B.B. Babington Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Comparing last bit of EC12 to first NAS. Color identical. NAS sweeter, more fragrant nose. EC12 woodier nose. EC12 had more of the florals one finds in EC18 or McKenna BIB. EC12 definitely woodier. The NAS is like a younger sibling, similar but not the same. It's lost that distinctive edge that ya get with EC12. Now it's like hum, will I have NAS or one of the many others on shelf, rather than something with strong distinctive character all it's own. On the flip side, those that complain about heavy wood might find this better, and NAS might become their new favorite. Time will tell if it's good marketing decision, but what it means to us is we have to pay more if we want wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark fleetwood Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 (edited) Wow, sounds like HH didn't wait long to put younger juice in the NAS bottle. BTW- was NAS bottle the same price as EC12? Edited January 31, 2016 by mark fleetwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Just ordered five EC12 online. So I'm probably gonna do a SBS as well, when the NAS becomes available in EU. I hope we'll get a heads-up before they remove the age from the BP... I really like the BP. Wish they had just dropped the 23yo instead. No reason for bourbon to get that old(IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BourbonGuy Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Here is where I am confused. It still says 12 years on the back of the bottle. A letter from Heaven Hill says it is still 12 years: Thank you for contacting Heaven Hill Brands. We thoroughly enjoy hearing from our loyal consumers and sincerely appreciate your patronage of our products. While the Elijah Craig Small Batch package has recently changed, the product is still a 12-year-old Bourbon and is stated as such on the back label. As a family owned, independent company, Heaven Hill Brands takes inquiries from our customers very seriously and hope our prompt response is evidence of this. Thank you again for your patronage and if I can be of further assistance, please let me know. Thanks, Kelly Hubbuch Consumer Relations Administrator Heaven Hill Brands So is what you are seeing bottle to bottle variation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlutz Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 There are three variations of the bottle labels on shelves, but only two versions of the whiskey. There is the label with the big red 12 on the front. There is the label with 'Small Batch' on the front but no 12. This bottle also states on the back label that the whiskey is aged for 12 years. This is the same whiskey as that with the 12 on the front. The newest bottles, which I haven't yet seen, presumably say Small Batch on the front but do not state that the whiskey is 12 years old on the back. That whiskey is different from the whiskey with the other two labeling versions, and is supposed to be a blend of 8-12 year old whiskey. There are two other EC threads active in the forum which discuss this in depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhopper Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 35 minutes ago, BourbonGuy said: Here is where I am confused. It still says 12 years on the back of the bottle. A letter from Heaven Hill says it is still 12 years.. BourbonGuy - hopefully, this link to a recent Heaven Hill announcement will clear things up for you http://heavenhill.com/detail/252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianLloyd Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Looks like Elijah is going through some identity issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhopper Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 (edited) There is a very good audio interview on http://whiskycast.com/ with Heaven Hill co-master distiller Denny Potter and longtime Heaven Hill executive Larry Kass about the removal of the 12 year age statement. It's starts on the 20 minute mark of the Jan 30th 2016 Whiskycast audio and lasts about 23 minutes. It goes into great depth on the decision making process, and offers great insight into their decision and future plans. It even has a tasting review of the new Elijah Craig NAS right after the interview. Edited January 31, 2016 by starhopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedog Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Not directly related to tasting but I just saw the NAS hit stores near me. Some still have the 12 stated on the back. I stumbled across a red 12 a few weeks ago and bought it. I'll probably try some of the NAS in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanShafer Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 On 1/31/2016, 3:28:01, Jace said: Just ordered five EC12 online. So I'm probably gonna do a SBS as well, when the NAS becomes available in EU. I hope we'll get a heads-up before they remove the age from the BP... I really like the BP. Wish they had just dropped the 23yo instead. No reason for bourbon to get that old(IMO). They are not removing the age statement from the barrel proof release. They said so in their press statement. So at least you don't have to worry about that. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadeweber Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 On 2/21/2016, 2:53:16, IanShafer said: They are not removing the age statement from the barrel proof release. They said so in their press statement. So at least you don't have to worry about that. Cheers. Worry is warranted. They said they were not removing the age statement when they moved it to the back and shortly afterward, they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 It seems about the only time an age statement returns is when a brand isn't moving such as Bernheim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trufunk Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Phew bought a bottle today, I just checked it and it says 12 on the back. This change suuuucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeTen Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 On 1/31/2016, 1:59:47, mark fleetwood said: Wow, sounds like HH didn't wait long to put younger juice in the NAS bottle. BTW- was NAS bottle the same price as EC12? NAS hit our shelves yesterday and yes, it was the same price as the EC12 (age on back of label). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldDrinker1978 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I would really love to read from somebody who has compared it SBS. Any opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 41 minutes ago, OldDrinker1978 said: I would really love to read from somebody who has compared it SBS. Any opinions? I would suggest the very first post in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thig Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 2 hours ago, GeeTen said: NAS hit our shelves yesterday and yes, it was the same price as the EC12 (age on back of label). If it still has 12 year on the back it is not the new NAS. They took the 12 off the front and put it on the back for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I read that differently. Nas price was the same as the bottle with the 12 on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thig Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 48 minutes ago, b1gcountry said: I read that differently. Nas price was the same as the bottle with the 12 on the back. I see it could be read that way and you are probably right. Commas, parenthesis and punctuation sometimes make it difficult to know exactly what was meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Internertz! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadeweber Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 5 hours ago, flahute said: I would suggest the very first post in this thread. Nice Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Realistically speaking, a significant amount of the love over the years for EC12 has not come from a "no faults" flavor profile, but rather more for its great bang-for-the-buck status, for which it may have had no equal in Bourbonia. So, I would be very surprised if the overall reviews, as they begin to wander in, don't have a fair amount of positivity. A slightly younger profile would be welcomed to many, I would think. And if the NAS/Small Batch is going to be the cornerstone of a franchise that HH plans to use as a platform to up-sell to uber-aged and uber-priced, ultra premium, age stated iterations like the 18yr and 23yr, then it would be foolish for them to deteriorate the Small Batch product with poor quality, i.e. too young/poor quality whiskey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 44 minutes ago, smokinjoe said: Realistically speaking, a significant amount of the love over the years for EC12 has not come from a "no faults" flavor profile, but rather more for its great bang-for-the-buck status, for which it may have had no equal in Bourbonia. So, I would be very surprised if the overall reviews, as they begin to wander in, don't have a fair amount of positivity. A slightly younger profile would be welcomed to many, I would think. And if the NAS/Small Batch is going to be the cornerstone of a franchise that HH plans to use as a platform to up-sell to uber-aged and uber-priced, ultra premium, age stated iterations like the 18yr and 23yr, then it would be foolish for them to deteriorate the Small Batch product with poor quality, i.e. too young/poor quality whiskey. Fortunately distilleries, big and small, as we all know never do anything foolish as we have seen very clearly in recent years! I know I don't every do anything foolish! So could someone explain to me why I kept buying Woodford Masters Collection bottles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldDrinker1978 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 6 hours ago, flahute said: I would suggest the very first post in this thread. Sometimes it's to easy...thanks! I still wonder why not more people did a SBS since there's so much talk in this and another thread about EC loosing its AS. I haven't seen the NAS Version anywhere here in Germany yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 7 minutes ago, OldDrinker1978 said: Sometimes it's to easy...thanks! I still wonder why not more people did a SBS since there's so much talk in this and another thread about EC loosing its AS. I haven't seen the NAS Version anywhere here in Germany yet. I think it's because everyone is still running around to snatch up the remainder of the age stated bottles! Seriously, I've been passing on the NAS version since the DAY AFTER HH's official announcement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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