Booker's Bourbon: Batch 2018-03 "Kentucky Chew"

It’s the last post of Bourbon Heritage Month. Tonight we finish up the month by revisiting a bourbon that was provided to me specifically to coincide with Bourbon Heritage Month.

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Jim Beam for providing this sample to me with no strings attached. As always, all thoughts are just my opinion and should be taken as just that.

Do you ever get the feeling that life is flying by? That maybe life is too short to hold grudges? I do, and I have for a while. For some reason, that doesn’t seem to stop me from holding a few grudges anyway. Which seemed odd to me, until I come to the realization that I’d been hiding the grudge, even from myself. Let me set the stage for you.

It was 2016. I, like many bourbon lovers, had been getting frustrated by the rising prices and disappearing age statements for a while. It felt like one punch in the gut after another as one previously affordable bourbon after another either disappeared, lost their identity (age), or just plain became priced out of reach. Affordable luxury was how I, and many others, had always thought of bourbon. And then the announcement of the 2017 Booker’s Price Increase (from $59.99 to $99.99) came. There was understandable anger. It had been communicated in such a way that almost made it sound as if the near doubling of the price was being done just because they could.

But the company either changed their mind or their messaging (maybe both) and though a price increase was still there, it wasn’t as big. It was actually reasonable. From an MSRP of $59.99 to somewhere between $69.99 and $74.99 wasn’t terrible considering the newly supplied explanation of constrained supplies and reduced numbers of batches. Unlike many others, I wasn’t angry. That’s capitalism, I thought. They are free to charge what they want and I am free to either buy it or not based on if I think the price is fair.

But unfortunately, even though I thought that the latter price increase wasn’t too bad, a funny thing had occurred: the first announcement stuck in my head. And as such, in my mind, Booker’s moved from an affordable luxury at $50-60 (depending on the retailer) to a bottle that was priced in the range of limited edition bourbons that I only bought once per year or less.

It wasn’t true, but that’s what I mean about hiding the grudge from myself. Obviously just by looking at the shelf I knew that I wasn’t going to need to drop a hundred bucks on a bottle. But for some reason, I never thought of it because that $99.99 price was stuck in my brain along with the hard feelings that came with how it had been originally communicated.

But time passes. Grudges, even hidden ones, lose their sharp edges. And when the PR folks for Beam Suntory reached out to me to see what I was planning to do for Bourbon Heritage Month and offered a review sample of Booker’s, I took it. It had been a few years since I had purchased one and I thought it might be nice to see how it was coming along.

This particular batch was named for the now famous “Kentucky Chew” method of evaluating a bourbon originally made famous by the brand’s namesake Booker Noe. It is essentially the practice of moving the bourbon all around your mouth so it gets into all the little nooks and crannies, with the effect of making it looking like you’re chewing your bourbon. The batch was released in August 2018.

Booker’s Bourbon: Batch 2018-03 “Kentucky Chew”

Purchase Info: This sample was graciously provided by Beam Suntory. The suggested retail price is between $69.99 and $74.99 for a 750 mL bottle. 

Details: 63.35% ABV. Aged for 6 years, 4 months, 12 days.

Nose: Oaky notes of leather and vanilla. Spicy notes of allspice and cinnamon. Sweet notes of brown sugar and caramel.

Mouth: Brown sugar and baking spices.

Finish: Nice and long with a good “bloom” of heat and flavor after swallowing. Lingering notes of of green apple and baking spices.

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Thoughts: This is a great whiskey. Compared to other bourbons in it’s price range, this is still one of the best “regularly available” bourbons on the market. I think this bottle finally laid the last remnants of that hidden grudge to rest. I’ll be adding Booker’s back into the rotation of barrel-proof bourbons I buy.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, please visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Lux Row Distillers: Distillery Tour

It’s Bourbon Heritage Month and as such, I am celebrating all things bourbon. Not just the liquid, but travel, tours, and book, as well. Tonight, I’m taking a look at the newly opened Lux Row Distillery in Bardstown, KY.

