10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: New Riff Bourbon vs. Old Grand-Dad Bonded

Those of you that have been following along know that this is the third competition of Round 1. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 2’s Number 2 seed New Riff Bourbon taking on Number 3 seed Old Grand-Dad Bonded. 

New Riff Bourbon is the flagship product of Northern Kentucky’s New Riff Distillery. As with most, if not all, of their products, this is a bottled-in-bond product that has not been chill-filtered. It was distilled in the Cincinnati suburb of Newport, KY at New Riff’s distillery DSP-KY-20016. It was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $41.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $2.80 per pour.

Their opponent is probably my personal favorite expression of Jim Beam’s “High-Rye” bourbon line-up. I even like it a little more than Old Grand-Dad 114 proof these days. Old Grand-Dad Bonded was distilled in Clermont, KY at Jim Beam’s distillery DSP-KY-230. This was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $21.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.47 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (New Riff Bourbon)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $2.80

Details: 50% ABV. Non-Chill Filtered

Nose: Sweet and fruity with notes of spearmint, toffee, and oak.

Mouth: Spicy with notes of cinnamon, red fruits, vanilla, and caramel.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of cinnamon, fruit, and vanilla.

Whiskey B (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Vanilla, toasted grains, and mint.

Mouth: Toasted grains, oak, vanilla, caramel, and mint.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of caramel, toasted grains, and oak.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is a close one, but the depth of flavor in "A" pushes it ahead of the competition. The toasted grain notes are nice, but I'm really digging the sweet, fruity notes of "A". “A’s” finish is nicer too.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: I’m always surprised when Old Grand-Dad does well in these things. And then I get surprised by my surprise. I mean, I like Old Grand-Dad. I buy it three or four times a year in one of its various expressions. I don’t know why I get surprised when it puts up a good fight against more expensive competition. That said, I am in love with this bottle of New Riff. Which reminds me, I need to make a note to buy more New Riff.

Winner: New Riff Bourbon is advancing to round 2.

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10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: Old Forester 1897 vs. Old Tub

Those of you that have been following along know that this is the second competition of Round 1. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 2’s Number 4 seed Old Tub taking on Number 1 seed Old Forester 1897. 

Old Forester 1897 is part of Old Forester’s Whiskey Row line of Bourbons. This one was named for the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act (if you want a poster I designed around the text of the act, click here) and as you might have guessed from the context is a bonded bourbon. It was distilled in Louisville, KY at Brown-Forman’s distillery DSP-KY-354 (at one time known as the Early Times Distillery). It was bottled at Brown-Forman’s distillery DSP-KY-414. It was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $3.33 per pour.

Their opponent recently replaced Jim Beam Bonded in the Jim Beam brand line-up. Old Tub is a bottled-in-bond, unfiltered bourbon that is named after the brand the the Beam family made before they started producing Jim Beam branded products. It was distilled in Clermont, KY at Jim Beam’s distillery DSP-KY-230. This was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $20.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.40 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (Old Tub)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.40

Details: 50% ABV. Unfiltered.

Nose: Floral mint and oak.

Mouth: Spicy. Vegetal. Floral.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Notes of Cinnamon, dusty oak, and a touch of dried grains.

Whiskey B (Old Forester 1897)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Herbal mint, caramel, and vanilla.

Mouth: Floral vanilla, caramel, and baking spice.

Finish: Medium length and warm with notes of caramel, mint, and cinnamon.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: At the first sip of "B," I knew it was the winner. "A" is a good whiskey, but "B" lands right in the flavor profile that I love: sweet with lots of baking spice. "B" also has a wonderful mouth feel. It coats the month and throat beautifully.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: Another nice matchup. For the first time since we started these brackets, I knew that it was highly unlikely that there would be a “bad” whiskey in the bunch. I mean, Bonded bourbon is the gold standard for a reason. And that reason is no additives or shortcuts. You gotta just let nature do its thing for at least four years. That said, I would have been very surprised to see Old Tub beat Old Forester 1897. And things worked out as expected in this round.

Winner: Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond is advancing to round 2.

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10th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond vs. Jack Daniel's Bonded

Here we go! Let’s get down to the competitions.  I hope that you guys are as excited by this as I am. Round 1 of the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Brackets opens with Division 1 Number 2 seed Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond versus Number 3 seed Jack Daniel’s Bonded. 

Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond is a Total Wine “Spirits Direct” brand. It was distilled in Bardstown, KY at distillery DSP-KY-12, better known as Sazerac’s Barton 1792 distillery. It was bottled in Frankfort, KY at distillery DSP-KY-113, otherwise known as Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace distillery. Though it is a Total Wine exclusive, it was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $46.97 for a 750 mL bottle or $3.13 per pour.

And their opponent is a relative newcomer to store shelves, having only been launched last year. Jack Daniel’s Bonded is a bottled-in-bond version of the iconic Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. It has two distillery plant numbers on it, DSP-TN-1 and DSP-TN-4, both of which are part of the Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg, TN campus. This was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $34.99 for a 700 mL bottle or $2.50 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (Wolcott Bottled in Bond)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.13

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Nutty with notes of mint and dusty oak.

Mouth: Bready, with notes of almond, cinnamon, caramel.

Finish: Medium length with notes of cinnamon, bubblegum, almonds.

Whiskey B (Jack Daniel’s Bonded)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $2.50

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Mouth: Chocolate, cinnamon, and caramel.

Finish: Medium length with notes of caramel rolls, cinnamon, and mint.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: "B" is much spicier in the mouth. It is also much richer and much sweeter. "A" is pretty good, but the richness of "B" puts it over the top.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from Wolcott. Knowing it is a bonded bourbon, I knew there wouldn’t be any “funny” business going on with it. But I had no idea how it would taste. I like a lot of Bourbons that come out of Barton 1792, but I also find a lot of the stuff they do for store brands to be kinda meh. Not good, but not terrible. And that is kind of how it worked out here. Jack Daniel’s Bonded was very good. Wolcott Bottled-in-Bond was meh. This was an easy choice.

Winner: Jack Daniel’s Bonded is advancing to round 2.

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Jefferson's Ocean New York Edition and Jefferson's Ocean Rye

I’d like to thank Jefferson’s Bourbon and their PR team for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Last week, I got myself a shipment of whiskey from the PR agency that represents Jefferson’s Bourbon. I’ve enjoyed Jefferson’s in the past but as I was often critical of the cost of the bourbon, I was a bit surprised when they offered me a sample of their new releases. But since “too expensive” is relative, I try to not let that stop me from exploring a new bourbon. Especially when they are providing the sample for review.

Tonight’s two whiskeys are again from the Jefferson’s Ocean lineup. Because we have a lot to cover, let’s just let Jefferson’s tell you what they want you to know about each whiskey and then we can discuss what they taste like.

First, Jefferson’s Ocean Rye:

Welcome aboard rye’s first voyage, joining our Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea family as our 26th voyage. This double-barreled rye whiskey travels the world on ships at sea, blending the bold flavor of Rye with the rich caramelization that comes from the unique sea aging process.

And now Jefferson’s Ocean New York Edition

Prior to landing in New York, the barrels of bourbon traveled around the world sailing through rough and smooth seas while experiencing a wide range of temperatures. When they finished their voyage, they arrived at Manhattan’s first distillery since prohibition. From here, New York’s famous water was used to cut the bourbon to a 98 proof and it is non chill filtered creating a bigger and bolder liquid.

Ok, now that that’s behind us, Let’s see how they taste.

Jefferson's Ocean Rye

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $79.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.33

Details: 48% ABV.

Nose: Wintergreen, cinnamon, bubblegum.

Mouth: Cinnamon spice, nutmeg, bubblegum, and cardboard.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of bubble gum, spearmint, and baking spice.

Thoughts: Lots of bubble gum on this one. At least to my palate. This isn't a world-beater by any means, but it isn't bad. It just doesn't align with my palate. I prefer my rye whiskies to have a little more ' 'rye" flavor to them. So I'm neutral on this one. I'd drink it if you were pouring, but probably wouldn't choose it off the shelf if I was pouring

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Jefferson's Ocean: New York Edition

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. They did not provided a suggested retail price but the Bourbon Review is reporting it as $99 for a 750 mL.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.67

Details: 49% ABV. Cut to proof with New York water.

Nose: Cinnamon, vanilla, red berries, and hints of oak and wintergreen.

Mouth: Spicy cinnamon, red fruit, brown sugar, wintergreen, dried grain, and raw almond.

