Elijah Craig Small Batch is one of my standby bourbons. It has punch, but it's not overpowering despite the 94 proof, and it really excels in cocktails. It's tough to say which bourbon I like to always have on hand at my bar, but it's either this or Buffalo Trace, both because of the price and because of how well they play with other ingredients. I will say though, I probably do like this in an Old Fashioned over the Buffalo Trace. The nose is pretty standard fare bourbon, vanilla, sweetness and a touch of oak. The palate reinforces the nose, with the vanilla taking the forefront. It does have a nice mouthful to it though and there is a bit of cherry and caramel. The aftertaste is pretty lengthy. The heat does hit you but it's not too off-putting and has some nice spice to it. As a sipping bourbon, you can find better out there, but for the price it's not a bad everyday drink. I would probably give it a 3 if it was just going to be consumed neat, but I bumped it up to a 3.5 because of how well it does in nearly any cocktail that calls for bourbon.