While in Bardstown, I made sure to stop in and grab a tour at the newly completed Lux Row Distillers. I was at the name announcement ceremony two years ago when the grounds consisted of a historic home and a large pile of dirt. I was really looking forward to seeing the finished result. I wasn’t disappointed. This is a beauty of a distillery. The fact that it is also very obviously a working distillery first and a tourist attraction second just adds to the charm.

Upon walking up to the distillery, I was struck by how welcoming it looked. I knew this was a manufacturing facility, but it looked like someone’s house. (A house well out of my price range, but a house none-the-less.)

The tour started with a movie. They all seem to. It’s a nice efficient way to bring everyone up to speed. After the movie we stepped out into the manufacturing floor. They had two 4,000-gallon cookers that feed twelve 8,000-gallon fermenters. Four of the fermenters were open for tourists to experience, the other eight were closed like the ones shown above.

After making our way around the cookers and fermenters, we were at the stills. The stills live in a lovely, though very warm, room with large windows to show off all the lovely copper.

Out the windows is a nice view of the 200 year-old house that was the main structure standing on the grounds the fist time I visited the property. They have plans for it that they didn’t disclose, but said that for now it is only used for storage.

I thought this was a nice bit of transparency. As you may know, until recently, Luxco was not in the business of distilling bourbon. They were in the business of buying, blending, and bottling bourbon. (In a fun tidbit, they admitted that the current stocks are coming from Jim Beam and Heaven Hill.) As such, with a distillery that has been producing spirit for less than a year, they are filling barrels, but not yet dumping any. And they told us as such when they pointed out the dumping station in the foreground. They roughly said: it’s here for when we need to start using it in four or more years. I liked that. It’s nice to see companies that are not trying to sell a fantasy.

After we saw where barrels are filled (if it wasn’t a Saturday during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival), we move over to where they are stored after they are filled. With this one, they took steps to make sure that the view was worth the walk over.

Unlike most of the Lux Row aging warehouses (or those from most other companies for that matter) this aging warehouse was built with visitors in mind and has a large viewing area inside the front of the warehouse. These very large beams keep all those barrels in place even though there would normally be more supports (and barrels) in their place.

I know every warehouse has a view something like this, but I just liked the photo.

We finished the tour in the tasting room. It was a lovely tasting room. Lots of copper. We tasted Rebel Yell, Ezra Brooks, and David Nicholson 1843. In the process we got to meet members of the Lux family who were in town for the festival. And in another fun tidbit, I learned that if you are looking at the labels of a Luxco bourbon, you can tell if it is wheated or not but the color of the label. All the wheated bourbons have a white label (aside from the Rebel Yell Single Barrel whose label is painted on).

I thoroughly enjoyed my tour at Lux Row Distillers. The grounds were as beautiful as I remembered. The distillery and gift shop were welcoming, and the information was accurate and transparent. Honestly, what more can you ask for?

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, please visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America's Whiskey by Carla Carlton (and other stuff I'm giving away)

It’s Bourbon Heritage Month and as such, I am celebrating all things bourbon. Not just the liquid, but travel, books, and merch as well. Tonight we talk about a book that I’ve had on my reading list for over a year now.

I have had Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America's Whiskey by Carla Carlton on my Reading List for over a year. I bought the book right after it came out. Possibly even pre-ordered it since I tend to do that. The book arrived and I set it in a pile of other books to read the next time I went on vacation.

Eventually I went on vacation. And I promptly lost the book. But the funny thing was that I didn’t realize I lost the book until I was packing for the next vacation and tried to find it. I knew that I had been too busy to read on the previous trip, but it wasn’t in my travel bag. And it wasn’t in my office…or my living room…didn’t get brought down to the library I keep in the lower level…it wasn’t even in my bedroom with the stack of books I keep in there.

So I bought the book again on my Kindle to read on my way to Kentucky last week. Upon my return home…I found the book on the bookshelf in my office where I keep my bourbon books. I couldn’t find it because I had put it away.

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But guess what? I do not regret buying the book twice. It’s a damn fine book. It is informative, yet written in an approachable and entertaining manner. The author draws on both other recognized sources as well as interviews with people inside the bourbon industry. In other words, you can trust that she knows what she is talking about. I’d say this is a fantastic book for those just getting into bourbon history. And even if you already know all there is to know about the subject, it is still a fun read. I highly recommend you go buy it. Maybe even twice like I did.