Finish: On the longer side of medium length. Notes of nutmeg, wintergreen, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: I'm very pleasantly surprised by this one. I'm not usually a huge fan of Jefferson's Bourbon, but this one is pretty good. It has a nice spiciness. Unlike the other Jefferson's Bourbons I've had recently, this doesn't stray too far away from the stereotypical "Bourbon" flavor profile. I usually describe Jefferson's as a "change of pace" bourbon because it is a bit different than the other bourbons on the market. This needs no such disclaimer. I'm a fan. Though the $100 price point of the Jefferson's Ocean New York Edition release does leave a bit to be desired. Especially if you are on a dogsitter’s budget like I am.

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Calumet Farm Small Batch Bourbon

I’ve been noticing something about myself lately. I almost never buy a bourbon that is between $52 and $72 unless I am buying it to review on the site. It was brought to my attention last night when I realized that even though I adore Old Forester 1920, I think that I’ve only actually purchased it two or three times since it was released in 2016. It’s price lives in a price blind spot I have that spans the previously mentioned $52 to $72 range.

So what causes this blind spot? Well, mostly money. As you might guess, in order to keep content going on the site, I end up buying a lot of bourbon. So much so that when I am looking for something that I don’t need to review, I often get lazy and get a handle of Wild Turkey or Maker’s Mark. In my market those are in the $40 to $50 range. But occasionally I want something different. But those familiar prices stick in my head as I scan the shelves. Even if the “something different” is $50 for a 750 mL bottle, my brain sees it as “not too expensive.”

However, when I am looking for something a bit special, I start looking at items that I’ve seen before, but passed over because of price. Maybe it is a store pick or a bottle that has a bit more age on it. In either case the price will probably be some where north of $75. Which as you may have noticed leaves about a $25 window that I almost never buy anything from. And I need to change that. Might be time to start looking specifically at that price range. Which has things like tonight’s bourbon, Calumet Small Batch.

We’ve discussed some of the very expensive 14, 15, and 16 year old expressions that Calumet has released, but until now I’ve not looked at any of the lower priced bottles that have come out since they changed their bottle design to the “wine bottle” shape. So let’s see what the company has to say about their Small Batch bourbon.

Each small batch (50 barrels) is crafted from a blend of premium Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey: 15 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Bourbon Details: Distilled/Aging Location: Kentucky. Batch Size: 50 Barrels. Potency: 86 Proof (43% Alc/Vol). Mash Bill: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley. Bottled By: Three Springs Bottling Company, Bowling Green, KY.

Ok so now that we discussed price and provenance, let’s get to the important part: how does it taste?

Calumet Farm Small Batch Bourbon

Purchase Info: $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.00

Details: 43% ABV. Blend of 15-year-old and 8-year-old bourbons. Mash Bill: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley.

Nose: Wintergreen, Flintstones vitamins, cotton candy, caramel, and oak.

Mouth: Vanilla, caramel, nutmeg, and black tea.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of oak, cherry, and baking spice.

Thoughts: I really like this one. It has enough oak influence to keep it feeling fancy, but not so much that it is over powering. I enjoy the sweetness in the mouth and the heat of the baking spice. Even at 86 proof, it doesn’t taste overly diluted and has a nice spiciness to it. As I discussed above, $60 is a lot of money. And it is a little more than I’d like to pay for this one. It feels like it would fit better in the $40 to $50 range. Luckily I found it at Total Wine for $49.99. And for $50, I'd be happy to buy this one again.

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, A123

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

On tap tonight, we have Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. We looked at the whiskey’s stable-mate on Tuesday going in-depth on what Larceny Barrel Proof is and what the labeling means. Tonight, I think we are going to jump right into taking a look at the whiskey. By the way, according to the press release, this is the start of the 11th year of Heaven Hill’s line of products. So Happy Anniversary to them! Can you believe it has been that long? Man. I’m getting old.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, A123

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is: $69.99

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.67

Details: 12 years old, 62.8% ABV. Non-chill filtered. Mash Bill: 78% corn, 10% Rye, and 12% Malted Barley

Nose: Cinnamon, chocolate, leather, red fruits, nutmeg, and oak.

Mouth: First Sip is hot and oaky. Notes of caramel toffee, nutmeg, cinnamon, and leather

Finish: Long and warm. Notes of leather, oak, nutmeg, and red fruits.

