Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon (Batch A121)
Photos via Heaven Hill
At this point, I’ve introduced Elijah Craig Barrel Proof reviews or tastings at Paste often enough that almost anything general I’d say about the product will simply be me repeating myself. Suffice to say, here’s the short, short version.
ECBP is the cask strength, 12-year-old version of Heaven Hill’s classic mid-shelf champion Elijah Craig Small Batch, a whiskey that recently was on our list of the best bourbons for under $30. ECBP is beloved in the whiskey sphere for its potent flavors, often soaring proof point and bang-for-your-buck. Unlike so many well-aged, high-proof bourbons that draw rave reviews, it’s fairly accessible thanks to its trio of yearly releases, and its MSRP of around $70 is hard to beat when you compare it with almost all of its direct competition. There’s a reason why so many list it as a perennial favorite, especially if you enjoy Heaven Hill’s distillery house style.
A quick primer on any given ECBP label: This release is “A121,” which simply means the following. “A” means this is the first of three releases for 2021, to be followed by “B” and “C.” The “1” means that this is technically a January release, although it just seems to be arriving in most places now. And the “21” just stands for 2021. The next release will likely be B521, followed by C921, following the schedule from last year.
Now, onto this particular release. A121 has one factor that makes it somewhat unusual among ECBP releases: Its proof of 123.6 (61.8% ABV) is actually one of the lowest ever for the series. In fact, the only ECBP release that has ever been lower was B519, which rang in at only 122.2. All the others have typically sit in the higher 120s and 130s, with a few releases breaking the truly high octane 140 mark. In general, ECBP is simply a very high-proof series, thanks to Heaven Hill’s use of a high barrel entry proof.
Personally, I’m all for the lower relative proof point when it comes to ECBP. In fact, I think the best (or my favorite) releases in this series have usually been the ones in the 120s, such as last year’s B520 release, which was 127.2. Although the hardcore bourbon geeks are likely to chase the highest proof ECBP batches, the 120s simply feel like the sweet spot of this series as far as I’m concerned.