Heaven Hill Revamps Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon with Variable Age Statements
Photos via Heaven Hill
In a move that is sure to result in rumbles of speculation, excitement and distrust all at once in the bourbon whiskey community, industry leader Heaven Hill has announced that it is tinkering–at least a little bit–with its beloved cask strength bourbon expression, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. Don’t worry, good old ECBP will remain an extra-aged cask strength expression, and it will likewise remain one of the best pure values in the modern whiskey world when you consider its age, proof point and $70 MSRP. But the company announced that starting with the May release of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B523, the bourbon’s age statement would become variable to at least some degree, resulting in batches both younger and older than its classic 12-year age statement. As the press release from Heaven Hill puts it:
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof will now be barreled in small batches with varying age statements. Each batch of ECBP will have its own unique taste profile and proof, as in years past, and now a unique age statement that will retain the extra-aged characteristic the brand is known for. All other qualities of the series remain the same–non-chill-filtered and uncut to preserve all the natural esters and taste components from the barrels to the bottle. The variance in proof, and now age, from batch to batch is an exercise for true whiskey aficionados to experience the consistency in quality across the series while allowing for the unique intricacies of each batch to pull forward.