I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.
During the recent cold snap, I was digging through one of my closets. I don’t remember the reason, and it isn’t really important to the story. But while I was in there, I found an old-ish bag of peanuts that I had purchased for the local crows but that I had never used. As it was cold enough to freeze bourbon out, I decided that the critters outside might need a helping hand to find food and dumped a few piles of peanuts around the yard where my wife and I could watch them while we worked. It was a win-win. They got an easy bite to eat and I freed up some room in the closet.
Then the cold snap kept going and I started feeling bad for those squirrels rooting around under the snow trying to find the last few peanuts. And being the soft-hearted person I am, I went to the hardware store and bought another 5-pound bag of peanuts to put back in the closet. And then went on Amazon and bought a 25-pound bag for when those were gone.
Yep. In order to free up closet-space, I started feeding the local birds and squirrels only to need to find room for a bag five times the size a week later. I feel like there is a lesson in there for me.
Hey, would you look at that (he says in order to avoid looking too closely at that lesson) it’s Elijah Craig Barrel Proof time again. A121 is the first batch for 2021 and comes in at 123.6° proof, the lowest it has been since May of 2019. These are always good so let’s dive right in, shall we?
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, Batch A121
Purchase info: This sample was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. Locally Elijah Craig Barrel Proof can sell for as low as $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle when not on sale.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.33
Details: 12 years old. 61.8% ABV.
Nose: Oak, caramel, almond, and vanilla.
Mouth: Spicy and sweet. Cinnamon, almond, caramel, vanilla, and oak.
Finish: Spicy and warm with cinnamon, cloves, dark chocolate, some oak, and a nice nuttiness.
Comparison with C920: Similar on the nose. The mouth of A121 is sweeter than C920. C920 has much more pronounced cinnamon and nutmeg notes, A121 having more of a "generic spiciness" with hints of cinnamon by comparison. C920 is also much hotter, as would be expected from a whiskey almost 10 degrees higher in proof.
Thoughts: This is very good, as usual. It reminds me of a higher-proof version of the Small Batch Elijah Craig flavor profile. Which, yes, I understand how that sounds, but I've always found that Elijah Craig Barrel Proof had a more "stereotypical bourbon" flavor than Small Batch does. More focus on hanging all that proof on rich caramel and vanilla notes. But, I could also be talking out my butt too. It happens.
I gave the last two batches of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof a rare Heart rating. Not so this time. I like the bright spiciness of C920 better than A121. Not to say that A121 isn’t very, very good. A121 is delicious. It’s just that last time lined up perfectly for me flavor-wise. But don’t put too much stock in the difference between a heart and a smile I really liked one and loved another. It isn’t that big of a difference.
Plus, this is just reflecting the thoughts of a guy who bought a 25-pound bag of peanuts on a whim.
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