BOTM 12/05: Elijah Craig 12yo

[fogfrog]

Because I heard on here it is good I went and picked up a bottle. Certainly of the top shelf bourbons it is one of the least expensive. The bottle is also very nice. I paid 18.59 @ Gomer's here in Lenexa KS. My wife likes the bottle but is mad that I bought another bottle. She says I have to finish them all before getting another.

I poured it into my glass straight and will say it smells good. It tastes good too!

I don't know how to comment on a bourbon's quality yet. This is the highest end bourbon I think I have tried so far.

Paul C.

[kbuzbee]

Show her some of the picts posted here. She should set "reasonable" goals for you to not exceed. Say 100 bottles To start with. And promise her only 4 of the first 100 will be over $80. It will make an odd $20 bottle seem most acceptable!

Ken

[jeff]

I remember my first "expensive" bourbon purchase: EWSB 1991 for around $24. Mind you this was back when Maker's could be found on sale for $13. Leslie was very dissapproving at the time. But now, some 200 or so bottles later, she doesn't even flinch at a $40 bottle, or a share of an entire barrel for that matter

[fogfrog]

I compared it to Jim Beam Black and would say that the Elijah Craig has more flavor and is only 2.50 more a bottle.

[mobourbon]

coupled with the fact that apparently it is going to disappear from the shelves around here soon means I will attempt to pick one up tonight. Hopefully I am not too late.

Elijah Craig 12 y/o is still available in the 1.75 liter size in PA. It is on sale for $29.99.

[gr8erdane]

Just one more reason that Leslie is one of the most gracious women I have had the pleasure of meeting. I mean how many others would have tolerated me all the way from Bardstown to Louisville and back?

[jeff]

Dane, that's something we don't talk about.

[hookfinger]

coupled with the fact that apparently it is going to disappear from the shelves around here soon means I will attempt to pick one up tonight. Hopefully I am not too late.

Elijah Craig 12 y/o is still available in the 1.75 liter size in PA. It is on sale for $29.99.

Nothing personal towards you, in my complaint about PLCB, I hope you understand. You, and a few others, have been nothing but helpful.

Yes I saw the large bottles but unfortunately there are no 750's left in the area. I just can't go and buy a 1.75 on the off chance that I will appreciate it, even at a very reasonable price. Now that's not to say that I wouldn't give one away as a christmas present, and after all I would be obliged to stick around for a drink or two, wouldn't you think?

[fogfrog]

Because it is the BOTM, I bought one as I replied before. Well, today when I got home, listening to Piano Lessons, I poured a shot over the rocks and tasted it. It was good. I was waiting for the ice to melt but wanted to taste it sooner. So I added water. Wow! what a discovery. The delay of the ice cube melting can be averted by adding water!

Well, I think before I wrote how I thought that the Elijah Craig was a bit hard for me to drink so I added 7UP. Well, its easy with a bit of water!

So I finished that drink and decided to try this trick on my Evan Williams 7YO. I am drinking it now and finding it QUITE FLAVORFUL. I thought it was only ok for mixing... and rough at that. Now, I discovered I like Evan Williams 7YO just fine with water added! Actually its excellent.

So, now I am wondering how many of you also add water and how much?

Thanks,

Paul Cote

P.S. Learning how to drink Whiskey on my own with your help.

[jeff]

There are several bourbons to which I regularly add a bit of water: Stagg and WLW for obvious reasons, but I also add a bit to almost all Heaven Hill products. For whatever reason their bourbons are a little on the woody side for me, but just a splash of water, litterally, and it morphs into an excellent drink, especially the EC18. I also tend to add a little water, 5mls or so, to most Wild Turkey offerings.

[bluesbassdad]

I finally decided my taster was back to normal, after a cold that peaked around Thanksgiving. I figured it was time to weigh in regarding the BOTM.

My bottle of EC 12 y/o has been open for over a year. I know because I moved it here when we made the move from CA in August, 2004. There's less than a quarter of the bottle left. Also, the stopper doesn't fit as firmly as I think it should. In fact, when I invert the bottle with the stopper all the way in, there's a tiny bit of seepage.

I mention all that because the contents taste nothing like I remember. No eucalyptus, no Vicks Formula 44, etc. Well "no" may be an exaggeration, but not by much. The nose is pleasantly sweet, but very weak. The palate is mainly bitter. I'm not sure I'd recognize the contents of this bottle as bourbon.