Comparison to C922: A123 has a much more vibrant nose. By comparison, C922 guards its secrets much more closely. A123 is hotter and focuses on leather and baking spice notes when compared to the dark chocolate and nougat that C922 is showing. Both finishes are long and warm and basically follow their mouths. Both are excellent and I'm having a hard time choosing between them. Can’t I just have both?

Thoughts: Another home run in a long line of them. If a bourbon could be put into a hall of fame, the entire Elijah Craig Barrel Proof line-up would go in on the first ballot.

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Larceny Barrel Proof, A123

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Welcome to January folks. Sure, I know that it’s almost half over, but as far as I’m concerned January starts when Heaven Hill drops the first of their three-times yearly batches of Larceny Barrel Proof and Elijah Craig Barrel proof. I always look forward to these releases. Any why might that be, you ask? Because they’re always delicious. And it is nice to look at things that you know are going to be tasty. Since it is the first drop of the year, let’s go over a little basic info as to what this is.

Born as an offshoot of Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald line of wheated bourbons, Larceny bourbon uses wheat instead of rye as the “flavoring” grain. In this case, Heaven Hill tells us that the recipe is 68% corn (remember to be bourbon it needs over 51% corn in the mash bill), 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. This release being barrel-proof means there is no water added to the batch. They dump, blend, and bottle at whatever strength it comes out of the barrel. Now, of course, that sometimes leads to a very hot product. The first batch of this was so hot that I was worried as to what they were trying to accomplish. In the intervening years, it has calmed itself a bit.

Speaking of different batches if you run across this in the store, how do you know which batch you have? Heaven Hill has nicely given us the key to knowing what is in our hands as we hold that bottle of the precious liquid. The batch code is made up of three parts. The first part is a letter, A, B, or C. This corresponds to if it is the first, second, or third batch of the year. The second part is a number, to this point it has always been 1, 5, or 9. This is the month of the year the release came out. The final part of the code is made up of the final two digits which indicate the year. So in this case A123 means it is the first batch of the year and it was released in January of 2023. Simple.

But unless this is your first time learning about the Barrel-Proof releases from Heaven Hill (in which case: welcome! the bar is in the corner. pour yourself something nice), you actually just want to know how this one tastes. So let’s dig in.

Larceny Barrel Proof, A123

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $59.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.00

Details: Heaven Hill’s wheated mash bill (68% corn, 20% Wheat, and 12% malted barley). 6-8 years old. 62.9% ABV.

Nose: This is a caramel bomb on notes of oak, vanilla, and a hint of wintergreen.

Mouth: Very warm but not uncomfortably so. Notes follow the nose with caramel, oak, and wintergreen.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium length. Strong cinnamon candy notes.

Thoughts: Normally if I see this on the shelf I pick it up because it is delicious. However, I don’t usually get too bent out of shape if I don’t run across it because in this market Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is usually easier to find. This time however, I really hope that my local store gets their hands on a bottle because if I see this one, it is coming home with me. This might be my favorite release of Larceny Barrel Proof yet.

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If you've had... Elijah Craig Edition

I was looking for something to pull out of the ol’ whiskey closet during the last snowstorm when I got my eyes on something that I wasn’t expecting. I noticed the distinctive plastic lid of the old-style Elijah Craig bottle. Now, I had no idea that I’d stashed one of these away and even less idea that I hadn’t already finished it. But here we are. When the roads are slick and travel is not advised, sometimes you gotta make do with what you have on hand.

And it turns out that I had something pretty interesting on hand. It was a bottle of Elijah Craig Small batch from 2015. According to the piece of tape I put on the bottle before I stashed it away, I bought it in very early January 2016 at Total Wine for a cost of $21.99. This would have been the last version of Elijah Craig before Heaven Hill removed its 12-year-old age statement. So obviously I cracked that bad boy open. Annnnd…was reminded that it was very dry and tannic. Probably one reason I left it up there and forgot about it. But I did have an idea. I thought that it might be fun to put it up against two recent Elijah Craig expressions and see how it stacks up. Did Heaven Hill make the right choice when they changed and expanded the product? To find out I set each of these up in my patented If You’ve Had… style where we compare one product to a similar product in order to find the differences.

