Elijah Craig 11 Year Old Barrel Proof Uncut Straight From The Barrel Batch B524 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2024) US Import 75cl
*USA Exclusive - Maximum 1 per customer*
To sip Barrel Proof is to experience Bourbon in its purest form: uncut, straight from the barrel, and without chill filtering. Each bottle is hand labeled with its unique proof and batch number; but the nose, taste, and finish are pure Elijah Craig.
This was bottled in May 2024
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof was introduced in 2013 and is released on an allocated basis three times per year: January, May, and September. Each release features a different proof and up until 2023, consisted of bourbon aged at least 12 years. In mid-2023, Heaven Hill announced that they would remove Elijah Craig Barrel Proof’s 12 year age statement and instead now include an age statement that will vary per release.
Batch B524 is the second batch of 2024, and the fourth batch that does not carry the previous generic 12 year age statement, instead dialing directly into the batch exact age detailed down to the month. Previous specifically age stated batches were aged for 11 years and 5 months, 13 years and 7 months, and 10 years and 9 months, making the average age over the four specifically age stated Elijah Craig Barrel Proof batches released so far approximately 11 years and 9 months, just shy of the 12 year mark.
Batch B524 is traditionally inspired and bold, starting with a robust aroma of peppery oak, cigar box, raisin, and baking spices. Heavily charred oak, tobacco, graham cracker, and caramel emerge on the palate, which tones the intensity down a notch though it remains as potent as expected for the proof. Baking spices, caramel, and aged oak define the bourbon’s long, otherwise straightforward finish.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: “The nose will knock you off your feet. The palate is ridiculously viscous, with cinnamon candies, rye, barrel, roasted vanilla bean & chocolate.”
Palate: Rich vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch along with spices of black pepper & cinnamon at the back of the palate
Finish: Nicely layered showcasing all flavors, fades slowly then lingers as it cools
About Elijah Craig
Reverend Elijah Craig was a Baptist preacher, an educator, and an entrepreneur who built the first paper and wool mills in Georgetown, Kentucky. But for all his industries, it was his gift as a distiller and an innovator that brought him his greatest acclaim.
While we draw inspiration from parts of Elijah Craig’s story as a distiller, a critical component of this history are the enslaved people who made major contributions to Bourbon. Elijah Craig was an enslaver, relying upon enslaved people to run his distilling and broader business operations.
Uncovering the identities and roles of these laborers, how they contributed to the birth of the Bourbon industry and the legacy their families left is a critical mission of our brand today. Elijah Craig is actively engaged in academic research with the University of Kentucky's Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies and Central Kentucky Slavery Initiative, as well as other initiatives, to not only share a more transparent and inclusive account of our past, but to also make America today a more just and equitable country.
In 1789, Elijah Craig became the first distiller to age his whiskey in new charred oak barrels. Some claim that an accidental fire charred his barrels and changed the whiskey inside. Others say he stored his whiskey in former sugar barrels and was impressed with how charring improved the flavor.
However it happened, Elijah Craig knew he had discovered something great. He continued to refine the barrel charring process, imparting smooth, rich flavor to the spirit that would become known as Bourbon. 250 years later, he is still known as the Father of Bourbon—and we craft our Bourbon today using the same time-honored methods.
65.3% ABV
75cl
