Elijah Craig Barrel Proof: The Old Labels

Photo courtesy of my friend Steve, from whom I got a tasting set of all 12 and never looked back.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is, right now, one of the best values in bourbon. It’s my go-to barrel proof, even surpassing Booker’s and Rare Breed. At around $50-$60 a bottle, you’re getting a quality barrel proof bourbon that’s at least 12 years old and almost always above 125 proof (the recent Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A121, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B521, and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C921 nonwithstanding). Entering 2022, with the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A122 being “low proof” as well, this might no longer be the case - but it’s worth revisiting the older, high proof batches.

Go back just a few years, though, and you enter arguably the golden age of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof - a period between its introduction in 2011/2012 and the old labels ending in 2016. In that period, there were thirteen batches produced (12 official batches and one gift-shop-only pre-batch). The timing is a bit unclear, but the first Elijah Craig Barrel Proof was released in the Heaven Hill gift shop around 2011/2012. It had the same cream-colored label as the “regular” 94 proof Elijah Craig Small Batch, but was just a little different - instead of the 94 proof, there was a handwritten %ABV and proof at the bottom. It’s so subtle that if you weren’t looking for it, you might’ve missed it.

Side note: I’ve now secured one of those pre-batch bottles, and my god is it delicious.

The Inspiration

For such an iconic brand as Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, its origin story is one of necessity. After the famous Heaven Hill fire, certain brands were supplemented by distillate from Heaven Hill’s nearby competitors and friends. Batches of Elijah Craig Small Batch (12 Year) were some of the last to be untouched - or more accurately, the barrels of bourbon destined to be Elijah Craig. As the late 2000s reached their end, then-master distiller Parker Beam saw the stocks of Elijah Craig 18 Year Old and Elijah Craig 23 Year Old dwindling, with years before the brands could recover.

So, what is a distiller to do? Barrel strength bourbons - hell, barrel strength/barrel proof/cask strength whiskies as a whole - were still uncommon. You had Booker’s Bourbon regularly in the 120-125 proof range, Wild Turkey Rare Breed in the mid-110s, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel Bourbon, and not many others.

Parker, as master distiller, was no stranger to high proof bourbons straight from the barrel, so he took a chance. With a soft launch, he and the Heaven Hill team released the first batch - unnumbered - of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, to bridge the gap while their 18- and 23-year-old bourbon continued to age and restock. It goes without saying that as the batch numbers began and the production grew, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof became more of a mainstay than anyone could have foreseen.

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Pre-Batch

12 Years Old, likely as old as 15 Years

129.7 Proof (64.8% ABV)

Eye: Bronzed honey, a perfect bourbon color. Thin, disintegrating rims and tiny droplets hang on.

Nose: Lots of pure bourbon candy and some concentrated caramel/vanilla scents. So much vanilla. There’s another note I can’t quite decipher…like may a charred, sweet Manhattan. Just a touch of proof heat.

Palate: There’s the ECBP - powerful heat that stops just shy of burning. This is definitely a bit older. Vanilla-forward, lots of creamy oak and white pepper. Mouthfeel is full-bodied, velvety, tip-of-the-tongue heat burning brown sugar, effervescent, coating, warm.

Finish: Vanilla-forward, fresh scraped vanilla pods and a fantastic burn leaves soda syrup and a velvety finish on the tongue.

Overall: Damn…this is incredible. I’m not sure if it beats an ECBP Batch 2 for me, but if not it’s a close race. The biggest difference is the extra oak - it’s clearly a little older, but the oak isn’t woody, it’s creamy. Because of that alone, I bumped this score up. I don’t like woody bourbon, but I do like creamy oak. This is amazing.

Rating: 9.2

The Pirate Bottle

As you can see in the pre-batch picture above, the old label ECBPs came in a differently shaped bottle than the new universal Elijah Craig bottles. These squat, rounded bottles have become affectionately known as “pirate bottles”, and were used for all Elijah Craig bottlings including their now-defunct 12-year age-stated small batch, the in-between small batch where the age statement went to the back, and finally the non-age-stated small batch that’s still put out today. The latter three all had labels the color of the pre-batch above - cream with black and red lettering.

Anyway, back to the old labels. Sometime around 2011-2012, that pre-batch gift shop release came out. Nobody except Parker Beam himself probably knows how many (or how few) bottles were produced, but they’re pretty rare even on specialized secondary markets and auctions. Seeing the success of the first release, Heaven Hill decided to make it official, with a new saddle-leather label, red “Barrel Proof” lettering, hand-written proofs/ABVs, and a photonegative cabin behind “Elijah Craig”. Perhaps to hedge their bets, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 1 - also called Batch A313 (A= 1st for the year, 3 = March, 13 = 2013) was still a gift shop-only release. Batch 2 and forward were larger, public releases.