However, even though I purchased the book twice, I find that I don’t need both a physical and a digital copy. And since the digital copy takes up less room, I’d like to pass the physical one along to one of my loyal readers. Not only that, but I’d like to give you a lot of other bourbon stuff that I’ve gathered over the years. These are either items that I thought were cool enough to buy (but never ended up using) or items that I was given along with samples/while attending events. (None of these were provided by the brands or authors for the purpose of giving away and they are not affiliated with the give away. I just wanted to be nice.)

For a view of what is being given away, see below the entry form. Contest ends on Friday, September 28th and winners will be chosen randomly after the contest conclude. Winners will be notified via email. Good Luck!

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, please visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Old Forester Distillery Tour at the Old Forester Distilling Co., Louisville, KY

It's Bourbon Heritage Month and I just got back from Kentucky so I thought it might be a good time to highlight some Bourbon Fun. Tonight, I’m taking a look at the Old Forester Distilling Co. A new visitor experience on Whiskey Row in Louisville, KY.

Hey! I’m back from my annual trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival…only this year, I really didn’t go to the Festival all that much. I only went to two events that were officially part of the Festival, and only one was a paid, ticketed event. It’s odd, but I might be falling out of love with the KBF. All of the prices have increased to the point where I just don’t want to pay them anymore. Which, on one hand, really sucks. I don’t like to be priced out of things I enjoy (welcome to bourbon in 2018…amirite?) But on the other, it did allow me to have a lot of other experiences that I normally wouldn’t have had time for.

Experiences like tours of some of the new distilleries (or distillery-like experiences) that have popped up since I last took the time to wander away from Bardstown. One of the tours I took was of the new Old Forester Distilling Co. experience on Whiskey Row in Louisville.

When you walk in the door, you are immediately greeted by a large brick and wood room that contains a desk for checking into your tour (or buying tickets) and a waiting area. This is where your tour will start. Depending on how early you arrive, you may decide to visit the gift shop. they will certainly let you, but in true Disneyland fashion, you will also exit the tour into the gift shop as well. So when you give them your money is up to you.

If you choose to visit the Gift Shop before you take your tour, you will be greeted with the best view of the tall copper column still (as well as branded merchandise and multiple bottles that are available for purchase).

By a strange coincidence, one of my fellow tour-takers was a distiller from England who was there as a guest of Brown-Forman and Campbell Brown, the President of Old Forester (who also tagged along for a good portion of the tour as well). This meant that not only were there a few more geeky questions than you normally find on a typical bourbon distillery tour, but we also got a few more candid and honest answers than you would usual too.

Above is the entry to the official “tour area” this area talks about their mash bill and the benefit of Kentucky water.

One of the especially candid answers we received on the tour related to the fermenters (shown above). When the English Distiller (whose name or company I have forgotten) asked why they had open fermenters instead of closed ones, Mr. Brown answered that it was because it provided a better visitor experience and that they have closed fermenters in the big distillery. I enjoyed the candor. It’s refreshing to go on a distillery tour and not be overloaded with marketing speak.

When we stopped to take a look at the still, which I had already seen in the gift shop, I turned around and looked at the other wall which featured these windows showing where spirit at various parts of the distilling run would be visible. One thing I liked about the tour, was that it was really set up to be an education in to how bourbon is made for the average consumer. They wouldn’t have had to have made all the extra graphics to explain what was going on, but they took the time to do it. Nice touch.

Of course the highlight of the tour was the barrel making area. And not just because we happened to have one of the cooper’s grandfather and other older relatives on the tour with us (though watching the young kid sneak up to surprise an elderly great-aunt with a hug was heartwarming as well). Once again, they showed all the steps and let us know which pieces of equipment were state-of-the-art and which were from a previous era of barrel making. More refreshing candor. Some things were just there because it made a better show on a small scale, not because they were efficient on a large scale.

This was our tour guide (I forget her name because her hair covered her name tag and I’m bad with remembering names at the best of times). In any case, she was excellent. Normally, I have a conversation with myself regarding the things they are over simplifying or just plain getting wrong. I didn’t have that conversation here. She was very knowledgeable and I don’t remember a single of noticeable error.

