ELIJAH CRAIG PRIVATE BARREL SHOWDOWN Total Wine Private Barrel Distiller Selection (TWPB) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 8-year age statement Barrel Serial # 6653214 120.7 proof Vs. Bevmax Private Barrel (BVPB) -------------------------------------- 9-year age statement Barrel serial # 6205648 127.7 proof TWPB Pantone 160 in color. Nose of BBQ sauce, bacon, maple syrup, brown sugar, and a dusty element, along with some gentle, cooling spearmint. Heat not at all apparent on the nose, but that changes dramatically on the palate, where everything is amplified. Lots of spice leads to a longish finish with notes of vanilla. The overall impression is disjointed, like a gangly teenager or big-pawed puppy yet to fill out its frame. 3.5 on the Distiller scale. BVPB Pantone 167; more russet than the TWPB. Completely different nose: far smoother, with buttered maple-syruped pancakes, pomander, crème brûlée. On the palate, there is some sweet corn; the 127.7 proof is noticeable, but is more integrated than the lower-proof TWBP, and is more reminiscent of the elder 12-year-old Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (ECBP) releases, but not quite as intense and smooth in general. 4.0 on the Distiller scale. This "showdown" is something of an apples-to-oranges comparison, even though both are Elijah Craig private barrels. Two different barrels, two different age statements, two different selectors. While the 9-year-old in this case (BVPB) is superior to the 8-year-old (TWPB), I have no way of knowing if the difference is a function of age alone. Normal ECBP releases are bottled at 12 years of age, and neither of these are in the class of the typical ECBP release. If anything, this comparison underscores the variability that is apparent between single barrels and single years. The difference is significant. The economic aspect to the distillers also cannot be ignored: who knows what the process of barrel selection actually is? Has Heaven Hill set aside the dregs, and packaged them in a marketing ploy of "pick the best one as you see fit?" We may never know. What we do know is that barrels and years are two of many variables that make a significant difference. N.B.: All spirts tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.