Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon

Disclaimer: Bottle sat for a long time about one-third full. Long enough that I couldnt quite remember what to expect. Came back to it to remind myself whether it was any good. Neat pour, lets just see…. All banana on the nose, quite surprisingly so. Ripe banana at first but quickly, strong bananas foster, eventually moving to caramelized banana. Try as I might, I can’t smell much else on it now. All banana. The palate comes on with some medium burn (and this pour was preceded by OGD114! Come on…) that’s honestly a bit distracting and disappointing. Old-fashioned candy sweetness emerges on the palate with expected caramel and some vanilla, and a few ripe banana notes come in as well. Pleasant enough, if you can handle the mild burn, which is somewhat persistent throughout. Many more sips reveal some bittersweet oak, and still some medium heat. Finish is medium-long, spicy and warm. Not unlike eating Thai food, except bourbon-y. Some oak and spice, maybe a hint of leather, but not necessarily in a pleasant way. Fades into more bitter oak. Overall, disappointing for what they want for this - but the banana note and sweetness are nice enough, and I can see why some might really like this. (Not all HH’s fault, either - price here has even gone up since I purchased - control states suck.) This might dress up well in a spirit-forward cocktail too at 94 proof. It handily beats most any $20 bottle for quality and flavor. For my money, though, there are many others up in this price range I’d rather grab. 2.75 / 5