So, what makes these different or special relative to the “new” Elijah Craig Barrel Proofs (2017 and forward)? Besides the labeling, bottle shape, and cork (the old label corks are notoriously leaky and prone to breakage), there’s something about the old labels that is richer, a bit older, maybe some other je ne sais quoi that isn’t tangible. The closest new labels to the old ones are B518 and B520, in my opinion.

Without further ado, here they are, the twelve Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Labels - get ‘em while you can, folks, because they are delicious. Thanks to Steve, Chris, and Steven for helping me to taste all 12 - they’ve started a new addiction that is hard to resist!


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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 1

Heaven Hill Distillery

12 YO

67.1% ABV/134.2º

Eye: Tortoise shell, mahogany, chestnut. Again, a wow color. Thin rims and droplet legs.

Nose: Lighter nose at first than batch 3 or 2, but clearly an ECBP. Fruity - dark and tart plums, grilled and sprinkled with brown sugar. Maple candy. Semisweet chocolate. Not much nuttiness, lots of brûlée topping. Some proof heat opens up with air.

Palate: Whole-tongue heat, sticky toffee pudding, toffee-studded dark chocolate bar. Raw bourbon power: bourbon-candied almonds and hazelnuts. Maple candy with the heat still very much there. I don’t want to say this but the heat is a little too much…it doesn’t mellow out at all. It’s drinkable, but it drowns out the other flavors. Mouthfeel is hot, lighter than expected yet still medium-bodied and coating, tons of dark chocolate. There’s a sensation of when you have too many pop rocks in your mouth and your mouth starts burning. Peanuts open after a long, long time.

Finish: Dark chocolate spiked with brown sugar chilies, white pepper, and creamy oak. Only now do the other flavors finally crack through the heat.

Overall: I wanted to like this more, but the heat is just too powerful. It’s not the highest proof of the three I tried tonight but it was by far the hottest. Without the heat dying down, it’s hard to discern the other flavors.

Rating: 7.6

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 2

Heaven Hill Distillery

12 YO

68.5% ABV/137º

Eye: Auburn - dark wood with a reddish hue - beautiful. Very thin rims and thin legs.

Nose: Berry and summer fruit crumble with the fruits slightly caught at the edges. Smells sweet and rich, just oozes out of the glass. Sweet tobacco leaves. Creme brûlée topping. Almond skins and nut brittle. Marzipan - yes, marzipan.

Palate: Wow…..just…..wow. Hot, whole tongue heat at first. Dark brown sugar creaming into butter and dark chocolate. Holy hell this is good. Derby pie. Heat mellows into a solid burn and just keeps going. Mouthfeel is full, coating, creamy, and leaves a layer of hardening dark chocolate over my entire palate. Cinnamon stick and a touch of clove.

Finish: Hot at first, baked crispy chocolate chip cookies - dark chocolate and brown sugar. The dark chocolate just sits on my palate like a shell.

Overall: One of the absolute best ECBPs, old label or new, and so far the best thing I’ve tasted in 2021. This is the dark chocolate and brown sugar bomb I’ve been waiting for. I think this might blast into the top three batches for me. I need AT LEAST one of these, most likely more.

Rating: 9.4

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 3

Heaven Hill Distillery

12 YO

66.6% ABV/133.2º

Eye: Barrel aged maple syrup. Thin to no rims, droplets hold where a rim would be.

Nose: Blondies with crispy edges, vanilla baked goods. Some proof heat but not much. Roasted hazelnuts. Almond brown sugar brittle fresh from the pan, not yet hardened. This is such a brown sugar bomb nose.

Palate: Spicy brown sugar right away. Skips over the tip of my tongue and settles on the mid-palate. Maple syrup, heat slowly expanding over my whole tongue. Slightly astringent. So much dark sugar and dark chocolate. . Dried fruits as dark as they come. Mouthfeel is silky, coating, oily, spicy on the front palate with nutty brown sugar on the back. Black pepper and some oak spice in the corners of my mouth.

Finish: Like hitting that one peanut in a bag of Cracker Jacks that’s just obscenely coated in sugar/caramel or the crunchy honey coated nuts from carts in NYC. Tons of brown sugar, cinnamon, and dark chocolate.

Overall: This is delicious and mouthwatering - liquid brown sugar and almond brittle. The heat is perfectly set, lots of spiced Mexican hot chocolate, dark and only slightly sweetened. Top six batch for sure.