This was a pretty cool machine. It was a hydraulic press that put the hoops on the barrel. I don’t remember seeing anything like this when I toured Independent Stave a few years ago, but my memory is notoriously bad (and it may have been behind the scenes as well). Still, having been a metal-stamping press operator for a few years after high school, this looked like much more fun (and much less noisy) than those were. It even had a JoyStick!

Of course after you build a barrel, you need to test it. And this was where my fellow tour taker’s nephew/grandson came in. He basically adds some water, fills it with air and looks for bubbles.

This is a fairly small distillery by big bourbon standards, but it is a working distillery none-the-less. And they say that some of the liquid that is being made on sight is also being aged on site. Not sure how I’d feel about all that flammable liquid being there, if I was Duluth Trading Company next door.

And this is a bottling line. Once again, it seemed like it was there so you could see a bottling line and learn what they do. It was running pretty slowly compared to others I’ve seen in other distilleries.

And no tour would be complete without a tasting at the end. This tour offered tastes of Old Forester 86 proof, Old Forester Statesman, and Old Forester 1897 bottled in Bond.

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Overall, I really enjoyed the tour. There was little, to no, “Marketing BS” and the entire place was set up not only to show you how bourbon was made, but also to help you learn about how bourbon is made. Plus it was fun! And honestly, that’s just as important at the end of the day.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Four Roses 2018 Limited Edition Small Batch, 130 Anniversary Edition

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Four Roses for providing this sample to me with no strings attached. As always, all thoughts are just my opinion and should be taken as just that.

As I write this, I am sitting in a car somewhere between Bloomington and Champaign Illinois while my wife drives us to Lousiville. Rural Illinois is pretty dull. Aside from the occasional lousy roadside poem highlighting a fear of "thugs" and a warning about how only a gun can keep you safe from them, there isn't much to keep your interest. We are tormenting ourselves with a drive across Illinois and Indiana because we are in the early hours of our annual trip to Kentucky to visit friends and attend the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY. 

One of the annual highlights of my September visit to Kentucky is that I can generally get my hands on a bottle of the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, which is released during the Festival. And while these releases are always good, some of them are a little better than others. And since I usually only review them well past the time any reader has any hope of getting a bottle for themselves, these reviews were less a useful resource and more a humble brag about being able to get one. 

This year, however, Four Roses was kind enough to offer me a review sample ahead of the product's release so that I could share my thoughts in a much more timely manner. I graciously accepted. Both because it would be more useful for you, the reader and because this way I will also know how hard to work at getting a full bottle for myself. 

So what are the details on this year's release? It will be released at both the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, and the Cox's Creek Warehouse & Bottling Facility on September 15th, 2018 at 9 am (Eastern). Limited distribution will roll out to the rest of the country in the weeks following. The suggested retail price will be $140 (which makes me cry a little inside when I realize I paid only $80 for my 2009 Mariage). The bourbon is made up of a 10-year-old OBSV, a 13-year-old OBSF, a 14-year-old OESV, and 16-year-old OESK. My sample says it is bottled at 54.2% ABV though the press release claims 108.3° proof so the final bottling will be somewhere around there, I guess. But less important than what it is, is how it tastes.

Four Roses 2018 Limited Edition Small Batch, 130 Anniversary Edition

Purchase Info: This sample was graciously provided by Four Roses. The suggested retail price is $140 for a 750 mL bottle. 

Details: A blend of 10-year-old OBSV, a 13-year-old OBSF, a 14-year-old OESV, and 16-year-old OESK. 54.2% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, nutmeg, cherry/almond.

Mouth: Very warm and spicy. Caramel, baking spices, cherry, and ripe peaches. 

Finish: Long, hot, and spicy. Lingering fruits, oak, and vanilla.

Thoughts: Ok, yes. This is very good. But, no. This is not my favorite of the Limited Small Batch Releases. It's not even my favorite of recent releases. That honor still goes to last year's 2017 edition due to its comparatively easy drinking floral fruitiness.

