Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon

Definitely got the cinnamon, surprising. I don’t get as strong of a nose as the tasting notes. This is really good.

This particular bottle is from batch B518 and comes in at 133.4 proof. Being uncut and unfiltered it is quite dark in the glass. Nose: The nose is dominated by campfire and brown sugar. Think the smell of charred logs. The alcohol is also very present but a couple drops of water do a good job of taming it. Palate: Very rich. Buttery biscuits at first then molasses comes next. The high alcohol content makes the flavors incredibly intense, almost eye watering. Finish: Starts with barrel char and smoke that eventual fades to black tea. Goes on for a bit aided by the proof. The addition of water does shorten the finish slightly. At under $100 this is a very good value. The addition of water helped the nose but I don’t think it helped the palate or the finish so my preferred method has been to start neat and then add a couple of drops around halfway through so I get the best of both worlds. Will certainly be enjoying every drop of this while it lasts. Cheers!

Heaven hills best offering to date but not for the beginner and not for the faint of heart. I recommend trying neat then adding a few drops of water to really pull the flavors out of here. BIG and BOLD should be this bourbons nickname as it will take you back a step when nosing or tasting. Verdict: Very very good stuff but beware the high proof and explosive nose and palate.

Batch A119, 67.6% abv The abv is so high that you can feel the whiskey evaporating off your tongue when you sip it, very strange sensation. The flavors are dark, rich, and intense. Turns out that’s not entirely a good thing by itself. Really needs something bright in there to provide balance and keep it interesting. But if you want to be overwhelmed by caramel, vanilla, leather, etc. then it’s worth a shot.

B918- Honey nose (Tasted at Bourbon Bastards, 1/23/20)