Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B520

ECBP has officially joined the ranks of my favorite bourbon lines (or whiskey for that matter.) Prior to this, I've had 3 other batches, which is even to earn that status. B520 has the second lowest ABV of any batch I've had, but is considerably stronger than the B519 I had last time. The question, really, is where this will fall in the ranks in terms of quality. Let's find out. Nose: Caramel, vanilla, peanut butter, maple, bitter cocoa, brown sugar, and maraschino cherry. Leather and tobacco. Carrot cake and fudge. Barrel char, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, and allspice. Plenty of oak, as one would expect of a 12-year old bourbon. The nose is stellar. Palate: Vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, and cola. Gala apple and cherry. Fudge and peanut butter. Black tea. Apricot and peach. Carrot cake. Orange peel and tobacco smoke. Clove and nutmeg. Heavy oak and barrel char. Finish: Apricot, peach, caramel, vanilla. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, allspice, and layers of oak. Long as a finish comes or goes. Dead ringer. No question about it. ECBP tends to run ridiculously high (in terms of ABV.) This one stands within the Booker's range. And it performs as well as any of those. C917, and A119, and now B520. What do they have in common? They are the golden batches of ECBP. This is an unbelievably good bourbon. It's layered, complex, and packs a hell of a punch. It's May 2021. If you're a bourbon fan, I strongly recommend you hunt this one down. If you look hard enough, you should still be able to find it.