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Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
January 12, 2022 (edited June 13, 2023)
EC Toasted Barrel
*NOSE: Starts off with a Powdery Floral Perfume that quickly fades to notes of Sticky Toffee, Streusel Covered Coffee Cake, Cooked Apples with Cinnamon, Toasted Oak and Sandalwood. After 15 minutes or so, it picked up a note of Peppery Sausage Gravy. Weird, but I like it.
*NEAT: Falls short of the nose. Sweet Vanilla and Caramel up front. Joined by Cola, Spicy Bitter Oak Tannins, Black Pepper Spice, and Bitter Black Coffee. The Medium Length Finish results in a slowly building glow deep in the chest. A Coating of Drying Pencil Shavings and Vanilla coat and linger on the palate. This gets close to being too spicy and bitter, but never crosses the line.
*SPLASH: Some water makes this Dessert In a Glass. The Palate gets Syrupy Sweet. The sweet notes all meld together and become those Root Beer Barrel Shaped Hard Candies. The Oak Becomes Less Tannic and a Little Sweeter, and the Coffee gets Cream and Sugar. Oak Char comes through on the coating finish, joined by a healthy dose of Maple Fudge.
*VERDICT: If Woodford Double Oaked and Maker's 46 had a child, they would name him Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel. I was a little disappointed at first, but a splash of water really opens this up and makes a Just Barely Good Bourbon a Very Good Bourbon. The flavors meld to form a more cohesive dessert like sweetness. The price on this one is around the same as the Woodford Double Oaked, but I like this one a lot more. Hard to find, but worth the hunt. 4 Stars
55.0
USD
per
Bottle
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Nice notes! You just made my opportunity to "shop the vault" a lot easier. ECTB on the way!
@BDanner that's a good trade in my book. I've got a Blanton's I've been thinking about trying to swap for an ECTB. I keep hoping Heaven Hill will up production eventually so it'll be a bit easier to find.
@whiskeyrunner78 it cost me one of my CEHT Small Batch in trade, but I’m glad I found a bottle. I’ve still not seen it on a shelf around here.
The love child of Woodford double oaked and Makers 46! I can get behind that. ECTB is probably my favorite of the toasted barrel bourbons I've had. Although it's been a while since I've had it. I haven't been able to procure a bottle since '20.
Ive never seen this one ...sounds great
the notes made me move it up several notches on my bucket list. great review