I'm going to give this bottle another try in a month or so. If it still tastes the same, I will dispose of it. IMO I allowed this bottle to sit too long while in contact with the air. At least I hope that's what happened. I'd hate to think I'd lost my taste for this bottling.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[gr8erdane]

When you visit the Heaven Hill Vistitor's center and take the tour, your stop in the tasting room usually includes a sample of EC 18 and EW SB (at least my first tour did). They present a small portion of each in the Glencairn glasses they use and have a small pitcher of water beside it. When you taste each they advise to add just a drop of water to the glass and taste again. It's amazing how that little tiny bit of water can unlock flavors. Now I drink most of my bourbons straight up but from time to time if I have some handy I'll add just a drop or two and see if I can duplicate that experience. I don't always notice a dramatic difference but just something about sitting in that barrel shaped room on 'hallowed ground' really enhances the experience. (It also helps when your surrounded by SB.commers doing the same)

[fogfrog]

I bought a bottle of Elijah Craig. I also have a bottle of Evan Williams and a bottle of Jim Beam Black.

My wife has been drinking my Evan Williams and it is getting used up faster than the others for sure.

I don't think it is just because the bottle looks nice though that might be a part of it.

I have been told by her that it tastes good in the egg nog. Well, I thought why does she not just use the Evan Williams in the Egg Nog. So I gave her a whiff of that and she said it smelled like egg nog. I said I thought it might be the vanilla, but it might be the nutmeg too I don't know.

Today I had a job interview and if I get the job it is highly likely I'd have to move to KY. I didn't like the idea of moving there before but the more I think about it, I like it. The cost of living is relatively low I believe and it is a lot prettier than Kansas.

Curious about other members who might live in KY. This job would be in Erlanger which is by the Cincinnati airport.

[Ken Weber]

Paul,

Take it from a native, Kentucky is beautiful!!! The Erlanger/Cincinnati area is very nice and combines a nice urban area with the pleasures of the country about 10 minutes away. Plus the fact we have more bourbons available here than anywhere else in the world.

Ken

PS. The Buffalo Trace Distillery is about 45 minutes from Erlanger. Stop by for a visit!

[ratcheer]

I have never lived in KY but the people I know who have or do are fanatically in love with the state. I have visited there several times and it is certainly nice. And, I have heard they make some pretty good bourbon, there.

Tim

[BourbonJoe]

And, I have heard they make some pretty good bourbon, there.

Tim

Thats the understatement of the year.

Joe

[jburlowski]

We moved to the area two years ago and love it! People are very friendly, the hills are beautiful, and downtown Cincinnati is a few minutes away.

[fogfrog]

Ken,

Thanks a lot for the information re: KY. Yeah I being from Connecticut miss the trees and hills and streams and it seems that KY is similarly beautiful. Now I just hope they give me that job! As far as Elijah Craig goes, my bottle level was lowering and it was bothering me. My wife likes the Elijah Craig!

I had been wanting to try Scotch because I know how way back I used to like it and so many people like it. I defied my wife's no more bottles rule and went to the liquor store and really only wanted a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black or Red even or Famous Grouse or maybe Dewars. And the guy told me this single malt was only 18 bucks and blew these others away. I thought ok.... it was called Speyburn 10YO single malt and I bought it. When I got home I smelled it and the remembrance of white lightning I had bought at the 1978 Union Grove Fiddlers Convention came to mind where I bought a gallon of stuff labeled RFD #3. It smelled like that moonshine. Not a good memory seriously.

Well, the liquor store guy was really nice though and I also asked him what he thought of various bourbons and that the best stuff I had bought to date was Elijah Craig. He handed me a 25 dollar Evan Williams 1995 Single barrel or whatever Gift Set with a rocks glass and silver measuring cup for 25 bucks and I bought it. I thought, act and explain later. Yes my wife complained .... but I will say that stuff is the most easy to drink straight up bourbon I have had yet!

I do not regret it at all!

After drinking the scotch and the Evan Williams Single barrel, I will say that Bourbon kicks ass over scotch for my taste buds-- I like it a lot better!

And if ANYBODY wants some truly good stuff for a good deal, I took it from the people on this list and the guy working at Gomer's in Kansas City, the Evan Williams Single Barrel is really a good deal. The Elijah Craig is good too! but for five bucks more the Evan Williams Single barrel is worth five bucks more. I found that to drink it without any ice or water was super easy.

