Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B524

Chocolate

Best ECBP batch we’ve had since C919.

Is it possible to both think something is overrated and also enjoy it? That's often how I feel about Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. People seem to lose their minds about this stuff, and it's good, but is it lose your mind over it good? I suppose some batches might be. Since the end of 2022, I've been buying it when I see it, so I've had C922, A123, B523, A124, and now B524. Do you see a gap there? Yep, for some reason, we didn't get C923, the Whisky of the Year batch, here in Pennsylvania. At least not in my corner. Around the time our usual allocation would come in, we got one, but it was a double-dip of B523. They don't specify batches on our site, so I drove over and was fairly disappointed when I saw that it was a repeat instead of what's supposed to be the be-all-end-all of ECBP batches. And maybe I'm changing my tune now about overrated with B524. The others I've mentioned were all pretty good in their own ways, but B524 to me is, as the kids these days say, fire, and not in the sense that it's burning my nostrils and tongue. It's just fantastic. If C923 was considered the height of ECBP, I can only imagine how good it is given how much I love B524. Yesterday, I reviewed New Riff Single Malt, which came in at about 114 proof and burned the hairs out of my nose, even with a half hour in the glass for some of those fumes to evaporate. This is exactly the opposite, about 130 proof and lovely to the nose. It's rich with caramel, nutmeg, vanilla and oak with a particular emphasis on the caramel, which has always been one of my favorite notes in a bourbon. The palate is a bit spicier and shows its proof but comes off with a cinnamon red-hots flavor, creamy vanilla, butterscotch, and oak. And this finish continues the cinnamon/nutmeg spice and just goes on for days. Honestly, given that we always get our ECBP at SRP, this might be a repeat purchase for me, though I've tapped my whisky budget this month buying two bottles of Larceny Barrel Proof (my preferred barrel proof, maybe up until now) A124, which is also just delectable and which we also get at SRP. These bourbons are really knocking it out of the park this year (though ECBP A124 wasn't necessarily a rebuy, though I liked it).