Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Batch B522

VITALS:

- $70

- 121 Proof

- 12 Years

- Batch B522

- Kentucky

I feel like it's been a while since I've written a review on Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.  It's not as though I stopped buying them (though I have held off on buying the last few releases).  Rather, it's just that I have a backlog, with three more to go after this one. And, it was almost paralysis by analysis.  I wouldn't know which to open, so I'd just open something else. 

But, I've been making it a point to have at least one open to enjoy. It is still, after all, 12 year cask strength Heaven Hill bourbon, which means, quite frankly, it's really good. That's pretty much regardless of batch. Some just turn out to be better than others. But, when I finally landed on that plan of keeping at least one open, I've been glad that I did, because it's an easy go to when I'm just in the mood for a good bourbon.

The nose on this one was absolutely delicious, which is good considering how quickly it filled up the room when I popped the cork. I was immediately hit with rich and sweet vanilla and toffee notes. There was also a touch of anise to keep it interesting (and just a touch, which is fine by me as I'm not the biggest fan of those anise notes). 

Interestingly, it wasn't the sweetness that hit right away, but rather the oak. I've found I don't typically get a lot of oak on the Barrel Proofs, but on this one it hit me right away. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't over-oaked or anything, just noticeable right up front is all. 

The rich dessert notes came through immediately after, though.  I was getting hazelnut and dark chocolate, as well as rich vanilla bean notes. I also got the toffee, but it wasn't nearly as pronounced as it was on the nose. It provided a great balance of rich and sweet and oak that kind of hit all the hallmarks of what I love in a well-aged bourbon.

The finish allowed the dark chocolate notes to linger most noticeably. The oak faded a bit, and the toffee seemed to find its way forward a bit more on the finish. There wasn't much spice to this one, but I didn't even miss it. Everything else was pretty great!

Grade: A-