Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Rye

Caramel, oak, red apple, leather, spice, rye.

Nothing substantial and kind of harsh. Wouldn’t buy again

Tarnished amber, moderate stickiness . Nose has lots of spice, mint, green apple and oak. All what one would come to expect from a rye, of course. Front is granny smith apple, then a nice touch of sweetness, then dries out to oak, spice and more tart fruit. Soft, but warming mouthfeel, lots of heat on the palate after the swallow. Clove, cinnamon, mint, and rosemary on the back end, with notes from the wood popping through. Some bitterness and a note of a fresh cardboard box. Not in a bad way, but noted... I like how the mash bill works with the EC wood and char... This works for me as a stand alone, but would make a great old fashioned with a more earthy bitters and a maple or brown sugar simple.

Smell sweet. Coats the tongue with an oily film. Has a proper rye taste; peppery, a little spice, and a underlining sweet flavor. Goes down smoothly. The delicious sweet flavor lingers for a good long while. A great staple to the rye collection.

I'm a big EC fan, and I actually had a friend mule this bottle to me from Georgia. I am, admittedly still getting my bearings in the rye category. Compared to bourbon, I have consumed much less, and they have been very hit or miss to me. This one is a hit. The easiest, most obvious comparison to me is my beloved Woodford Reserve Rye, which is also a 51% rye mashbill, and also comes in right around $30. Nose: Definitely a bourbon nose, with a good bit of wood and fruit hitting, with some sweet faint vanilla. The longer you nose, the more the rye spice starts to come out. Inviting for sure. Palate: This drinks almost like a bourbon/rye mix, rather than a barely legal rye. The bourbon definitely hits the senses first, and has a really nice rich sweetness to it, but the rye hits quickly after. Finish is the same as the palate: starts out classic bourbon, with a surprising amount of wood and leather (I believe the 'extra aged' statement for once, I think it is more than a pure marketing gimmick), that fades in to a spicy finish, and it's almost hard to tell apart what is barrel spice and what is spice from the rye. The finish lingers a surprisingly long time, coming back in waves of sweet (but not sickeningly sweet, like some ryes) berries. At ~$30, this gets a 'buy' certification from me. I would absolutely suggest this over other popular ryes (Sazerac pales in comparison to this, it is no contest). Is it robust enough to stand up in cocktails? No, and it doesn't give you a huge big bold rye flavor. But that's not its place - it is sippable, and an extremely well done barely legal rye made for bourbon drinkers to sip slowly as they foray in to the land of rye whiskeys.