Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Elijah Craig Distillery

Bardstown, Kentucky

ABV: 69.7%

139.4 Proof

This Bourbon is on a whole different level. The 2nd in the collection of 3 high end bourbons I purchased as a set at a great deal (the 1st reviewed here). This one is worth the cost. Here is the description right off the bottle.

“Made in the same tradition as other award-winning Elijah Craig bottlings, this is a Barrel Proof, Small Batch Bourbon. Bottled straight from the barrel and without chill filtering, the nose, taste and finish from twelve years of aging are preserved in their purest form. At Barrel Proof, water can be added and proof reduced to your liking. Enjoy this limited bottling of Elijah Criag.”

And add water I did, I can’t imagine tasting this without taking the edge off with at least a little dilution. The flavors are bold and up front, you can taste oak with a nice level of heat that lingers. The finish is nicely sweet and masks the high alcohol volume. This is a dangerously smooth drink. What is interesting to me is the taste after each sip is a slight variation of sweetness. Sometimes I can taste more caramel but others is the continued presence of oak. It is on the expensive side, costing about 140 dollars a bottle. This is highly recommended and worth the cost, a great drink for special occasions and a single pour is plenty.