2018's release is a different beast entirely (most likely by design as I know they try to vary it from year to year to exercise and showcase their creativity). Unlike 2017's release, this is a hot and spicy beast of a dram. It is hot. The caramel is at the forefront, and the spice will bite you if you aren't prepared for it. The fruit is still there, but this year it plays more in the ripe, juicy peaches and cherry range. This is not a "mellow" bourbon. 

But it is a very good bourbon, and a lot of people will love this. Personally, I like it, but am not in love with it. Of course, that won't stop me from trying to get my hands on a bottle again this year.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Corner Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon: Revisited

It's the first week of Bourbon Heritage Month so I thought I'd take a look back and revisit a couple of older brands. Tonight's is Corner Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

Though Corner Creek is older for a "modern" bourbon brand, it isn't a historic one. The brand has been around since 1988. In his 2004 book, Bourbon Straight, Chuck Cowdery wrote about it being a "4-grain" bourbon. Though he admitted it was likely a mix of Rye and Wheated styles. He liked it when he wrote the book.

I did not agree when I published my first review in 2012. 2,088 days ago to be exact, on December 19, 2012. It was only the 8th whiskey review I'd published on the site. But it might have been one of the earlier sets of tasting notes that I'd put down to paper since in that post I was publishing tasting notes from a year prior to that. At the time, I was not a fan. Though I was too timid in yet to say so and gave it a "meh" rating. 

At the time of my review, it was sold in a tinted green wine bottle. It was still sold that way when I purchased my first bottles sometime in 2010/2011. I'm not sure who the brand owner was at the time, but the label was submitted for approval by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (Willett) out of Bardstown, KY. Not surprising since they did a nice bit of business sourcing whiskey and bottling it for brands other than their own. 

These days, the wine bottle is still around, but it is now clear. I'm still not sure who the brand owner is, but the most recent label approval was submitted by Kentucky Artisan Distillers out of Crestwood, KY. These are the same folks who house the Jefferson's Bourbon Visitor Center and, I assume, have a hand in that brand as well. The name has changed slightly in the intervening years as well. Until the most recent label approval, this was always known as Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon Whiskey. Now it is Corner Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Corner Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Purchase Info: $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle at MGM Wine and Spirits, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 44% ABV. Non-age Stated. 

Nose: Fruity and aromatic. You can catch the fruitiness on this one as you pour it into the glass. Along with that are dried grass, mint, and caramel. 

Mouth: Slightly underripe peaches (just before they turn into a sweet juicy mess), caramel and nutmeg. 

Finish: Medium length and dry. Lingering fruit and nutmeg.

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Thoughts: I like this much more than I did 6 years ago. And I don't think that is as much of a reflection on the relative bourbons as it is on how my palate has changed while I've been writing here. I'm much more open to flavor profiles that are out of the ordinary than I was back then.

This is certainly a "change-of-pace" bourbon, but it isn't a bad one. In that respect, it reminds me of Jefferson's. Both are a little outside the typical bourbon flavor gamut. It is very fruity, almost reminding more of a fruit brandy than a bourbon. Overall, I like it. I'm upgrading this to a "Like" rating.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Benchmark Old No. 8 Brand Bourbon: Revisited

It's the first week of Bourbon Heritage Month so I thought I'd take a look back and revisit a couple of older brands. First up is Benchmark Bourbon from Sazerac.

It has been 1,266 days since I last posted tasting notes for Benchmark Bourbon. It wasn't a formal review as it was part of 2015's Bottom Shelf Brackets, but for the longest time, it was all I offered. Since I was out this weekend looking around at "affordable" options for bourbon, I thought it might be time to take another look at it. See if the intervening time has been kind to it. Back in 2015, I said the following:

It may only be three years old, but there is nothing to keep this from being a nice card playing bourbon.

Since I didn't talk about it last time around, let's go over a little history of the brand. The brand was originally launched by Seagram's in the late 1960s. During the 1970s, the ads for the brand told consumers to "Measure Your Bourbon Against It." By the late 1980s, the brand was up for sale and was purchased by Sazerac who used it and Eagle Rare (also purchased from Seagram's) to get into the bourbon business. 

These days, though it is still owned by Sazerac, it lives on the bottom shelf. It has an age statement of 36 months. It even has a few flavored spinoffs in the forms of Apple, Brown Sugar, and Peach whiskey flavored liqueurs. 

