Notes: This is the second release for 2025; it is 126.2 proof and clocks in at 11  Years  6 Months  old. This puts it at the lower- middle  end of the proof range and in the mid range of the stated age ranges. Frankly, I think the sweet spot for most bourbons ( especially those from Kentucky with their climate and type of storage buildings- more temperate and/or different buildings yield different and usually longer aging times) is in the ten to fifteen-year range, so it nice to see a bourbon even this as young as this one is relatively speaking as a barrel proof release.

Appearance: Clear, deep-patinated bronze gold in the bottle and with a definite red shift in the glass reflecting its longer age than most.
On swirling beautiful long legs on it, another hopeful sign.

First Impression:  A rather dense and flavorful bouquet at first blush/sniff , A lot of  wood with a few minty high notes with some intruding spicy notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and chestnut followed or backstopped by luscious grain, with oak/wood notes, some barrel char, and then a subtle corn, and rye sweet sour going on. Takes a bit to open up  to fully appreciate it. Surprisingly not overly spiritu0us , especially given the proof: spicy, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg or mace, continue to develop with  dried fruit notes, and orange peel.

Taste: Slightly sweet and oily entry with whispers of dried orange, barrel char, grain, shade-grown tobacco notes, with the usual allspice and cinnamon flow in a slightly oily and medium body. But frankly it is rather aggresive beyond its proof of 126 – you feel every degree of it.  It opens up and subdues the spirit a bit if you add a small amount of water ( preferably a little warm; ice will chill and dumb it down)  and continue to dilute- unless, of course, mixing rather than sampling straight up and naked), it opens up to reveal a touch more spice but still a bit fiery. Nicely drying and lingering finish but the burn lingers.
The lovely part about Elijah Craig ( and Heaven Hill in general is that you can always expect a great whiskey with each batch but subtly different each time – no rude surprises, but a solid foundation with some delightful new twists, kind of like an old lover who introduces you to some new delights every so often.

Drinks: Makes all the usual suspects but with a very aggressive edge to it, Manhattan, Old fashioned, Paper Planes, etc., etc.. Be sure to adjust ratios ( down slightly for the bourbon and up for the other ingredients for the higher proof and stir a bit longer for dilution, hence the balancing act)

Bottle: Elongated Horseshoe-shaped flask-type bottle somewhat taller and leaner looking than the older versions of Elijah Craig. The helpful notation below the BARREL PROOF notation on the label “UNCUT, STRAIGHT FROM THE  BARREL WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION.”

Other: Take a look at our reviews of other Heaven Hill products, such as the Larceny, Old Fitzgerald, Heaven Hill Parker Heritage, and Evan Williams whiskies.

Past Releases: This is a list of past releases we have reviewed. There are some gaps and batches we missed somehow, so it is NOT the exhaustive list we would like, but simply what we were able to review- ( read did mot get lost in the chaos we loosely describe as an office here)

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2025: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A125 118.2Pr00f , 
2024: A124 119 Proof, B524 130.6 (11 Years, 2 months,  and  C924 129 Proof and 11 years Old. This last one, the C924, was our favorite for this last year’s release.
2023:   A123 125.6 Proof 12 Years Old,   B523 124.2 Proof (11 Years,5 Months),   C923 133 Proof 13 Years, 7 Months 
2022: Batch A122, weighing in at 120.8 (60.4 %)  started the year, followed by Elijah  Craig Barrel Proof Batch B522 at 121 proof. The last release was the Elijah Craig Batch 922 at 124.8.
2021: A121 at 123.6 proof, Batch B521, which represented the second release for 2021, was released in May and came in at 118.2 proof, and the third and last release of 2021 was Batch C921 of September 0f 2021 at 120.2 proof.
2020: Batch No. A120 136.6 Proof  Version was released in early January 2020, 127.2 Proof Batch No.B520 was released in May, and the 132.8 Proof C 920 was released in September 2020.
2019: 135.2 Proof Batch A119 in January of 2019
2018: 131.4 Proof Batch C918 in September 2018,
2017:  Barrel Proof Versions at 124.2 Proof A117 was released in January of 2017, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof  127 Proof Lot B517 in May of 2017, and another further release, Batch No. C917  in September 2017,

The range of proof from high to low is  136.6 proof (68.3 %)  to 119 proof (59.5 %),

For an explanation of Barrel Proof, please look in our classification section. The Barrel Proof series is the latest and follows on from other previous premium releases of 20-Year-Old, the 21-Year-Old, and 23-Year-Old Elijah Craig versions. This barrel-proof series has between 3 and 4 releases a year at different proofs due to the variations of the batches. The Elijah Craig Barrel Proof series will also vary in color and taste within a certain (company and brand profile) degree, so each one will be different up to that point. Barrels falling outside that profile will probably end up in larger blends or, in extreme cases, sold off to be used somewhere else under a different name.
The Batch letter is the code for which release it is for the year (A, B, C, and D are the batches 1,2,3,4 for the year, the First digit is the month (1 – January, 5 – May, 9- September), the second two numbers denote the year ( in this case 2025).

Final Thoughts: As usual, especially for the Lot B ( May releases) always a rather different product than the fall releases and this one I am less of a fan of than some of the other prior release in May. But if you like the May releases this one is even older and higher proof too enjoy !
To each their own.

Website: www.elijahcraig.com

Decent and fast-loading website with a fair amount of information for your average commercial website. Worth a visit.