Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12y.o. (A123) Review

Rising from the ashes of Prohibition and into the midst of the Great Depression in Bardstown, KY, Heaven Hill Distillery has grown to be the largest independent family-owned and operated producer of distilled spirits products in the US, and the second-largest holder of bourbon whiskey inventory in the world. The distillery was set up in 1935 after a small group approached the Shapira family seeking capital investment to set up a distillery using their technical expertise. Following personal financial difficulties among the other members of the founding group, their interests in the “Old Heavenhill Springs” distillery were bought out by the Shapira family making the distillery a fully family-owned enterprise. With renewed purpose, the family kept on one of the original investors, James L. Beam as Master Distiller, and hired the best bourbon-producing talent they could find in their local Bardstown. Four years later in 1939, they released their first product, a 4-year-old Bottled in Bond bourbon under the Old Heaven Hill brand. The brand quickly became one of the top-selling bourbons in the State and cemented the distillery’s position as one of the top bourbon producers in Kentucky at the time. The name of the distillery originates from the family name of William Heavenhill who was an early pioneer farmer and owned the original property on which the distillery sat. When originally registering the company a clerical mistake resulted in the name becoming Heaven Hill as opposed to Heavenhill.

On November 7th 1996 a fire that started in one of the barrel ageing warehouses spread by strong winds, destroying almost the entire distillery and numerous ageing warehouses. Overall 90,000 barrels of whisky were lost and for the next 3 years, the company was dependent on production capacity in neighbouring distilleries. In 1999 Heaven Hill completed the purchase of the Old Bernheim Distillery from Diageo in Louisville and once the distillery was adapted, the production and distillation end moved to Louisville whilst ageing, bottling, and shipping still occur on the original Bardstown site.

Today the modern iteration of the company, Heaven Hill Brands, has become a diversified supplier of whiskeys, liqueurs, vodkas, rums, and other spirits. They own 62 rickhouses in Central KY and distribute hundreds of brands. Under the Heaven Hill Distillery portfolio, they produce award-winning products such as Henry McKenna, Elijah Craig, Evan William, Larceny, Old Fitzgerald, and Rittenhouse rye to name a few. The distillery also has the largest number of Bottled in Bond whiskies on the market and is the only heritage distiller that features every major category of American whiskey in their 5 distinct mashbills producing traditional bourbon, wheated bourbon, rye whiskey, corn whiskey, and wheat whiskey. Under 7th Master Distiller (and fellow countryman) Conor O’Driscoll the distillery is on course to fill almost 400,000 barrels again this year and with continued investment production capacity is growing every year to meet rising demand.

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First introduced in 1986, as the bourbon market was nearing a historic low, the Elijah Craig brand consisted of a 12 y.o. premium bourbon offered by the Heaven Hill Distillery as a statement against the younger, cheaper, and lower-quality bourbon offerings dominating the bourbon market then. Named in honour of the Baptist preacher of the same name, Heaven Hill accredits the first discovery and use of barrel charring in producing bourbon whiskey to Craig. The Elijah Craig brand is comprised of multiple offerings with current releases, including the Small Batch, a barrel-proof offering, an 18 y.o. offering, a 23 y.o. offering, and a distillery-only Barrel Select offering. Previous bottlings under this brand have also included the popular 12 y.o. age-stated Small Batch, 12 y.o. age-stated Barrel Proof, and 20, 21, and 22 y.o. offerings that have since been discontinued. Despite the Small Batch losing its age statement in 2016, due to demand outstripping supply, the barrel-proof offering still retains an age statement, as do the older releases such as the 18 and 23 y.o

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As the first barrel-proof offering from Heaven Hill, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof was released in 2013 as an uncut, minimally-filtered, and small batch bottling of 12y.o. bourbon bottled straight from the barrel without chill filtration. Being a limited-release product there are three releases each year in and around January, May, and September, with each batch bearing a batch number (since 2017) and a unique proof. This variance in proof between batches gives Elijah Craig fans a unique opportunity to explore the impact of the long ageing and resulting proof in a small batch of approximately 200 barrels. The first letter of the batch number indicates which of that year’s releases the bottle was a part of, starting with “A,” the second digit indicates the month of the year the bottle was released, and the third and fourth digits indicate the year.