Rating: 8.5

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 4

Heaven Hill Distillery

12 YO

66.2% ABV/132.4º

Eye: Red-hued amber. Medium rims, barest legs.

Nose: Clove and cinnamon - raw baking spices. Sweetened cornbread doused in honey butter. Brown sugar caramels, lots of corn sweetness. Nose stays spicy and warmly inviting. Honey-roasted mixed nuts.

Palate: Rich, tons of brown sugar spiked with cloves and allspice. Warm and tingly, incredibly filling, drying and numbing that works in and never totally ebbs. Vanilla-infused brown sugar. Dark chocolate and a bit of dried fruit develops with air. Chew releases more of the chocolate and dried fruit. Mouthfeel is fantastic, rich, medium-to-heavy, spicy with clove and allspice that reaches up the nostrils. Fresh leather, slightly numbing.

Finish: Medium length, adding a bit of black peppercorn and continuing the vanilla brown sugar bomb.

Overall: As of tasting, I considered this the best batch I’d ever had. While batch 2 and then the pre-batch overtook it, this is still a BIN-batch for me.

Rating: 9.2

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 5

Heaven Hill

12 YO

67.4% ABV/134.8 Proof

Eye: Amber maple syrup, thin rims and thin legs. 

Nose: ECBP all the way, the mulling spices more than the vanilla if anything. Just a touch of proof heat. Light nuttiness, like someone a few rows away is eating a mixed nuts tin. On the second sniff the nose is a little tight for an ECBP. Heat increases on the nose with air. 

Palate: Some heat suffuses loads of brown sugar and creme brûlée topping. Caramel and peanut brittle made with brown sugar. A little air mellows the heat that wasn’t too harsh to begin with and opens up a raw peanut and almond flavor. Mouthfeel is full and very coating, slightly drying from the heat but the flavors stick around. 

Finish: All peanut brittle, sweet and sticky and brown sugary. 

Overall: Delicious, a great old label batch. Maybe not in the top 2-3 from the old labels, but knocking on the door. Deserving of a palce on any bar.

Rating: 7.7

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 6

Heaven Hill

12 YO

70.1% ABV/140.2 Proof

Eye: Dark maple syrup. Thin rim bleeds droplet legs.

Nose: Maple and brown sugar, burnt ham, smoky whole pig. Might be some proof heat but it’s not coming out on the nose. Like someone used ECBP to glaze a country ham - Booker Noe would be proud. With air, the meaty note totally disappears and this becomes pure ECBP power.

Palate: Deep, dark red fruit baked in brown sugar and maple crust. Huge power in the bourbon hits under the tongue with loads of dark chocolate blooming on top of my tongue. Glazed bacon, turbinado and muscovado sugar, lots of chocolate covered red fruit. Mouthfeel is syrupy, thick and chewy, coats my entire palate before I knew it was happening, yet isn’t too heavy. Brown sugar is so dark it verges on umami.

Finish: Medium-length, chocolatey.

Overall: This is a great ECBP, but that nose is odd with the smoked meat. Palate, mouthfeel, and finish are fantastic.

Rating: 7.7

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 7

Heaven Hill

12 YO

64% ABV/128 Proof

Eye: Dark cherrywood - beautiful. No rims, droplets all over the glass.

Nose: Brown sugar and butter creaming together for cookies. Burnt creme brûlée topping, char and baking spices. Dried cherries and syrupy sweetness open with air.

Palate: Intensely coating and spicy, followed by deep dark dried fruits in date molasses spiked with clove and cinnamon. Red hots and nuttiness in the corners of my mouth. Drinks at proof, no more, no less. Corn roasted with butter and black pepper. Mouthfeel is syrupy and coating, silky and spicy all at once. Roasted peanuts under the tongue.

Finish: Dark, fruity, and molasses-thick. Medium length, coating - check that, long, very long.

Overall: Great to excellent - a top half batch if not a top three.

Rating: 7.9

 
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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 10

Heaven Hill

12YO

69.4%/138.8 Proof

Eye: Cherrywood. Thin to no rims, droplets on the glass.

Nose: Dark red fruits, brown sugar crumble, vanilla pods freshly scraped. Light and fragrant vanilla custard. No proof heat at all. This is a candle-worthy nose. Semisweet chocolate. Some oak and dutch cocoa emerge with air.

Palate: Hotter, but still manageable. The fire starts on the tip of my tongue and creeps backwards. Cola syrup, bubbly soda, black licorice, barrel char. Peanuts way in the back. Mouthfeel is pleasantly tingly, lots of leather and tobacco. Burnt tropical fruit notes, too.