Benchmark Old No. 8 Brand Bourbon

Purchase Info: $13.49 for a 1-liter bottle at MGM Wine and Spirits, Burnsville, MN.

Details: Aged at least 36 months. 40% ABV

Nose: Green Apple Jolly Rancher candy, caramel.

Mouth: Caramel, mint, and after a little while a little spice builds up.

Finish: Short with a little lingering spice.

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Thoughts: My thoughts on this one have been solidly downgraded as time has gone on. With my first pour out of the current bottle, I thought it was a bit of a caramel bomb with undertones of Buffalo Trace. Pretty solid, though more of a "good enough" bourbon than a "good" one. When I did the tasting a few days later, I found it to be a little delicate in the mouth, but it was fine. Subsequent pours have just been really meh. While it might make an ok card playing or tv watching bourbon, for the price, I'd stick with Evan Williams Black or Bonded unless you really prefer those Buffalo Trace undertones. 

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof: Batch B518 (and now Batch C918)

After the initial publication of this article, Heaven Hill sent a sample of the next batch. I thought this would be the best place to put it since I had just reviewed the brand. As I state in my Statement of Ethics, if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this sample to me with no strings attached. As always, all thoughts are just my opinion and should be taken as just that.

In my house, tonight is the start of the 2018 College Football season. Sure, there may have been games before tonight. One of them may have even featured the team that my beloved Minnesota Gophers are playing tonight. Yep, football season starts tonight. Because honestly, games that happen before my team plays, don't really show up on my radar. 

I love this time of year. It's a time of excitement and hope for fans who like to be into excitement and hope. Though for the typical Midwesterner, it is the time when they start preparing for disappointment so they aren't disappointed in the end when things turn out to be disappointing.

You might have guessed by now, that in this respect, I am not a typical Midwesterner. I like joy. I like hope. I have no problem being so excited that I can barely sit still. And so, I love the hours before the kickoff of the first Gopher football game of the year. Sure, it's likely that I'll be disappointed by the end of the season, but why let that get in the way of having a good time now?

I take the same attitude toward bourbon as well. I don't review all the stinkers that show up on this site just to provide a public service. Though at times that is actually the case, sometimes I just let myself be carried away by hope and get excited by the prospect of trying something new.

Of course, there are times you just know that something is going to be good. Gopher Women's Volleyball is a good example in the Minnesota College Sports world (ranked #3 in the country as of the last poll). And Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is a good example in the bourbon world. My wife and I have an agreement that if we see ECBP on the shelf, we buy it. We don't pass it by. And for good reason. It's always pretty good. Sometimes it's even great. 

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof: Batch B518

Purchase Info: $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 12-year age stated. 66.7% ABV. Batch B518

Nose: Dark chocolate, cherry, caramel, cinnamon and a hint of molasses. 

Mouth: Rich caramel, cherry, mint, baking spice, and an alcohol-induced heat.

Finish: Long and warm with lingering rich oaky notes of leather, cherry, and spice.

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Thoughts: I definitely like to have this one with a little water. 133° proof is a bit hard to enjoy neat. Luckily, unlike some barrel proof offerings, this takes water well, maintaining many of the rich flavors while also allowing you to hold it in your mouth long enough to savor them. This one is good, I really like it. Classic bourbon flavors paired with rich, oaky notes of leather and cherry. Delicious!

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof: Batch C918

Purchase Info: This sample was graciously provided by Heaven Hill.  

Details: 12-year age stated. 65.7% ABV. Batch C918

Nose: Apple, oak, wood smoke, caramel, and baking spice. 

Mouth: Sweet caramel, baking spice, and oak.

Finish: Long and warm with lingering sweet caramel and baking spice.

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Thoughts: This is a sweeter, showing much more caramel, than the batch obove. Almost dessert-like. I like this one too, but am struck by the variation between batches. Guess that’s why they name them now.

BourbonGuy.com accepts no advertising. It is solely supported by the sale of the hand-made products I sell at the BourbonGuy Gifts Etsy store. If you'd like to support BourbonGuy.com, visit BourbonGuyGifts.com. Thanks!