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.
Named in honour of a Baptist preacher, the Elijah Craig family of whiskies have been a staple in drinks cabinets for almost 40 years. Boasting many sought-after releases since the brand’s inception, the current family of offerings consists of a Small Batch Bourbon and Rye, a Barrel-Proof Bourbon offering, an 18 y.o. offering, a 23 y.o. offering, a ‘Private Barrel bourbon offering for retailers and groups, 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
2023 was a big year for Elijah Craig. For the first time since the brand launched its barrel-proof expression, news broke early in the year that the steadfast 12y.o. age statement was, similar to its Small Batch offering, being discontinued. Instead, starting with the B523 batch, it was announced that Elijah Craig Barrel Proof would now be barrelled in small batches with varying age statements. Despite this change, the brand assured drinkers that each batch would remain non-chill filtered and uncut, with a unique proof and profile. The key difference lay in the promise of a unique age statement that would preserve the whiskey’s renowned extra-aged character without being tied to a set age of 12 years old. Heaven Hill also justified the decision by stating that varying both the age and proof would allow bourbon enthusiasts to “experience the consistency in quality across the series whilst allowing for the unique intricacies of each batch to pull forward.” Additionally, it was revealed that each release’s front label would now include the age of the youngest barrel in the batch, down to the month, as required by law, regardless of the quantity of the lowest-aged barrels in the batch.
As expected, fan reaction to the news was mixed. For many, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof was the “last man standing” when it came to regularly released, high-quality, barrel-proof bourbon carrying a double-digit age statement and available at a reasonable price. For others, the fact that Elijah Craig barrel-proof single barrel picks and the special bottlings available in Heaven Hill’s Bourbon Experience have all been younger than 12y.o. and well-received, provided some welcome reassurance. Then came B523, and despite an age statement of 11 years and 5 months, the quality of the whiskey spoke for itself. It was robust, it was complex, it was deeply flavoured, and easily converted any remaining naysayers to the updated age statement format. Best of all, it came with the promise that the C923 batch would see the oldest release of Elijah Craig Barrel proof to date. Today, we’ll be tasting C923, which, as promised, rings in at a staggering 13 years and 7 months old and features all the usual trimmings you would expect from this brand – NCF and straight from the barrel.
Vital Stats:
Name: Elijah Craig Small Batch Barrel Proof Bourbon (Batch C923)
Age: 13 years 7 months
Proof: 124.2 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 soft red and black fruits stewed in rich dark caramels dusted in a mix of earthy and peppery spices. As you nose deeper, strong dark herbaceous and chocolate-forward charred oak notes develop alongside some heat from the ethanol. Once these settle, the caramel, fruit, and earthy spice notes continue expanding in complexity whilst mingling with the barrel notes.
Palate: The palate opens viscous with tannic charred oak alongside rich caramels and rich fruits before a wave of peppery rye and ethanol spice wash over the mid-palate bringing heat, a tart fruit edge, and chocolate notes. As the spice fades, caramels, cloves, and chocolate notes remain with some fruit and fire-roasted almond notes lingering around the edges.
Finish: The finish opens with lingering heat, caramels, toasted almonds, faint fruits, dark chocolate, and baking spices. The aftertaste is long with notes of chocolate, oak, and lingering tannic heat coating the inside of the mouth.
Overall
This is without a doubt the best-tasting release of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof that I have tasted in recent years. It carries itself from nose to finish with the profile and maturity of a bourbon aged in the high teens or early twenties. Tart fruit notes, dark herbaceous notes, earthy baking spices, and rich chocolate notes all interweave into a tapestry of complex and layered flavours. As a barrel-proof bourbon, I would describe it as a lamb in wolf’s clothing sporting its soft viscous core wrapped in tart and tannic red fruits and a kick of spice that’s typical of barrel-proof bourbons. The initial sips are decadent and peppery without overwhelming the palate with spice and burn but once you’ve reached your third tender sip the profile expands to include layered flavours of mature charred oak, refined fruits, dusty caramels, and robust spices all capped off by a palate that’s coated in flavours reminiscent of a dark chocolate fudge dessert served alongside a red berry coulis and dusted with nutmeg and cinnamon. Delicious.
When Elijah Craig announced their move towards varying age statements for Elijah Craig Barrel proof they went as far as to promise that the September release of Elijah Craig would ring in the 13y.o. + category. The intention behind revealing this small detail so long before batch C923’s final age and proof were released to drinkers was clear: to reassure their loyal fans. I can only imagine how many meetings had to take place for the decision on age statements to be made by Elijah Craig and I can also imagine that at the final meeting, it was impressed upon everyone that as well as announcing the change, the fans would need a glimmer of reassuring hope, and Heaven Hill delivered. Not only is this release a glimmer of hope but the closer you get to it the brighter it shines. If this change had to happen for us to receive a bourbon like this then so far it has been worth the change. Yes, we don’t know what the future holds for this release in terms of how low it may go in age, or whether we’ll ever see a 13y.o.+ release like this but so far Heaven Hill have not released a bad batch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and I’m willing to bet that they’re not about to start. Regardless of your experience with the brand, if you like barrel-proof bourbon with rich and robust flavours, then I highly recommend you track down a bottle or two of this release.
Try or Buy?
With a suggested price of $70, you’ll have to hold me back if I find a bottle of this on the shelf. This is hands down the best value in bourbon for 2023 – act accordingly.
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