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Elijah Craig 12 Year Old

A piece of heaven.... hill

4 1089

MReview by @Mackstine

29th May 2018

1

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    22
  • Finish
    22
  • Balance
    22
  • Overall
    89

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Admittedly, I’m probably a little biased towards this one. For me, bourbon was typically that sickly sweet corn flavored liquid that tasted the same across most brands. Elijah Craig 12 was the bourbon which changed all that, it opened my eyes and made me realize how ignorant I’ve been towards anything that wasn’t scotch. Fast forward a few years, when I heard that Elijah Craig was eliminating the 12 yr in favor of an NAS expression, I desperately searched high and low to stockpile as much as I could, cursing myself for not doing this sooner... spending a fairly large sum of money in doing so. So the rhetorical question I have now - What’s dumber - not knowing what a gem this is or spending the embarassingly high amount of money that I did to ensure that I have enough of this whisky to last me... well a fairly long time? Bah, who needs money.... or wives.

Nose: corn, vanilla, new furniture woodiness, brown sugar, leather jacket. Hint of rye spice Has a nice bit of syrupiness. Lots going on here and it’s all quite nice. Sweetness, but not overbearing. I’m fairly taken with this nose.

Palate: Silky and soft texture. Pleasant oak and thanksgiving spices. Corn, Honey, cinnamon, alcoholic raisins, This is as if a dessert cake paired with a Starbucks latte (the latte flavor - caramel mixed with possibly a pump of the pumpkin spice... perhaps it’s just nutmeg?) decided to hug your tongue.

Finish: hmm. There’s something that reminds me of a fine cognac, bit of coconut, some oiliness is kicking in. Pleasant, lingering, tasty oak. I wish I could go out and lick some oak and find that it tasted this good.

I’m going to finish this like I’m going to finish.... a cheesecake. This is yummy. Shame on the producers for not wanting to bottle this anymore. I have a lot of questions for you. Number one, How dare you?

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10 comments

@RianC
RianC commented

Excellent review! I tried this a couple of years back and liked it so much I got another straight away when I realised they were dropping the age statement. Wish I'd bagged a few more though but bourbon isn't the cheapest option over here.

Sure I saw a review comparing the 12 to the new NAS and the verdict seemed to be that it was still very decent juice. Definitely one of my fave bourbons but then again I've liked all Heaven Hill products I've tried.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@casualtorture
casualtorture commented

Great review. I've yet to try this one, but the ECSB is the best under $30 bourbon on the market.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I like this, but I actually have more of the ECBP which is FANTASTIC

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

M
Mackstine commented

Thanks for the kind comments folks. Hope you guys have as much fun reading as I do writing.

I’m not sure if my area was lucky enough to get the ECBP - this was also age stated at 12? I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for it... especially if I get to travel

I’ve also heard that the NAS version does hold its own compared to the original.... for now anyways; BUT, how long will that last when they adjust the recipe and the label no longer holds them to any standard? Thus could begin another heated NAS discussion, but at the end of the day, I voted with my dollars and bought lots of age stated stuff.

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@Mackstine Not sure where your "area" is but in Ontario ECBP was available a while back...for $150 a bottle. I have never bought it here. A friend brought 2 bottles from Seattle, and one was made available to me on my trip to Maryland.

IF (big if) I had been asked to pay import duty, I would have paid about $150 for that bottle. Instead, the silver tongue of @paddockjudge got me through without any penalties, and without any deception.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

M
Mackstine commented

@Nozinan I'm in Calgary Alberta... We're pretty blessed out here to get a lot of stuff. I'm now wondering if the ECBP disappeared off the shelves before I could grab some or if I was just blind... Or both :p

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@Mackstine I've never seen ECBP in Alberta and bourbon doesn't seem to fly off shelves there like scotch does.

You might want to look for OGD bottled in bond. It is less expensive than EC 12 YO and very tasty. And quite available in Calgary.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@WtoW
WtoW commented

I never see the ECBP in Calgary, The EC12 is around $60. By the way what is "OGD" bottle in bond. Thanks"

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

Old Grand Dad Bottled in bond, 50% ABV.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@casualtorture
casualtorture commented

@WtoW Old Grandad 50% bottled In bond (I'll let you Google the meaning) is delicious. Not sure about Calgary but in Nashville it's readily available for $20usd. Agree with @Nozinan you should try it.

6 years ago 0