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!! HELP !! What to replace EC12 with?


JPK
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Hello Everyone,

 

It finally happened in my neck of the woods. Elijah Craig no NAS front or back, new bottle design arrived.

Wife and I bought it with high hopes and were VERY disappointed.

I'm not going to get into how bad the new stuff is..but we don't enjoy it at all.

 

EC12 was by FAR our favorite pour. It had everything we wanted...and nothing we didn't.

now it's gone..boo hoo and all..lol

 

I'm asking for your help here.

 

...Is there anything else out there that tastes like EC12 around the same $$$?

Everything we've tried didn't have the "richness" of EC12. We've tried WT101, BT, EWSB, EW's many bottlings, 4 roses, KC, BH, Gent jack, Bulliet rye, WR & I'm sure some others...they just don't have the "richness" of flavor.

I can't put into words the exact differences we've noticed.. (We just want EC12 back lol)

I guess EC12 just seems to have more of a concentrated full rich flavors that we miss.

 

I'm thinking we might try Russel's Reserve 10 year next for a replacement...then maybe Eagle rare...?

I've been trying to get a bottle of Elmer T. Lee..but that seems difficult to pull off.

 

I'd really appreciate any info you'd like to share on our proposed next move.

Also..PLEASE if you have any other better suited "next try's" for us please share.

 

Thank you so much!

 

John

Edited by JPK
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Henry McKenna 10 year bottled in bond. Same mashbill. A little younger. A little higher in proof.  Near match. $25-30. Done. 

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Thanks Charlutz...I now have it on the short list. :)

 

Is that the same as the 100 proof single barrel?

I don't see the bottled in bond or 10yr on the "available in Michigan" list.

 

upon further investigating...looks like they only bottle one Henry Mckenna.

Awesome!

 

 

Edited by JPK
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1 hour ago, JPK said:

Thanks Charlutz...I now have it on the short list. :)

 

Is that the same as the 100 proof single barrel?

I don't see the bottled in bond or 10yr on the "available in Michigan" list.

 

upon further investigating...looks like they only bottle one Henry Mckenna.

Awesome!

 

 

The 100 proof single barrel is the the 10 year BIB

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For last resort can buy ECBP and water it down to 94 proof then pour it into an old age-stated EC12 empty...exact match. Can also try to find a store pick EC NAS as they may be more consistent with older flavor profile you are seeking. 

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1 hour ago, Charlutz said:

Henry McKenna 10 year bottled in bond. Same mashbill. A little younger. A little higher in proof.  Near match. $25-30. Done. 

I would echo that for the HMCK.  Elmer T. Lee is nothing like EC12.

There is a local store here that still has the EC age stated (on back) in 750s and 1.75s.

Edited by Clueby
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I was in the same boat as you are in my friend, I stocked up with a case when I could, but it is now down to one. I saw the new bottle design and having not tasted the new stuff yet, I broke down and got me one. Last Friday night, we did a SbS with the new vs. old, a BLIND SbS. My buddy first poured mine then I poured his, we took notes and then compared - we both thought that the old won in the nose department, he picked the old for overall taste (but he is a BT guy thru and thru, I am EC12 thru and thru,) guess what I picked? -- The new stuff tasted better to me. I went back and tried it again -Blindly...picked it out the second time also, I was very surprised. I will try the test again in the near future to see if I still pick it.

 

If you have not tried it blindly -I recommend you do so. It may surprise you.

Edited by dSculptor
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I certainly appreciate all the great replies.

Way too go friends!

 

I have tried the blind tasting...not with the old EC12 in the running though..sob sob wimper wimper...lol

We had a group of WT101, KC, EVB, and the NAS EC.

The new NAS EC is the only whisk(e)y I've drank in years that gives me the old high school shake and shiver.

I don't know what it is about that stuff..but it just doesn't sit with me...blind or not...lol

 

I'm happy for ya though if you like it...I'll be sure to leave some bottles on the shelf for you...lol

 

Thanks again!

 

 

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3 hours ago, JPK said:

 

 

I'm thinking we might try Russel's Reserve 10 year next for a replacement...then maybe Eagle rare...?

I've been trying to get a bottle of Elmer T. Lee..but that seems difficult to pull off.

 

 

John, according to my taste buds I think you're on the right track here.

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3 hours ago, JPK said:

 

Is that the same as the 100 proof single barrel?

I don't see the bottled in bond or 10yr on the "available in Michigan" list.

 

 

 

The MI LCC list folks aren't bothered by things like getting BIB in the right place.  Sometimes you have to poke thru a number of unlikely categories to find what you want.

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15 hours ago, dSculptor said:

I was in the same boat as you are in my friend, I stocked up with a case when I could, but it is now down to one. I saw the new bottle design and having not tasted the new stuff yet, I broke down and got me one. Last Friday night, we did a SbS with the new vs. old, a BLIND SbS. My buddy first poured mine then I poured his, we took notes and then compared - we both thought that the old won in the nose department, he picked the old for overall taste (but he is a BT guy thru and thru, I am EC12 thru and thru,) guess what I picked? -- The new stuff tasted better to me. I went back and tried it again -Blindly...picked it out the second time also, I was very surprised. I will try the test again in the near future to see if I still pick it.

 

If you have not tried it blindly -I recommend you do so. It may surprise you.

Agree - and the new bottle AND cork are a much better design than the old IMHO.  No more loose corks and evaporated bourbon issues.

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I'll try the new design soon.

