For a long time, after I first tasted Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, I didn't have Elijah Craig Barrel Proof again. I was unimpressed. But that was also partially because I was a novice whisky drinker. This was maybe five or six years ago when I bought a bottle based on reputation and all I tasted was fire. I was probably going, at that time from drinking 80 proof whiskies, to whatever proof that particular batch was. Then I bought a bottle of Elijah Craig Single Barrel, a store pick from Sommers Point Jersey that was 94 proof and was watery, tepid, flavorless. I tried mixing drinks with it and those cocktails only tasted like the mixers. Actually, it tasted kind of like Rittenhouse Rye, another overrated dram that I would describe as tepid and flavorless. (Side note: my wife just bought a bottle of Rittenhouse after I told her it was flavorless and bad because her favorite YouTube bartender influencer Anders swears by it, and though I warned her she bought it anyway, and then realized I was right, but seemed surprised that I was right. "He described it as a bourbon lover's rye," she said. "Do you hear the words you just said," I replied, "Doesn't that just sound like shit to begin with?"). Anyway, back to Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, I gave it another chance starting in 2022, and though I prefer Larceny Barrel Proof by a long shot, I do buy ECBP anytime a new batch comes in. For a while it was still $65 here and now it's only $75, so even if I find it a little overrated in the way people lose their minds about it, I still think it's good enough to pay that much for. And a lot of people, since it lost the 12 year age statement, have complained that it's dropped in quality, but I find it pretty consistent from batch to batch, vanilla, oak, caramel, cherry, cinnamon. Yeah, certain batches are slightly better than others, but it's pretty consistent. Until now. Oddly, this is barrel proof bourbon that drinks like a barrel proof rye. Almost. And that's not nearly as shitty as describing Rittenhouse as a bourbon lovers rye sounds. It's actually quite good, but not as good as ECBP usually is. What I mean is this is perhaps the spiciest ECBP I've ever tasted. The spice is overwhelming. I mean this is like pumpkin spice bourbon with clove and nutmeg and cinnamon all commingling. The expert reviewer here plays up the cherry flavor, and oh, that's kind of there. But really, palate and finish is all about the spice with a tiny hint of cherry coming back at the very end to tingle your senses with like a Luden's cough drop tang. Overall, probably my least favorite of all batches in recent years, but still not bad. I've never been that guy who's going to do cartwheels about ECBP, but I'm also not that guy who's going to turn it down either. Ours is a fraught relationship with a period of estrangement last year when we didn't get C923 in our state and I was a little pissed off because it was supposed to be the best in years. Oh well. I thought both A124 and B124 were pretty decent. This one, this is the slightly above average batch. Sometimes when I like it I go back and buy a second bottle, but I won't be doing that here.