Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

[Yeti]

It's not in WV yet either. The keep saying "soon". For almost three weeks.

[matthewdc]

It's not in WV yet either. The keep saying "soon". For almost three weeks.

Pretty much the same story here in DC.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

With the exception of the gift shop, it is gone in ky too. Had a customer track one down for me personally. I try to sell all limited bottles to customers.

[black mamba]

Hasn't reached MO yet, but the wife scuttled 3 bottles out of NC for me. Not as good as Stagg, but half the price.

The main feature of this over the EC12 to my taste buds is an orange glazed cinnamon bun thing going on. Pretty interesting.

[HowboutdemOs]

Same story in Maryland.

[cowdery]

As Dave Backus said when Dickel was shut down, "if you drink it all, we'll make more."

Keep looking.

[bad_scientist]

Pretty much the same story here in DC.

It was in Montgomery County a couple of weeks ago. They have a list of people they offer to hold "limited" bottles for, and since they always get too many requests, the bottles never even make it to the shelves. I didn't reply in time and failed to reserve one.

[matthewdc]

It was in Montgomery County a couple of weeks ago. They have a list of people they offer to hold "limited" bottles for, and since they always get too many requests, the bottles never even make it to the shelves. I didn't reply in time and failed to reserve one.

Same here! But I have seen it in DC finally though.

[BFerguson]

This is by far the best $40 bottle of Heaven Hill that I've ever had.

It's probably the best $40 bottle of anybody that I've ever had.

B

[Bourserker]

Thanks to a buddy I got a bottle of this. He got it in SC, and said the store owner told him the state got something like 27 - 30 bottles total...don't know if that's accurate or not, but if it is it's apparently being released in very small quantities. Got too much open right now, so it's gonna sit for a bit.

[c2walker]

Thanks to a buddy I got a bottle of this. He got it in SC, and said the store owner told him the state got something like 27 - 30 bottles total...don't know if that's accurate or not, but if it is it's apparently being released in very small quantities. Got too much open right now, so it's gonna sit for a bit.

This is been tricky bottle to get. I also got a bottle in SC and was told the state got 33 bottles.

[GaryT]

It's probably the best $40 bottle of anybody that I've ever had.

B

Agree 110% - the things I find it compares favorably with are considerably more expensive. I guess everyone's flavor profiles varies - so I kindly ask that if anyone buys this and doesn't care for it - please let me know :grin:

[tigerlam92]

It's probably the best $40 bottle of anybody that I've ever had.

B

I would agree, for what's available today for $40-50 this will be the best for me as well.

Can't say "ever had" though since I remember buying some ORVW15 on sale for ~$50 years ago, if I remember correctly.

Cheers

Hugh

[RWBadley]

I managed to pick up a bottle of this 134.2 proof delight. It was 53$ plus tax here and well worth it. I wisht I'd grabbed the other bottle on the shelf while I was there- went back and it was gone. Fine tasty pour that takes a little water or ice just dandy.

[HowboutdemOs]

Are these ever going to make it the rest of Maryland? Seems they have recently hit DC and Montgomery County....

[msong]

[Details given out already]

Edited May 15, 2013 by msong

[RWBadley]

Got lucky and was able to score a couple more of these. There were five more bottles on the shelf as of this AM, I suspect they'll be gone pretty quick tho.

[BigBoldBully]

Finally just got to try some. As I have not had the regular EC12 in a while, it was a good time to crack open a bottle and try these head to head, semi-blind. I poured them into identical glasses, diluted until the two were equal in strength, had the glasses placed randomly and closed my eyes during the preliminary test (since even with equal dilution the BP is noticeably darker than the standard offering). Surprisingly, the BP strikes me as much more "balanced" than the standard bottle I have, with more fruit and sweetness to the fore. The standard features an aggressive, almost violent woody grip, reminding me a little of my beloved but neglected 2009 OFBB. So despite the 50% odds, I managed to guess wrong, assuming the BP was the woodier one since I had read they selected the barrels from hot areas, and since it's so damned dark.

[GaryT]

I would agree - I think skipping the chill filtering does a lot to round-out the ECBP and soften the edges that the color would seem to have one expect. I haven't done the studied comparison you did, but I gradually dilute my ECBP and don't recall ever getting to the point where I think "Oh, now its just like EC12".

[mosugoji64]

I would agree - I think skipping the chill filtering does a lot to round-out the ECBP and soften the edges that the color would seem to have one expect. I haven't done the studied comparison you did, but I gradually dilute my ECBP and don't recall ever getting to the point where I think "Oh, now its just like EC12".

I conducted a similar experiment a while back wherein I diluted some OWA down to 90 proof and tasted it blind with some WSR. I was able to pick out the OWA easily even at the same proof. When I posted my results here, someone (Mike (BourbonV) I think) pointed out that lower proof whiskeys go through additional filtering as well as getting additional water so a lower proof version of the same whiskey is not the same. I think that explains a lot regarding our appreciation for higher proof bottles.

[squire]

Yes it does and that's a good point to keep in mind.

[GaryT]

I conducted a similar experiment a while back wherein I diluted some OWA down to 90 proof and tasted it blind with some WSR. I was able to pick out the OWA easily even at the same proof. When I posted my results here, someone (Mike (BourbonV) I think) pointed out that lower proof whiskeys go through additional filtering as well as getting additional water so a lower proof version of the same whiskey is not the same. I think that explains a lot regarding our appreciation for higher proof bottles.

Agree - to me a higher proof bottle is a lovely lady with multiple-personality disorder On any given night, you can pick which one you want to take home (and you're not limited to one!) Ironically, at a more structured tasting the general practice is to start with the lower proof, but with something like ECBP or GTS, I'll always take a sip (or two - or three) neat, and then gradually add bits of water as I go.

I would think the filtering is the major impact (the additional water shouldn't be an issue unless the quality of the water is different). I used to go out of my way to get purified bottled water for my whiskey tasting, until I tried a blind tasting with the same bourbon, and using some tap water, purified water, and bottled (but not purified) water. I let the water mingle for 20 min first, but found absolutely no difference in taste. Maybe I'm blessed with clean tap water - or blessed with a weak palate that can't tell the difference. Either way - I'll take it!

[squire]

Good point Gary, I've done the same experiment and found that if we have decent tap water it works fine.

[gatsby]

The barrel proof has finally reached NYC, though most stores are probably sold out of their 3 bottle allotment by now. I was able to get a bottle because I put my name down over a month ago and they put one aside for me which was very appreciated.

[Old Dusty]

So the thread consensus seems to be outstanding value at +/- $40 and maybe up to $50, but what about at $99.99 which I saw and passed on? Think I'm still not pulling the trigger at that price.