I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.
I’m getting another tattoo tomorrow. A year ago, if you’d have asked me if I would ever have one tattoo, I would have told you no. That I was too big of a pussy to handle that.
As an aside, have you ever wondered about the practice of calling a weak person a nickname for female genitalia? I mean those things are tough, you can shove a baby through one whereas the male counterpart can be injured by a sharp look…
Anyway back to the tattoo. I don’t like pain, but I’ve always been a fan of tattoos. I have a fine arts education and love art of all kinds and this seems to be one of the most personal expressions of art appreciation that is possible. So if I was going to put up with the pain, I wanted to be sure it was something that I would never end up regretting. And so my first tattoo was the paw prints of my first two dogs. I wished I could have them with me forever, and now I kind of can. I’ll probably put my current two there with them once they pass on as well.
So what sort of special, heartwarming thing am I getting tomorrow. Well, honestly, it’s kind of a charity thing. The artist gives 40% of the proceeds of these predesigned dog-themed ones to a local animal rescue. And since I really like dogs, I’m willing to once again put up with something that feels like I’m being cut with an X-Acto knife (the story for how I know how that feels is a story for another day).
So how does that have anything at all to do with tonight’s Bourbon? It doesn’t. Not really. I mean, the editions of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof could usually be considered works of the distiller and blender’s art. I appreciate them the same way I do a piece of fine art. I just get to put these works of art in my mouth and I’m pretty sure most traditional artists would not look kindly upon me tasting their works.
But, hey! Would you look at that, it’s time for the tasting notes. I’m going to leave the uncomfortable intro behind and get on to talking about the second of Heaven Hill’s three annual barrel proof releases of 12-year-old Elijah Craig.
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, B521
Purchase Info: This bottle was provided by the producer for review purposes. I have found previous editions locally for as low as $69.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine.
Price per Drink (50mL): $4.67
Details: 59.1%. 12-years-old
Nose: Cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, mint.
Mouth: Oak, chocolate, cinnamon, ginger, and muted caramel, followed by a juicy apple note as you swallow.
Finish: Long and warm with the juicy apple, cinnamon and oak notes.
Thoughts: This is just a damn fine bourbon. I really like it. It's almost completely a stereotypical Heaven Hill bourbon. Rich, caramel notes paired with baking spice and oak. There is more oak influence on this batch than I remember from previous batches. If I hadn't known, I would have guessed this was older than 12 years. It is very nicely done though. This doesn't taste like an old stick you found in the yard. The oak expresses itself as a wonderful chocolate note.
Comparison to last batch: B521 is more refined on the nose than A121 was. A121 was a bit of a toffee bomb on the nose by way of comparison. This follows on the mouth as B521 is more refined there as well. B521 is just a damn fine, well-aged bourbon. A121 was very hot and quite sweet by comparison.
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