After a trio of absolute bangers last year, expectations run high for the first ECBP release of 2024.
A124 marks the third expression since Elijah Craig dropped its 12-year age statement, featuring a slightly lower proof and age than 2023’s limited editions. This will no doubt cause skeptics’ tongues to start wagging in the whiskey geekdom, but true Elijah Craig fans know better than to dismiss anything released by Heaven Hill master distiller Connor O’Driscoll out of hand. This Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A124 is priced with an MSP of $75, though the wildly popular bourbon is often marked up by retailers. Shop accordingly.
What’s In The Bottle?
Now in its 12th year, all limited edition Elijah Craig barrel proof releases are assigned a code, in this case, A124. The A means it’s the first release of a given year, the 1 marks the month it’s released, in this case, January, and connotes 24 is the year. Like all Elijah Craig bottlings, ECBP is Kentucky straight bourbon distilled from a “low rye” mashbill of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye. The whiskey is aged 10.9 years and bottled non-chill-filtered and barrel strength, clocking in at 199 proof, or 59.5% ABV.
How Does It Taste?
Company tasting notes of this ECBP A124 promise aromas of caramel with toasted oak, apple, and orange, followed by vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch on the palate, balanced with black pepper and cinnamon spice. The bourbon concludes with a lingering and layered finish featuring a range of flavors on the palate.
Spirits writers, marketers and designers are among the most influential forces in the spirits industry. Their opinions, ideas and creative talents inform and influence consumer perceptions and buying decisions. The John Barleycorn Society was started by a group of spirits journalists seeking to honor excellence in all facets of the industry. The journalists spent several years creating a comprehensive competition that became the John Barleycorn Awards. An elite team of authoritative and influential spirits journalists was selected to administer the flagship component of the Awards, a blind tasting competition destined to become the preeminent arbitrator of spirits taste, quality and character.
