Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon (Batch 6, 140.2 Proof) Review

Don't like ads?

No ads

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon has been a mainstay in the bourbon community since 2013. Its introduction was surprising seeing as how Heaven Hill had just sounded the alarm bells one year prior regarding its low inventory of highly-aged bourbon. They didn’t outright say it, but the inventory issues was probably a rubber band effect from their distillery burning down in 1996.

The issue at hand was that Heaven Hill was considering removing the 12-year age statement from Elijah Craig Small Batch in 2012. This led to a brouhaha among enthusiasts everywhere. One would think that if supply was low, then measures would be taken to stretch or limit production so it would last longer. Strangely, Heaven Hill ignored all conventional wisdom and did a full 180. They charged headfirst in the opposite direction by launching a barrel proof version of Elijah Craig the next year.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon

There were 12 batches of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof released between 2012 and 2016 in the iconic squat bottle – also lovingly referred to as “Old Label ECBP” or “pirate bottles” by enthusiasts. These 12 batches are often thought to contain bourbon older than 12 years due to their extremely dark color and extra-mature taste. They also hold a distinction of being very high proof – with 75% of the batches coming in over 134 proof. The batch with the highest proof is the subject of today’s review – Batch 6. It was a scorching 140.2 proof. No other batched release of Elijah Craig has topped it since; although a few have come close.

One strange fact I want to note is that Batch 6 was the last squat/pirate bottle to use a one-piece cork. Batches 7 through 12 would use an inferior pebbled cork. The march of time hasn’t been kind to either design as enthusiasts have complained about both designs breaking apart after less than a decade of storage. There’s also the issue of poor quality glue failing which causes the plastic topper to separate from the cork. If you buy one of these today, take care to open them and have a spare empty bottle on hand to decant it in case of emergencies.

So what’s it like to drink a bourbon with this much proof and this old? Let’s find out. I’m changing up this review just a little bit by using the notes I recorded during a blind Advent tasting I did a week ago. I’ll even give a summary of what others in the Advent group thought before and after the reveal. As usual, I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

(Blind) Tasting Notes

Nose: The nose on this is absolutely amazing. I’m finding scents of toffee, melted candy bar and rich caramel. Is that some cinnamon swirl toast as well? I’m picking up a slightly nutty aroma (roasted almonds) which makes me think it’s immediately Beam, Heaven Hill or Wild Turkey. There’s so much oak and barrel char with every sniff, but I can tell this isn’t a dusty (that last part is based on this being a blind sample).

Palate: Every sip is so rich and powerful. The proof is way up there on this one. I also noted that I just ate some really spicy chili two hours ago that might be amplifying this. I’m reinforcing just how incredible the flavor is on this and how I think it tastes a lot like Beam – drawing comparisons to Little Book: The Infinite. I also find notes of melted candy bar, toffee, nuts and tons of oak on the tongue. It resembles the nose in a lot of ways.

Finish: The heat from sipping this smolders in my mouth and throat. It’s still just as oaky, rich and sweet as it has been on the nose and palate. The theme I identify is “melted candy bar” which sums up everything I loved about this dram.

Score: 8.8/10

An incredible bourbon that goes to show that you don’t need to travel back to the glut era to find a GOAT bottle. There’s a reason why this particular batch fetches almost $750 compared to around $450 for its peer batches. I absolutely loved it.

Did I guess correctly that this bottle was Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 6? Sadly, no. My notes were full of me trying to rationalize what it was and what it wasn’t. I noted similarities to Booker’s 30th and even the Hardin’s Creek Kentucky Series. I began to wonder if I wasn’t tasting a very high proofed Wild Turkey product like Generations, Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson B or even Russell’s Reserve 15. I ended up picking the latter and adding a note that I felt like this Advent sample had more proof than RR15, but similar profiles. I was shocked to see the reveal, but it just reinforces how good these old label ECBP’s were.

Final Thoughts

Recently, the Neat Drinker’s Association had this particular bottle included in its yearly blind Advent Calendar (thanks Niall!). Here’s a quick summary of what the members thought. Keep in mind, these reactions and scores were done blind, so they’re just about as honest as you’ll get.

This bottle is tied for first place among 20 bottles with an average score of 8.89 out of 10. The bottle that it’s tied with is a 90 proof Cabin Still Bourbon decanter (Stitzel Weller) from 1972. A Wild Turkey Legend (Donut) is only .02 points behind them both which is essentially a rounding error. For those that are curious, the other bottles in this advent included: Old Fitzgerald 17 and 19 year old decanters, two kinds of Old Forester Bonded Dusties (from the 60’s and 80’s), Russell’s Reserve 13 (B4), a Van Winkle Lot B (2020), two different Birthday Bourbons (2020 and 2022), a 2015 Four Roses Small Batch LE and a couple of modern Willett Family Estate Bourbons.

Most members summed up their experience of this Hazmat ECBP by noting that they could tell it was an extremely high proofed bourbon, but not so much as to chase them away. Many of the group members could tell that this was a Heaven Hill product, but none guessed ECBP. For the ones that didn’t identify it as Heaven Hill, there were lots of guesses for George T. Stagg or King of Kentucky – high praise for a bottle that wasn’t much more than $50 (retail) back in 2014.