 

I'm a little sad.  The old bottle with the 12-year age statement was how I got into bourbon.  I was walking around in one of my local stores, and they a stack of cases with it marked down from $26.99 to $16.99 "this weekend only!".  As a scotch drinker, 12 years old meant I had a good shot at it being a quality whiskey, and at that price, it was a no-brainer to buy-and-try. 

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On 12/12/2016 at 8:11 AM, JPK said:

...Is there anything else out there that tastes like EC12 around the same $$$?

 

No there isn't.  That's why it was the king of affordable bold & rich oaky bourbons. Nothing else comes close near the price range.  I guess Henry McKenna would be about as close as you could get.  The RR 10 year 90 proof has a much different flavor profile than EC12.

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1 hour ago, Kepler said:

No there isn't.  That's why it was the king of affordable bold & rich oaky bourbons. Nothing else comes close near the price range.  I guess Henry McKenna would be about as close as you could get.  The RR 10 year 90 proof has a much different flavor profile than EC12.

 

Knob Creek is pretty rich, bold and oaky but tastes nothing like EC, which has a lot of caramel and vanilla.  

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20 hours ago, Kalessin said:

I'll try the new design soon.

 

I'm a little sad.  The old bottle with the 12-year age statement was how I got into bourbon.  I was walking around in one of my local stores, and they a stack of cases with it marked down from $26.99 to $16.99 "this weekend only!".  As a scotch drinker, 12 years old meant I had a good shot at it being a quality whiskey, and at that price, it was a no-brainer to buy-and-try. 

$16.99! Wow that's the cheapest I've ever heard it...Man I would have been in for a few cases at that price.

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33 minutes ago, dSculptor said:

$16.99! Wow that's the cheapest I've ever heard it...Man I would have been in for a few cases at that price.

 

Invent that time machine, and we can all travel back to the heady days of 2003, plentiful, inexpensive, good quality bourbon, as far as the eye can see!  Age statements everywhere!

 

At the time, I didn't have a steady job, my bottles of single-malt scotch from when I was fully employed were running out, and I needed to find a cheaper alternative.   Little did I realize...

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On 12/12/2016 at 6:15 AM, Charlutz said:

Henry McKenna 10 year bottled in bond. Same mashbill. A little younger. A little higher in proof.  Near match. $25-30. Done. 

^ Agree with this !

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On 12/12/2016 at 9:11 AM, JPK said:

Hello Everyone,

EC12 was by FAR our favorite pour. It had everything we wanted...and nothing we didn't.

now it's gone..boo hoo and all..lol

John

I've waited to answer your query until I had some time with my first bottle of NAS Elijah Craig. 

Now that I've had several pours from it, and tasted it side by side with a bottle of age-stated EC12 from about 3-years ago, I have a recommendation: Stick with NAS-EC, or try HmcK 10-year.

The HMcK 10 will have some variability, since it's a Single Barrel, so the choice, if you want to stick with one and only one Bourbon of similar characteristics probably would be EC, since it's batched (meaning it's mingled together with some, probably large, number of barrels in order to hit the desired profile) and likely to stay very close to the profile you're used to.

Just for my taste buddies, I could find very little difference when I did that Side By Side.   AND, the slight preference I noted went in favor of the NAS.

Hope this helps you make up your mind.

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I've a suggestion/request, just for the fun of it.  If you have EC(NAS) or EC12 and Pikesville Rye (110 pf) around, mix the two about 50:50.  I won't get to opening my bottles until next year.  But if you have them open, the resulting mix would be a little over 100 proof.  If EC has the purported 13% rye in the mashbill, the mix would be a high rye bourbon of ~30+% rye.  It might have an interesting oompf.  Of course, report what you find.  Thx.

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On 12/12/2016 at 11:35 AM, JPK said:

The new NAS EC is the only whisk(e)y I've drank in years that gives me the old high school shake and shiver.

1

This made me shake a little when the memory of drinking a bottle of Early Times in high school with a friend popped into my mind.  Ended up puking in his parents bird bath...good times.

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I agree that McKenna BIB will probably be your closest "match" for a mashbill/age combo. However, two similarly priced bourbons that come to my mind with "full flavor" are Knob Creek (a little more pricey -maybe$5-here in MI than EC) and Eagle Rare 10yr (about the same price). Neither of those are HH juice, but both of those are, to my palate, full flavored bourbons. 

 

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I had my first rodeo with the NAS EC last night.  I found no noticeable profile change and the group (of three) consensus was that this expression is a well balanced and satisfyingly easy drinking must have on hand bourbon.

 

More impressive (to me at least:)), is that this tasting and subsequent impression was made AFTER a lengthy tasting of several other higher proofed offerings of both bourbon and rye.  I'd even venture to say that (at $26.99 for the 750) it was the QPR winner of the evening (in the non-barrel proof category)! 

 

 I'm now firmly planted in the group that feels that HH will be able to maintain a very good profile here, at least for the present to near future.  Maybe even for the better, as the dryer wood notes that often over-presented itself in the 12 year old expression can be balanced out a bit by the intermingling of a bit of younger distillate.

 

One question does remain... how long can the 12 year old distillate hold out as the primary factor in the blend?   

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On 12/14/2016 at 1:04 AM, ken_mays said:

 

Knob Creek is pretty rich, bold and oaky but tastes nothing like EC, which has a lot of caramel and vanilla.  

Knob Creek is a pretty good suggestion, but to my taste it is more sweet and not oaky.

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