A couple of weeks ago, I had a friend text me an image of an Elijah Craig Private Barrel selection. Now in and of itself, this wouldn’t have registered with me. I see Elijah Craig private selections locally from time to time. When I see them, I tend to grab them, if only to help convince stores to keep doing it.
This time, however, things were a little different. See, this wasn't the burgundy label that I usually see. Instead, the photo showed the black label that usually accompanies the Barrel Proof version of Elijah Craig. And, that was something I hadn’t seen before. Which, honestly, isn’t that unusual these days. I haven’t had my finger on the pulse of Bourbon news for a while now. I’m not a journalist. I’m an enthusiast. And unless someone sends me a press release, I’m as likely as not to miss the bourbon news of the day. (Hell, if you find some interesting news, send it my way, the odds are good that I haven’t seen it. There is an email link in the footer of each page.)
So anyway, I did some digging and realized that the Federal Government approved this label in March of 2021. That was plenty of time to revamp and spin up a Private Barrel program to include the new Barrel Proof option. And long enough ago that if I ever knew about it, I’d completely forgotten. Of course, I ran right out to the store my friend had texted me from, and…they were out of stock.
“Well, shit.”
And then I forgot about it for about a week when I happened to wander into the liquor store just down the road from my preferred movie theater after a showing of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It turns out they had a private barrel too. And since this little municipally run store only has three locations, they still had plenty of their pick. It was very exciting.
Ok, now that all of that is out of the way, Let’s see how it tastes.
Elijah Craig Single Barrel, Lakeville Liquors Private Barrel
Purchase Info: $79.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Lakeville Liquors, Lakeville, MN
Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.33
Details: 8 years old. 63% ABV. Barrel#: 6675505. Non-chill filtered.
Nose: Cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, caramel, and oak.
Mouth: Very hot in the mouth. Notes of caramel, oak, mint, ginger, and cinnamon.
Finish: Long, warm and nutty with notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak.
Thoughts: This is very good. I hope other local stores will also participate in this program because I am greedy and want more of this. It was about the same price as the lower end of the local price range for Elijah Craig Barrel Proof's three times yearly releases. But if I can't find that at the lower end of the price range, I'd buy this for $80 before spending $100 on the numbered batches of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, even though this bottle is a little younger than the 12-year-old age statement on recent numbered releases. It’s good. If you find one and it is in your price range grab it!
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