Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 6

Thanks to /u/Schockwaves for this dram.

It’s been one of those downer months so far. No wins, lots of losses (and I’m not talking about my love life or basketball).

So I was quite happy to sit down after weeks of few reviews and drink something that is typically labeled as “Hazmat” by the bourbon community, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch #6.

I have good luck with Heaven Hill Products. I have better luck with high alcohol whiskies. I’ve had worse luck in the last three weeks, so perhaps these will collide to make some sort of even ground.

Or at least taste nice and maybe make me forget for an hour while I review it.

Heaven Hill is up to 11 Batches now, and I’ve only had one, so perhaps I should be hunting for more of these. Oh well, some bar will have them all and I can probably drink through them and live.

Probably. Until then, let’s see how Batch 6 tastes, shall we?

Price: N/A in Ontario. Too Hazardous.

Region: Kentucky

Batch: Six

Abv: 70.1%

Colour: 10R 3/8

Nose: Peach, oak, lemon-lime soda, cherry, butter, burnt popcorn, cola, birch

Big peach hit at first. Lots of oak after that. Jumps back and forth between them.

It starts out smelling like the Swamp Water you made as a kid at the soda fountain (not a bad thing, don’t care what you think). Eventually there’s a burnt and dry smell to it. Hard to explain.

Taste: Strawberry, oak, thyme, peanut, mint, dry pear

Holy fuck that’s hot.

Alright, give it a few more minutes, and it’s fine. Eventually I added water just to see. Also because I may have drank it a little too quick because I was enjoying it too much. This is right up my alley. Love the mix of flavours. Nothing too complex, but holy shit is it tasty.

Finish: Peach, cola, hazelnut, honey, cracker, mustard, lemon zest, dill/brine, bug spray, peppermint oil

I’m less enthused about the finish. It’s more complex, and definitely is interesting, however there’s a rough as nails on a blackboard in February by a fat cigarette smoking hermaphrodite who doesn’t even have a nice personality flavour to it.

By that I mean the dill/mustard/brine/bug spray flavours. Water helps a little, though not as much as I would hope.

Conclusion: This is certainly a barn burner. Big flavours, big nose, and an understandably rough finish.

I think I would have rated it higher than Batch #1 if the finish hadn’t had this chemical, non-food note in there. Don’t get me wrong: That’s just one aspect of the finish, but it’s enough to drop the score for me. I’d have to really consider buying a bottle of this versus other batches.

83/100

Bourbon review #117, Kentucky review #84, Whiskey Network review #716