Today I’ll be taking a look at the first release of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof for 2023 which was released in January and marks the beginning of the eleventh year for the brand’s popular cask-strength line.

Vital Stats:

Name: Elijah Craig Small Batch Barrel Proof Bourbon (Batch A123)
Age: 12 years old
Proof:  125. Proof (62.8% ABV)
Type: Kentucky straight bourbon
Mashbill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Producer: Heaven Hill Distillery, KY
Website:  https://elijahcraig.com/barrel-proof
Glassware: Glencairn

Review

Nose: The nose opens with dark caramels, black and red fruits, charred barrel spices of cloves and black pepper edged with herbaceous notes, and is followed by dry peppery rye, marzipan, and dark chocolate notes. As you nose deeper the barrel spices pick up intensity, providing depth to robust caramel and floral fruit notes, the marzipan picks up a toasted edge, and some herbaceous rye notes also emerge.

Palate:  The palate opens semi-viscous with rich caramels and sweet red and black fruits which gain a tart edge as tannic-driven barrel and herbaceous rye spices flash across the palate with a kick of heat. As the spice fades back thick red and black fruit notes linger on the mid-palate, alongside flavours of toasted almonds, dark caramels, and an undercurrent of dark chocolate framed by herbaceous charred oak.

Finish: The finish opens with warm lingering spice from the palate, caramels, rye grain, and herbaceous barrel spices, and an ethanol-driven warmth which leads into a long aftertaste of dried fruits, tannic charred oak, and warm toasted almonds.

Overall

As 2023’s first release of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, we are off to a very strong start! This whiskey is robust, complex, and features a balanced blend of bold concentrated flavours whilst packing a punch. It has rich caramels, thick fruits, dark barrel spices, and a herbal complexity that lingers long into the finish. It’s a top-tier thoroughbred barrel-proof bourbon that demands even the most seasoned bourbon drinker to treat it with due reverence. As expected, the initial sips are spicy and intense, but after a few sips, the heat pulls back leaving a pleasant warmth that drives the flavours to the forefront whilst spice runs down the sides of the palate. With a few drops of water, the nose opens up with more caramel, spices, and toasted oak instead of charred oak. On the palate, the spice dies down yielding luscious soft caramel, big fruit notes, a touch of salinity and lingering notes of toasted almond as the herbaceous rye spice slowly builds from the back of the palate. The finish has less aggressive spices with dried red fruit dusted in chilli powder lingering on the palate. 

Compared to the C922 this release distinguishes itself with less oak spice on the palate, deeper caramels and fruit notes, and a more complex flavour profile. While it packs a fiery punch, the sweetness of fruit and caramel effectively balances out the oak spice and baking spices.

As I write this review, I am also conscious that Heaven Hill has announced a change in the age statements for Elijah Craig Barrel Proof starting with the B523 release. Moving forward there will be an exact age statement included on the front label as well as Heaven Hill opting for a wider range of ages instead of a hard minimum of 12 years. Although this news saddens me as a long-time fan, it appears that there will be no other major changes made in terms of providing drinkers with a barrel-proof experience that is as close to tasting whiskey straight from the barrel as is possible at home. I look forward to what they have in store for future releases and I hope we don’t see the quality dropping off. It also helps that they gave the 12y.o. age statement a proper send-off with this release, delivering an incredible barrel-proof bourbon experience that is as good as it has ever been!

Try or Buy?

If you see it, buy it. With a wide distribution and a recommended price of $60 (£85 in the UK), if you can only get your hands on one bottle of barrel-proof bourbon from 2023 make it this. You could not ask for a better-priced bourbon and any barrel-proof whiskey fan not buying this is seriously missing out, especially now that the 12y.o. age statement is gone!