Notes: One of Heaven Hill’s newest whiskies in terms of style—not age—is the toasted rye, a variation on their relatively new rye whiskey in a special toasted version.
The Elijah Craig Rye is reviewed HERE.
There is a rather complex story about how this whiskey is made. I’ll try to simplify it to its most salient points. It starts out as an Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey ( Mashbill of 51% Rye, 35 % corn,14% Malted Barley – a fairly standard Kentucky Rye mashbill). It is aged for an unknown period beyond the legal minimum for straight whiskey (an excellent explanation of straight whiskey can be found HERE from Distiller.com). The rye is then transferred to a specially charred barrel made by Independant Stave. The details of which are thus: A cap is placed on the end of the barrel, and the heat ramped up rapidly to give the barrel an extra level of toasting – similar to a darker cognac barrel level of toasting to bring out all the attendant flavors and coloration that this process is known for.

Appearance: Clear,Dark, Baltic gold amber with a slight red shift in color.On swirling, it leaves a medium coat on the glass with the edgeline/meniscus rolling back on itself rather than forming legs.

First Impression: Nice spicy rye notes blended with the scent of barrel aging – Char, oak, leather, tobacco, mixing in a harmonious and balanced manner.

Taste: Spicy sweet/sour rye roller coaster, with sweetish corn and grassiness from the rye, minty notes with cinnamon spice, cedar, almond, chestnut paste, carmelized sugars,  and slightly resinous notes mixing pleasantly with the barrel toasting/char.

Drinks: It works in all the classic whiskey drinks. Even though we suspect it is a younger whiskey, the extra wood toasting helps knock some edges off the younger whiskey and add depth of flavor you would not normally encounter. While this whiskey is not going to compete with an Islay, it does push the boundaries without being overdone. Some of the more char and wood-forward whiskies (such as Devils Cut and others) have gone too far, IMHO trying to be more rustic than sophisticated, possibly playing up stereotypes of bikers and outlaws. Elijah Craig Toasted Rye is an interesting but not overdone experiment for more sophisticated drinkers who prefer subtlety over brute force.

Bottle: Elongated Horseshoe-shaped flask-type bottle somewhat taller and leaner looking than the older versions of Elijah Craig. Has the notation “Toasted Rye below the Elijah Craig, along with a square paper label with ” Our Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in TOASTED NEW OAK BARRELS” TWICE BARRELED for FLAVOR” along with the proof (94Also has a rectangular label on one side with more information.

This design allows you to appreciate the color of the whiskey more fully as it does not obscure the contents when looking from front to back.

Other: Random Bitching – The lack of an age statement for both the rye and, in particular, this toasted rye ( and time in the second barrel) is a bit off-putting to me. I’m not sure if Heaven Hill considered it TMI or unnecessary. Still, it seems to follow their pattern of, shall we say, shifting the goalposts or eliminating them altogether when it comes to age statements. Heaven Hill dropped the age statements on Elijah Craig for a while, only to be brought back after enough people complained. It should also be noted the older versions (18 + Years range) seem to have disappeared entirely also. It is a discouraging and retrograde trend, especially in the face of other distilleries providing more and more information about their whiskies and practices.

Final Thoughts: The Elijah Craig Toasted Rye is a praiseworthy attempt at pushing the boundaries of bourbon’s wood and char treatments without going too far, as a number of competitors have. It’s well done and interesting without being a palate killer.

Website: www.elijahcraig.com

Decent enough website that sketches out the extensive product line/range of products. Just not a great deal of information for the whiskey geeks. A bit disappointing for anyone who is looking for more information or details.Does however do a good job showing the depth and variety of what they have out there.