Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A120

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• DISTILLERY – Elijah Craig Distillery from Heaven Hill
• REGION – Bardstown, KY
• AGE – 12
• STRENGTH – 68.3% (136.6 Proof)
• MASH BILL – 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% barley
• MSRP – $60 (Its more heavily located in certain states and then if available you can see it go up to $100)
• OTHER – This review was carried out after the neck pour and letting the bottle breathe. After pouring neat in the Glencairn, I let it rest for 10 mins.
• This is a January 2020 release. 3 come out every year during the months of January, May and September. The batch format is A, B and C. Followed by the numerical digit denoting the month of the year and then the last two digits denoting the year.

GLANCE

It has a nice deep rich mahogany color to it with high viscosity. Nice tall legs appear around the glass.

NOSE

On the nose I got coffee, toffee and deep rich milk chocolate with heavy char along with oakiness. Brown sugar, vanilla, spices and freshly baked bread rounded out the nose.

Drop of H₂O – More coffee, toffee notes with floral notes.

TASTE

The overall mouth feel here was very oily with a powerful punches from the proof. Even with the high proof, I got smoothness and creaminess. In terms of notes there was a heavy dose of spiciness. Like baking spices with cajun rub style of spices. At times it felt like it was a rye bourbon that had gone on a tropical vacation. Rich brown sugar, vanilla with heavy oak/char notes coming throughout the palate. Towards the end I got a pine/minty taste, which is also reminiscent of a rye.

Drop of H₂O – Tastes more floral, creamy chocolate, vanilla ice-cream with pistachios but nuttiness in general.

FINISH

The spices follow through. I got caramel and nuttiness along with a nice deep Kentucky hug.

CLOSING REMARKS

This year Elijah Craig really hit it out of the park with their offerings with the barrel proof series. In my book these age stated, high proof bourbons from Elijah Craig will always offer a good bang for your buck. Blinds done by other bourbon connoisseurs, showed Elijah Craig barrel proofs from 2020 really stood up tall to likes of George T. Stagg BTACs, Stagg Jr and barrel proofs such as Larceny barrel proof stood no chance. Especially for $60 and not super allocated nation wide, this bottle from EC really brings a lot of value to the table. To nitpick A120 though overall was a very nice tasting dram, was quite hot. Even for an avid bourbon/scotch drinker, this is gonna have you hold on tight for the ride. But after the immediate effects of the shock wear off, delicious rich brown sugars, hot chocolate and baking spice breaks-through to us. Really enjoyed this dram full of bold flavors. If you see it for MSRP and haven’t tried it, don’t hesitate to pick it up!

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