourbon (wink), being compared to each of the most recent releases. The new exciting flavors I get off this one is a green tea at the end of the taste and a handful of that weird trail mix - with includes dried apricots - lingering in the extra long finish. Excellent value as always. 5.0 - go out and buy all of the stock you can find. 4.0 - must buy at least one bottle before you die. 3.0 - solid, must try at a bar, or mooch from a friend. 2.0 - didn't like it, you may. 1.0 - you may have the palate of my dog, and he licks his own ass.

Solid

Uncut, unfiltered, at 127.2 proof. My local liquor store has been getting a ton of these batches over the last couple of years, so I guess Heaven Hill was right when they said pulling the 12 year age statement from the small batch (back in 2016) would allow them to produce more barrel proof product as well as keep it at 12 years old. It took a couple of years, but I have definitely noticed an uptick in it’s availability. N: Chocolatey cherries, maple creme, fresh ground nutmeg, anise, a dusting of cinnamon. P: chocolate covered cherries, maple syrup, heavily iced cinnamon rolls, a touch of licorice and cornbread. F: Nice cinnamon and cherry action trail off slowly. The candied barrel notes mix well with a bit of spice here. Tilting more to the sweet side. These barrel proof versions are always great. Sure, some people have their favorites, but they are all fairly similiar - and well put together. I could easily drink this bourbon as my only bourbon, if I had to be held to just one bourbon. I was interested to know how many barrels goes into a barrel proof batch, so I called Heaven Hill. They told me it’s about 100 barrels per barrel proof batch vs. about 200 barrels that typically go into the normal Elijah Craig 94 proof small batch. I would have thought they pulled more barrels for these, judging by how many of these are out there and the fact these are bottled at barrel proof and not 94. I’m trying to double check this info from another source at Heaven Hill, but I have not heard back yet. Cheers!