BourbonJoe Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 I just had a couple pours of EC 12. There's something about this bourbon I don't like. I don't know what it is exactly. Kind of a flat front end and strange finish IMHO. How do you find it? Perhaps I should have compared it to something, but the taste of AAA 10 the other night is still fresh in my mind. This stuff is no AAA 10 IMHO. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 EC12 seems to be a love it or hate it brand. I happen to love it, though I enjoy it most (and the 18yo) with a nice cigar. I do seem to remember it taking a couple of bottles before I was totally convinced, so maybe it's an aquired taste. Do you smoke? If so try it with a nice Honduran and let us know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BourbonJoe Posted August 2, 2005 Author Share Posted August 2, 2005 If so try it with a nice Honduran and let us know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 I like it and think it is a pretty good buy myself. I'll take mine neat with or without a cigar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 I'm among the handful of naysayers here. It's almost like they forgot to put something in -- I haven't figured out what, and probably won't; even at its great price, it's a waste of money if I don't like it. Always seemed to me like I was drinking it from a stainless steel cup after having a new filling put it. Metal on metal. How that results from 12 years in oak is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BourbonJoe Posted August 3, 2005 Author Share Posted August 3, 2005 I'm among the handful of naysayers here. It's almost like they forgot to put something in -- I haven't figured out what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobourbon Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 I agree. I always have liked it. Even when the price was $16.99 in PA, it was a deal. Now, at $12.99, it's an even better deal. I really like the taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camduncan Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 I must admit, it's in my top 10 favourites, but if I drink too much, I really feel it in the head the next day For its price, its a reasonably good buy Downunder (in my opinion). It retails at $39.95 which is $5 dearer than Jim Beam Black and $5 cheaper than Bulleit or Evan Williams Single Barrel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedmans Brorsa Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 The first bottles I had back in 2000 offered a truly stupendous nose and an awesomely complex finish.Nowadays, the finish is pretty good but nowhere near the splendours of yore and the delicacy of the nose is all but gone.With EWSB and McKenna SB around I´ll have to get some pretty strong indications for a reversal to old form before I will fork out hard earned cash for EC 12 again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbuzbee Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 Only tried it once, a couple years ago. Been on my list to go back and try again but that first pass wasn't what I'd hoped for. I also want to try the 18, which I can't seem to find here. Mabye Jeff should make it the BOTM next month.....I'm only now coming to understand how much "I" influence how things taste. The other day I had a pour of Jefferson's Reserve (which I really enjoy) and I found it harsh and acidic.... Wound up changing to Laphroaig that evening. Nothing about me ever seems to be able to change how Laphroaig tastes ;-) Hmmmm.Cheers,Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward_call_me_Ed Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 Jeff nailed it when he said you love EC 12 or hate it. I can't for the life of me understand how anyone could fail to love EC 12. Not that I think anyone "should' like EC 12 just because I think it's great, it just always surprises me when I hear someone say it doesn't float their boat. It is at the top of the heap for me along with a mere handful of others. The only bourbons that come close to it, IMHO, are all much more expensive, at least here in Japan. The Evan Williams line, what I have tried of it, the 7 the 12 plus a couple of different Single Barrels, always disappoint me, not because they are at all bad, but because they don't taste enough like their sibling EC 12. (Of course, they are all Heaven Hill, but does anyone else note a family resemblance?) This is, by a wide margin, the bourbon I drink the most, which surprises me as I tend to regard it as too precious to drink since I will have to buy another bottle as soon as the open one is empty and there are rank upon rank of bourbons and other whiskies that I feel deserve my attention as well. Heaven Hill! Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayton Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 Count me among those who don't much care for it. I've brought it to parties and so forth, because the price is more than fair and other people seem to really enjoy it. In the same price bracket, I'll take Jim Beam Black over EC12 any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbuzbee Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 This is, by a wide margin, the bourbon I drink the most, which surprises me as I tend to regard it as too precious to drink since I will have to buy another bottle as soon as the open one is empty and there are rank upon rank of bourbons and other whiskies that I feel deserve my attention as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward_call_me_Ed Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 Hi Ken, You can try it again if you want to, you certainly don't have to. EC12 wasn't an acquired taste for me, more like love at first sight.ED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camduncan Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I think I like it because it reminded me of a (for want of a better term) younger Bookers. It was big and bold like bookers, but without the real clout the Bookers has. It also has a charactaristic that reminds me of Evan Williams SB that I can't put my finger on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I love it. It has an interesting flavor that some have described as "eucalyptus", but that doesn't pinpoint it, for me. I will just say that it has a "high note" that I don't get in any other bourbon.That aside, it is complex and refined, very engaging. I once did a side-by-side with EWSB (I think it was '92, may have been '93) and they were very similar. Maybe I can find a link to my comparison.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward_call_me_Ed Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Hi Tim, It has an interesting flavor that some have described as "eucalyptus", but that doesn't pinpoint it, for me. I can see what they are getting at, but "eucalyptus" isn't what I would say either. I am afraid to say what it brings to my mind as it might put people off, but here goes. It is more of a menthol-camphor flavor or may be finish is a better word. I remember sitting out on my porch with a very small charcoal fire going in a hibachi. I wasn't cooking, the fire was just for company. I was drinking Elijah Craig 12, neat. Something about the fire really brought out the camphor note in the bourbon. It was just wonderful. It also gave me a bit of insight into why some people might not like it as well as I do. I have very positive associations with camphor. If it makes you think of the time when you were four years old and put a mothball into your mouth, then EC 12 might not do it for you.Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_d Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I'm also firmly entrenched in the camp that loves the EC12. Much moreso than the 18. I maily love it because dollar for depth of flavour, nothing else comes close. However, everytime I try it, I notice a resemblance to Rare Breed. Both have great depth of flavours, especially a sharp oak/tannin element. The EC12, because of it's boldness of taste actually feels hotter than it's 94 proof suggests. I put it in the 100proof/BIB category, only because I feel it belongs there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I find at times I enjoy this bourbon, but less at other times. The "sharp oak" note is what I call "fresh wood". Some samples of EC 12 show it more than others. I prefer EC 18 year old and it too varies depending on bottling and precise age. When I have both I often mingle them. I would call all these bourbons vigorous and excellent values, too, good for neat sampling but also mixing (cocktails) and mingling.Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isoflex Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Count me in with the EC12 lovers. But I also love the EC18...probably my favorite bourbon so far....but I am just a beginner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbuzbee Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 You can try it again if you want to, you certainly don't have to. EC12 wasn't an acquired taste for me, more like love at first sight. ED Hi Ed, well, yes, I HAD to.... Just can't live in ignorance my whole life Anyway, I went down to the corner store yesterday and brought home a bottle of EC 12. Last night, popped the cork and poured a few onces.... Great color! Deep mahogany. Just beautiful in the glass. Took an initial sniff. Stronger alchohol than I expected but definate sweet undertones. Gave it a second to breath... wonderful bouquet came through with floral and spice notes... Just sat enjoying the aroma for a few minutes (that always seems to happen when I pour Booker's as well..... hmmmmm...) First taste was full of wonderful fire (also surprizing... that immediately surfaced raisens, currants a hint of vanilla. Very full flavors that just linger on.... The finish was complete. Not the aged wood of the pours I usually enjoy but deep, sweet fruity flavors accented with spice.... This is a winner! Thanks to everyone for "forcing" me to revisit EC 12. Where ever I tried it before (it was just a single pour) I didn't appreciate it the way I did last night. Cheers, Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward_call_me_Ed Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Hi Ken, I wasn't my intention to 'convert' you, or anyone else for that matter. I got over that years ago. Nevertheless, I am happy to hear that you enjoyed a bourbon that I really love. The Elijah Craig of history and legend was a minister. Maybe the 'sermon' his namesake preached fell on soil ready for the seed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbuzbee Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Maybe the 'sermon' his namesake preached fell on soil ready for the seed... Well, said. To paraphrase your sig. 'This Bourbon makes me happy'. I found myself smiling as I tasted it last night. Sometimes that happens and you don't even notice (well, until you find your face hurts ) This would be a good Bourbon to share with friends! Cheers, Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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