[CrispyCritter]

And the guy told me this single malt was only 18 bucks and blew these others away. I thought ok.... it was called Speyburn 10YO single malt and I bought it.

Speyburn is generally regarded as a bottom shelf pour. Good Scotches tend to cost a lot more than good bourbons.

Probably the best deal I can currently find on the Scotch side of the aisle at this point is Aberlour 10yo, usually around $30. Otherwise, expect to spend $45+ for a good bottle of SMSW, and the sky's the limit. Note also that single malts have a huge spectrum of flavors - an Ardbeg is nothing like an Aberlour, and an Aberlour is nothing like a Highland Park.

As for EC12, I've quite liked the bottle I have here, and it's been very good bang-for-the-buck. It will be replaced once it's empty.

It's surprising how many good bourbons there are in the $25-and-under range!

[chasking]

Speyburn is generally regarded as a bottom shelf pour. Good Scotches tend to cost a lot more than good bourbons.

I feel a little need to amplify that statement a bit---there are many good Scotches that cost a lot more than good bourbons, but there are a fair number of Scotches that are pretty good but don't cost an arm and a leg. Among blends, Teacher's and Grant's are pretty good and relatively cheap. Among single malts it's a bit tougher, but regular old Glenfiddich is a pretty good buy, and I'm partial to Old Pulteney, a coastal north Highlands malt that is usually a bargain, if you can find it. Auchentoshan Select is another cheap but yummy single malt.

The Signatory Vintage line has some good deals in it, too, although one may not always know what's in the bottle. But, although they tend to be younger expressions I've had a number of them and never had anything that was bad. Look especially for the "Signatory Vintage Orkney" and "Signatory Vintage Campbeltown" versions: there are a very limited number of distilleries in those locales, and no duds. I've also had and enjoyed Signatory Vintage Lowland, Signatory Vintage Mull and Signatory Vintage Islay, although the current version of the latter is a Laphroaig product that might not be for everybody. I haven't had it myself but the Signatory Vintage Highland apparently comes from Glenrothes, and their eponymous malts are excellent (and not cheap).

United Distillers sells a set of minis of each member of their "Classic Malts" line: Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, Cragganmore, Oban, Talisker, and Lagavulin. If you're curious about Scotch, that's a great way to experience just about the entire breadth of the single malt world. The only thing missing is a heavily-sherried malt (a la Macallan).

To bring this back sort of on topic: I had a bottle of EC12. It seemed to vary from pour to pour: sometimes I really liked it, but more often there seemed to be something off-putting about it. When it was gone I did not replace it. At Whiskeyfest I went to a Heaven Hill presentation where we tasted EWSB, EC12, and EC18. I thought the EWSB was better than either of the others. I suspect there's something in the Heaven Hill house style that I just don't like too much, and that that effect is minimized in the single barrels chosen for EWSB, but manifests itself in products for which more barrels are poured, such as EC12 or regular old Evan Williams. Whatever it is it doesn't seem to manifest in their rye whiskey; I like Rittenhouse a lot. (Haven't found Pikesville around here.) So, what about the EC18, which is also a single-barrel product? I don't know; I just liked the EWSB better, and since it costs a lot less I have not felt the need to pick up a bottle of the older version.

[JeffRenner]

(Haven't found Pikesville around here.)

I don't think you will, either. It is an old Baltimore production, and I think it's only sold in that area.

Jeff

[chasking]

I don't think you will, either. It is an old Baltimore production, and I think it's only sold in that area.

Ah, well, now I know where to look for it.

[Hillbilly]

I'm one of those who just has taken to EC 12. Like some here, I've noticed that "metallic" twinge in both bottles that I've bought.

The price is right and of course it is widely revered, I want to like it, but it just doesn't do it for me.

[fogfrog]

Tonight my wife wanted some of the egg nog. She added bourbon to it. I would have preferred she use the Evan Williams but instead she used the Elijah Craig. Now I am in a competition with her to finish it off! LOL.

Well, I had been drinking the black label Jim Beam and liked it a lot. Today I poured the Elijah Craig and it was totally awesome the first sips neat. It has a lot of character the Jim Beam does not although I don't know how to say it.

Are they going to keep making this stuff?

Paul

[jeff]

Paul,

Elijah Craig is a standard bottling from Heaven Hill and as such it should be around for a long time. Glad you're enjoying it!