Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C918

Comparing two Elijah Craig Barrel Proof releases from 2018: B518 and C918. The reviewer intended to compare all three 2018 releases but could not locate A118. The note details a statistical analysis of community rankings for ECBP over seven years (2017-2023), explaining z-scores and their interpretation relative to the mean and standard deviation of all ECBP releases. For B518, the color is a clear mahogany. The nose offers notes of apple cider, cocoa, oranges, caramelized sugar, char, espresso, and nutmeg. The palate begins sweet, shifts to a barbecue sauce tang, and finishes with prominent vanilla, roasted marshmallow, lingering char, a hint of bitterness, and burn. After tasting C918, the barbecue sauce tang, a touch of salt, and even some saltiness become noticeable on the nose of B518. The reviewer notes that current ECBP releases retail around $75, but scarcity often leads to markups. Older bottles are even scarcer and priced higher. The reviewer would repurchase ECBP, acknowledging variability from good to fantastic but highlighting its consistent quality and value at $75 for a barrel-proof, 12-year-aged bourbon. The reviewer rated B518 a 4.25, with community stats showing a mean of 4.32 and a z-score of 0.41, indicating it's moderately better than all ECBP releases. It's 133.4 proof with a 12-year age statement. For C918, the color is similar to B518. The nose presents cocoa powder, pressed sugar cane, orange oil, cinnamon stick, toasted oak, and vanilla. The palate has some creaminess and noticeable ethanol. The finish starts with a touch of bitterness, woody tannins resembling espresso, some leathery dryness, and then the cocoa and vanilla return for a medium finish. C918 is described as rich and robust, not for the faint of heart, but softer and more mellow than B518. The reviewer considers it great bourbon and exceptional value at $75-80 retail, stating they would buy it again. The reviewer rated C918 a 4.25, with community stats showing a mean of 4.27 and a z-score of 0.05, indicating it's essentially average compared to all ECBP releases. It's 131.4 proof with a 12-year age statement. The "Showdowns" format allows for a more nuanced comparison. Overall, B518 is found to have more complexity and dimensionality than C918, with greater palate presence. While B518 carries slightly higher proof, it's deemed insignificant at this level. Both are good, consistent with the overall community profile for ECBP. Although the reviewer initially preferred C918, the back-and-forth tasting led to B518 receiving the nod, with both receiving a 4.25 rating due to the platform's rating increments. All spirits were tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.

This is precisely as good as people say. I always approach heavily hyped spirits with skepticism, but this one truly delivered! Nose: Not as much alcohol intensity as I anticipated given the high proof. My first impression was salty peanut shells, instantly evoking memories of baseball games from my childhood. I also detect toasted oak, toasted coconut, barrel spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, caramel, brown sugars, and vanilla. It's a very intricate aroma that continues to evolve with each smell and sip. Flavor: Classic bourbon notes of vanilla, butter, and brown sugar, but amplified significantly. More salty peanuts and abundant barrel spices right at the start, accompanied by some black pepper. The alcohol presence is much less noticeable than expected for the proof. It has a wonderfully buttery and oily texture. It took me a moment, but I realized this tastes exactly like Cracker Jack - the caramel popcorn with salted peanuts. This is fantastic. Finish: A lengthy finish featuring drying oak, more toasted salty peanuts, and barrel spice. It doesn't maintain the sweetness of the initial flavor. This was excellent. Absolutely worth the cost. It's always special when a spirit triggers a specific memory, and this one excels in every aspect. Well done!

While organizing the whiskey shelves, I picked up one of my ECBPs that I hadn't yet reviewed...C918 was the standout. The nose is warm and inviting. It has a dustiness, not in the sense of being 'old,' but more like the feeling of sawdust from the dry end of the lumber section at Menards. That being said, it does smell like something with some age...hints of leather alongside some brown sugar and caramel, and feels rich and luxurious after a few sniffs. A few drops of limestone water reduces the sawdust aroma slightly, making it sweeter and arguably more approachable, but doesn't introduce anything new. The flavor is both spicy and sweet, with the expected burst of ethanol. I detect a splash of fresh cherry juice. Plenty of oakiness, and more of the leather...this drinks like it has significant age, but the wood never becomes overwhelming. The finish is quite long, becoming a bit fruity at the close. An enjoyable pour...definitely ranks in the middle to upper tier of my ECBP collection.

This is a review posted after some time. Initially, this spirit was harsh and spicy with little flavor. The finish wasn't great either. I put it aside, having other superior drinks to enjoy. After about a year, I revisited it because many people praised that particular bottling. Was I missing something? Wow, it transformed into one of the finest bourbons I've ever experienced. The aroma was pleasing but not outstanding. However, the palate offered an explosion of flavor that I found astonishing. Sweet, spicy, rich, and viscous. It was powerful! The finish was long and chewy – a stark contrast to the initial tasting. Considering other high-proof options, this is a remarkable value.

Smell - Not much burn, surprisingly. At first, there's lots of mild fruit: crisp green apple, pear, and cherry. Oak char appears later, with a touch of orange peel. Taste - A pleasant, medium mouthfeel. It's rich and astringent, but not excessively so. The initial fruit sweetness rapidly gives way to abundant vanilla and oak. It has a noticeable warmth, but not so much that it obscures the flavors. Aftertaste - A finish that lasts from medium to long. Notes of pepper and allspice. A satisfying warmth at the end. This is certainly among my top picks.

Nose: brown sugar, molasses, cherry, with rye leaning towards licorice Taste: the proof is definitely noticeable, rye, clove, caramel, oak Finish: the rye flavor continues, salty, with a minty freshness and my tongue tingling from the alcohol Upon reading other reviews: the maple syrup on the nose makes some sense, though I perceived it as darker, more like molasses; I didn't really get the buttery note that others highlighted. Overall, I'm hoping it develops more as I consume the bottle (this was the first pour).