Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B520
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
August 21, 2020 (edited March 9, 2021)
Back to back with Stagg Jr 14. This is equally robust on the nose and maybe a hair darker in color. The nose, however, is more musty with a hint of wet wood and roasted peanuts. The strong caramel/vanilla notes are there with allspice and a bit of leather and cherry.
This has more ethanol burn, which surprise me.
Mouthfeel is about the same, slightly viscous and a smooth heat. This has more up-front vanilla and wet wood. The vanilla and cherries carry over to the finish and the oak jumps in and out. I feel like this is a bit more nutty and fruity and less earthy and buttery. Spice and heat are about equal with this being more allspice and Stagg Jr being more clove and pepper.
Make no mistake, both are hot and full of flavor. I think that to pick between the two would be like choosing which child I love more. I’d probably take ECBP A119 over either but would be happy to go down fighting with either of these.
65.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@ContemplativeFox It's still really good, a lot better than most cask strengths. I'd take it at $60 over almost everything else. A new ABC store here had at least 50 of each last week so I'm sure there are still plenty floating around.
@jonwilkinson7309 Please don't track down the Stagg Jr batch 14 and then tell me that it's better than this. My heart (and wallet) can hardly take more stress from searching for these difficult to find releases.
@Zachary-Robbins Wow, now I don't feel bad about missing the A120! I saw a lot of people loved it, so I felt bad when I didn't get it, but then everyone liked the B520 even more! But then I almost missed that too lol.
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington Haha! Still a fair bit better than the Raines sandwich!
Great review. I loved this release, more than A119. I also picked up and opened A120 yesterday, I think it's less interesting than both A119 and B520.
I recently opened a bottle of this - quite brilliant. But based on your comparison, I need to see if I can track down a Stagg Jr 14. It sounds amazing.
@ContemplativeFox that’s genius and sounds as though the Almighty has shone down favor upon the both of us. If this goes on much longer I might look into pouring bowls of cereal and selling whiskey.
Glad it's so good! A local restaurant just reopened as a bottle shop (that also sells mini pot pies, because liquor laws) and they had this just out on the shelf so I was finally able to get a bottle!