Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Barrel Proof

Wow...I've never tasted an ECBP I didn't enjoy a lot. Mind you I think I've only tasted 2 or 3. At $150 here (when it was available) you can be sure I won't buy it, but if I happen to be somewhere where I CAN find it, I'll try to avoid this batch.

Thanks.

I've got about 4 different ECBP open. All of them except this one are excellent. The only redeeming quality of this batch is that it drinks easy for the proof.

So I just took the last 200ml of this bottle and mixed it with the 300ml blend I made with the remnants of the Jim Beam Harvest Collection and it is pretty legit. The harvest collection adds a great flavor profile and the wood from this batch adds a solid base to tie it all together.

@newreverie Nice one. Most things can be salvaged with a little creative blending.

Great to hear about your recipe @newreverie

I tried this EC once at a show, and it was my favourite American whiskey of the night. Unfortunate you got a bottle that didn't meet the general opinion of this whiskey.

Interesting divergence of taste. I haven't tasted any from the 69.7% ABV batch yet, but, as you know, @newreverie, I also bought one in Albuquerque. And so did @paddockjudge. IIRC both @paddockjudge and @Nock find this batch to be about their favourite ever for ECBP. Sounds like either a difference in personal taste or else you somehow got a fluke outlier bottle. Probably the former.

Did you also find the 24 yo Parker's Heritage Collection Bourbon to be too oaky for your taste? That one was very woody, but only at 50% ABV, a much lower proof. Maybe you liked the PHC at 50% ABV but would not have liked it at 69.7% ABV.

@victor I like wood in my whisky and have given high marks to plenty of bottles with heavy wood influence. The overall issue with this bottle is that it only has wood influence. I saved 2 samples before I made a blend, so maybe you can try it out. I think the PH24 is very good, along with several other older wood heavy bourbons. This bourbon isn't bad, it just isn't what I've come to expect from ECBP. To me this is closer to a cask strength Jim Beam devils cut. And like devils cut in a cocktail, this bourbon makes for a great base in a blend because of the strong wood profile.

@Victor_ @newreverie_ I greatly enjoy the ECBP at 69.7% abv (Release #11) purchased in New Mexico. I don't have four open bottles of ECBP; however_ there is something eerily haunting about this batch. The way the oak stays on the tongue and holds my attention as so many other things are happening. I'm not certain what prompted me to check this against one of my all-time favourite single malts_ but I did. The similarities between_ not the taste profiles_ but the way the clean oak bathes the tongue in a hypnotic oaky funk with_ are you ready for this?____Macallan Cask Strength batch 60.1% abv North America.

@paddockjudge I just poured the last of my Mac cs 60.1 into sample bottles to preserve it. The nose was hypnotic and it took all my willpower not to have a glass or 3.

@newreverie_ often it is the simple things that are the most beautiful. It is a shame that Mac CS is no longer available.

@paddockjudge Poetically put.

I've had batches 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and two of the new ones. All have been great to fantastic (#6!!). Same is true for Booker's, which you give 65 to 90. There is NO 81 level ECBP, and definitely NO 65 level Booker's, unless you are buying counterfeit bottles. Someone may be pouring JD in the bottles they sell you, which would explain your scores.

@Taco Not every high proof bourbon is a 90+ point bottle. Bookers has a significant amount of variation in their flavor profile for each batch. Some are better than others and my reviews are based on the whiskey as bottled. If I have to add enough water or ice to a glass of barrel proof whiskey to knock it into the 40's abv to be enjoyable, it is not going to score above an 80.
If the flavor profile is very one note, muted, or just generic, I won't score it over a 90. This ECBP is drinkable at proof and I stated as much, but it doesn't offer anything. 81 isn't a bad score, but it isn't a good one either. Is it below average for ECBP? Yes!, but this is a below average bottle. I had a pour of 2014 GTS last night to celebrate the Astros World Series Win and the difference in depth is night and day. No water or ice needed with the GTS and it is bursting with flavor.