Rating: 16/23 N: The nose here is substantially richer and woodier than on the regular Elijah Craig Small Batch. There's a dash more nuttiness and less floral and mineral notes. It also comes across as sweeter and less tart. Between the two, I prefer the hedonism of this nose. It's nicely spiced, with cinnamon being the leading player. There's a nice woody, toasty nuttiness. I get a hint of apple here and there, which brings in just the faintest floral and mineral scents. I'm getting a little bit of smoke, but not much. The wood is a tad musty, but not tremendously. P: Smooth and toasty sweet, then spicy with faint lightly floral apple minerality. But still toasty, with some nice nuttiness. It doesn't have the same delightful degree of toastiness that George Dickel Bottled In Bond does (or at least that the first batch did), but it definitely doesn't have those vitamin notes to its minerality and it has a richer flavor with more nuttiness to it. A little char does come out at some point. There's a little tartness in here and it's a tad harsh at times, but the tartness helps to balance the profile and the harshness is minor. The balance is good here, but the complexity isn't amazing and there's nothing super exciting going on. This is sweet and rich in a way that reminds me of Ancient Ancient Age and a little bit of Garrison Brothers. I like this better than Ancient Ancient Age for sure (it's much more complex) and I think I also prefer it to Garrison Brothers Small Batch, though I would probably take my bottle of Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Strength instead. F: The wood lingers for a while, even after the nuttiness and most of the spices fade away. There's a bit of a lingering numbing sensation. It's not a very inspiring finish, unfortunately. - Conclusion - My opinion here might be swayed by the fact that I've spent a lot of time toasting wood chips to various degrees for home blending, so I'm not that impressed by something tasting a bit toasty. I was really impressed by the nose (though certainly not blown away), but the palate didn't really deliver and then the finish was not really enjoyable. I think this is competitive with Elijah Craig Small Batch and I may even give it the nod, but it is far from a big improvement. I really enjoyed the richness here, but I felt like the complexity took a serious hit and the rich flavors weren't anything too extraordinary. It makes me wonder whether I should have rated Old Fitzgerald lower since I gave it a high rating based almost exclusively on richness. Regardless of the Old Fitzgerald tangent, George Dickel Bottled In Bond seems largely like the better parts of both this and the Small Batch, so this isn't better than that is. 1792 Single Barrel (16) seems about as good as this is. Old Tub (14) definitely isn't as good. I enjoy the sweetness and richness here. It's hedonistic, despite not being very complex. It's better than Ancient Ancient Age and Buffalo Trace, but it isn't as good as Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Strength. Right now, I'm leaning toward calling this an improvement on Elijah Craig Small Batch. For the money, it's probably not a worthwhile improvement and a store pick of the Small Batch may prove superior, but if I were to pick just one to have - especially if I were going to be mixing it - I would take this. I'll give it a 16. I could maybe see going up to a 17 here, but I can also see going down to a 15. I don't see how an 18 would be possible. Even a fairly recently opened bottle of Russell's Reserve 10 strikes me as very competitive with this, possibly superior. The most reasonable rating for this seems to be a 15 or 16. I'm still leaning toward a 16 though. Yeah, after some more side by sides, I'm feeling less like I could give this a 17. It could actually be a 15, but I'm not leaning that way. Thanks @ctbeck11 for sharing this sample.