The last of my Elijah Craig series is from their You Do Bourbon Experience where you get to taste a special batch of Bernheim BP, Larceny BP, ECBP and possibly a premium batch, if you happen to be lucky, that are exclusive to the tour then decide on which batch you’d like to bottle your own of. The day I went, there was unfortunately no premium batch, but the three choices present were all quite delicious with my favorite going to the ECBP batch Y822 which was bottled at 64.6% ABV. The nose is bold and rich starting with a mix of powdered sugar dusted vanilla cream puff, caramelized bananas, sautéed cherries and dusty leather-bound books then dark chocolate ganache, salted pretzels and cigar wrapper followed by apple pie, raspberries and tangerine orange that transitions to spearmint, cloves, anise, and polished antique furniture with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich oily mouthfeel starting with a mix of butterscotch creme brûlée, caramelized bananas, maraschino cherries and dusty leather-bound books then a mild spice that quickly fades to a spicy mocha, toasted marshmallow and freshly lit pipe tobacco followed by apple streusel, raspberry jam and tangerine orange that transitions to spearmint, cloves, anise, and polished antique furniture with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with butterscotch pudding, spicy mocha, apple streusel, caramelized bananas, sautéed cherries, cloves, spearmint, dusty leather-bound books and freshly lacquered antique furniture. This is a bold and decadent bourbon treat that is evident right from the start with a nose that draws you in with a perfect balance of creamy sweets, light sourness, mild rye spices and dusty old oak that carries over to the taste with a viscous mouthfeel that stumbles with an ever so slight spice but quickly recovers with the spice fading to allow those rich dense traditional bourbon flavors through and finishes long with a perfect balance of rich creamy sweets, mild spices and well-aged oak that lingers for minutes after each sip. This is by far the best ECBP I’ve ever had and I think this could easily compete with bourbons 2 to 3x its price and win. At the cost of $40 for the tour and $80 to be able to bottle my own bottle of ECBP totaling $120 altogether, this was worth every dollar and is a must do experience that I’d recommend to anyone if they travel to Kentucky.