What’s that? You haven’t been around long enough to know what the If You’ve Had… series is? Well here is a quick cheat sheet to bring you up to speed. The setup is like this: "If you've had Whiskey A then Whiskey B is..." hotter, spicier, sweeter, more floral, etc.” Each section below is written comparing all of the whiskeys in the line-up to one of their peers. So if you've had Whiskey A, but not Whiskey B, C, or D, then the Whiskey A section will be the most useful to you. You may notice that there are different tasting notes here as compared to the usual reviews. That is because I am literally going from one bourbon to the other and recording my impressions of the difference. This article purely describes the differences between the various bourbons. I try to write this so that there are no value judgments. This way you get to decide based on what you know of Whiskey A if Whiskey B sounds like something you'd want to try.

So without further ado, I present the ninth installment of the If You’ve Had… series. Plus, afterward, I’ll let you know my thoughts on the current state of Elijah Craig when compared to the 2015 version.

If you've had Elijah Craig Small Batch (2023) then...

Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Small Batch (2015) is: about the same color, visually. 2015’s nose shows much more sharp oak compared to 2023's cinnamon/nutmeg/baking spices. The mouth of 2015 is hot and very strongly oaky to the exclusion of almost everything else. Whereas the 2023 is full of baking spices. The finish of 2015 is also tannic and bitter compared to 2023’s fruit and spice.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (C922) is: visually much darker in color. The nosing experience is very similar between the two with the Barrel Proof version showing more alcohol burn in the nostrils. The mouth of the Barrel Proof is much hotter, but also sweeter and the notes, while similar to 2023, pop more. The finish of the Barrel Proof shows more oak and lasts longer.

If you've had Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Small Batch (2015) then...

Elijah Craig Small Batch (2023) is: visually very similar in color. The nose shows more cinnamon and baking spice that is hidden behind 2015’s oak. The mouth of 2023 is more gentle and shows more sweetness and baking spice. The finish shows less oak than the 2015 version.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (C922) is: visually darker in color. The nose of the Barrel Proof shows a similar level of oak but also shows more sweetness and chocolate. In the mouth, Barrel Proof is hotter but also sweeter and shows more baking spice. The finish is hotter and shows more sweetness and spice to complement its oak.

If you've had Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (C922) then...

Elijah Craig Small Batch (2023) is: visually lighter in color. The nose is very similar showing much less alcohol in the nostrils. In the mouth, 2023 is more gentle and shows more fruit and less sweetness. The finish of 2023 is shorter and shows more fermented fruit notes.

Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Small Batch (2015) is: visually much lighter in color. 2015’s nose is similar but shows less sweetness. 2015’s mouth is more gentle but shows its oak more as the Barrel Proof also shows off chocolate and sweet notes to go along with its oak. The finish of 2015 is drier and shows off the oak more.

So... Thoughts:

Is it worth trying to hunt for the unicorn that is the old 12-year-old Elijah Craig? In my opinion? Fuck. No! At least not a bottle of the 2015 release, like I have here. My bottle was from the last release before it lost its age statement and I can only describe it as over-oaked. I'm not a fan, personally though my wife enjoys it. Obviously, I like oak. I just want it to be a supporting flavor not the only flavor like it is in the 2015 version. The Barrel Proof still has a lot of oak but it also has a lot of chocolate, sweetness, and spice that accompanies the oak. I also prefer the standard Elijah Craig Small Batch that is on shelves currently. I don’t need everything to have a lot of oak so I enjoy that they allow Small Batch to showcase the cinnamon, baking spice, and fruit. Both the Barrel Proof and Small Batch are satisfying complements to one another. Whereas the old 12-year-old Elijah Craig from 2015 is kinda just a one-note oak bomb. Some people, like a gentleman I was chatting with in the liquor store, love the "overpowering oak" (his words) that these old bottles have. I don't. So after seven years I can look back and feel that, as far as I’m concerned, Heaven Hill made the right choice by removing the age statement and allowing the flavor to drive the brand, not the age.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that all of the old 12-year-old bottles were as dry and tannic as this release was. I was upset when they removed the age statement. But I’ve been part of a round-table that compared various editions of the 12-year-old Elijah Craig and this one was my least favorite of the group. Some of the even earlier ones were delicious. So I’m mostly just shitting on this particular release, not the entire history. But if the age statement was holding them back from making an even better product, or products in this case, then I think it was probably the right call.

My Ranking:

1. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (12 year old)

2. Elijah Craig Small Batch (2023)

3. Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Small Batch (2015) - Distant 3rd.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

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