Finish: A bit hot, black pepper and clove, but still enjoyable.

Overall: A great, spicier ECBP, not a sweeter one. Overall it’s a slightly different profile than I’m used to for the old labels, but still a great pour.

Rating: 7.4

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 8

Heaven Hill

12 YO

69.9% ABV/139.8 Proof

Eye: Burnished copper - a beautiful color. Medium rims, slow teardrops.

Nose: Strong baked goods and vanilla. Nose is a little tight at first. Sweet berries flow out after air. Roasted nuts and tobacco open up.

Palate: Pleasantly hot from both proof and oak. Baking spices blow over the tongue. Nuts and nut skins at a ballgame. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied and coating, not as hot as the initial sip.

Finish: Tingly all over the tongue, but opens up some chocolate and coffee on the back palate.

Overall: A very good ECBP, but I’m ok passing on a bottle. It doesn’t absolutely blow me away like the Batch 11 or B520 or B518.

Rating: 7.5

 
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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 11

Heaven Hill

12YO

69.7%/139.4 Proof

Eye: Barrel aged maple syrup. Thin rims and droplet-syrup legs.

Nose: ECBP cranked to 11. Vanilla, oak, char, proof heat. Lightly roasted nuts. Butter pecan ice cream. Sweet bourbon custard develops.

Palate: Hot! (Duh!) Numbs the palate for a few seconds, then bourbon candy blows up: grape, oak, tons of spice and proof heat. Mexican chocolate bars after air, spiced chocolate and some nuttiness continue to build. Mouthfeel initially is hot, but becomes coating, creamy, and filling. Chocolate continues to build alongside grapes and dried fruits.

Finish: Long, sweet at first, then evolves into full-bodied Mexican chocolate, burnt sugar, and spice.

Overall: This is incredible - I’ve been waiting to try all the old-label ECBPs, and especially this one. I was not disappointed.

Rating: 8.8

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 9

Heaven Hill

12 YO

67.8% ABV/135.6 Proof

Eye: Pure maple syrup. Thin rim and slow droplets. 

Nose: Odd at first - smells quite woody. The classic ECBP profile slowly bubbles up. Bourbon is barely perceptible. Some banana notes open with air, both fresh and caramelized. 

Palate: Hot - super hot at first. My whole tongue is on fire. The ECBP and nutty profile are there in full force, it’s just so hot. Char-roasted peanuts in their shell, nut skins and slight bitterness develop. When the heat finally dissipates a bit, the old label ECBP character shines. Remains heavy on the nuts all the way. Mouthfeel is heavy and coating, just like I like, but the flavors seem muted beneath the heat. 

Finish: Brown sugar, a much milder heat, and some baking spice. 

Overall: Could potentially pick this out as an ECBP, but it's unbalanced. Amazing how just a few points either way can make a difference. I much prefer 8 and 11, or even 5.

Rating: 6.0

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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 12

Heaven Hill

12YO

68%/136 Proof

Eye: Barrel aged maple syrup. Very thin rims and droplet legs.

Nose: Dark brown sugar, fresh leather, lots of vanilla baked goods. Little to no proof heat, touches of oak spice. Overspiced cinnamon custard - smells rich and decadent without being syrupy. Fresh tart red plums and orchard fruits open with air, as does pretzel crust and cola gummies.

Palate: Rich, oaky in a good way - spicy, creamy, just a touch dry. Dark, heavily studded red fruits (cinnamon and clove). Burnt caramel brûlée, barrel aged maple syrup, a touch of pink peppercorn. Warm tingle coats my tongue, flavors reach every part of my mouth. Mouthfeel is velvety and coating, oily, medium-to-thick. Tingle is never too much, just right. Cocoa powder opens with air.

Finish: Long, dark brown sugar caramelizing. Just a hint of peanut brittle. Heat lingers a long time.

Overall: An excellent batch, top half for sure and possibly top three. Rich, custardy, perfect heat, and potent flavor combinations. Peanut keeps building as you sip.

Rating: 8.3


Final Ranking of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Labels

  1. Batch 2: (9.4)

  2. T - Pre-batch: (9.2)

    T - Batch 4: (9.2)

  3. Batch 11: (8.8)

  4. Batch 3: (8.5)

  5. Batch 12: (8.3)

  6. Batch 7: (7.9)

  7. T - Batch 5: (7.7)

    T - Batch 6: (7.7)

  8. Batch 1: (7.6)

  9. Batch 8: (7.5)

  10. Batch 10: (7.4)

  11. Batch 9: (6.0)

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