Elijah Craig Single Barrel Barrel Proof Bourbon (Private Label)

Excellent pour. 131 proof. Drinks 110ish with a hug. Lots of dark fruit and some wood.

Chatham County ABC pick Barrel No. 6327746 Age 9 years 64.7% abv; 129.4 proof Open 3 months Nose - Rich oak, gingerbread, molasses, mixed berry jam, leather, pipe tobacco, vanilla bean, allspice, and medium ethanol. Palate - Lots of darker syrup and gingerbread up front, cinnamon bun without vanilla frosting, brown sugar, tobacco, and sweet oak extract. Finish is medium-long with a bit of rye spice, heavy oak that belies the 9Y age statement, toffee, allspice, and medium ethanol burn. This is the first of 3 ECBP picks I've bought this summer, and this one is very good. I think people were worried that when Heaven Hill announced their ECBP barrel program they would be using it as a method to charge more for a younger, inferior product. From what I can tell, it's the opposite. All 3 picks I have are better than the last 2 years of batches. My educated guess on why they started doing this is they have tons of ECBP barrels ready to go at 8-10 years, but they boxed themselves in with the 12Y statement on ECBP batches. With these picks they can move excellent barrels that may get too oaky by the time they're 12 years old. I know they're $10 more, but in my opinion these picks are must buys. That's what I'm doing any time I come across a different single barrel.

A little hot but good

City-Wide Liquors store pick #1 2022. Pretty hot.

Nice nose, with above average flavor. The spice is prevalent with some nice flavors appearing underneath. Cherry, cinnamon, a bit of leather. With all that said, I can't say it's worth the price.

State Line Liquors Erik & Chad selection 8 Years Old, 133 Proof, 66.5% ABV, Barrel No. 6570975 Not quite as oaky or complex as standard 12 year expressions, but it’s still got a good oak character, and the high octane proof hits hard. Oak, vanilla, light spice box, caramel, pretty classic bourbon notes intensified by the high proof. Good stuff, but the 12 year barrel proof expressions are better… still good though… Beer Nerd Musings: I actually don’t know of any beers specifically aged in non-12 year (or older) EC barrels, but EC is generally considered great for barrel aging beers, and this would certainly do well. I’d still be on the lookout for EC aged beers.