Review #: 175
Description: Elijah Craig: Raleigh Bourbon & Banter Single Barrel
Spirit: Bourbon
Background: A single barrel bottling of Elijah Craig. This one was selected by a group local to me: Raleigh Bourbon & Banter. It was barreled in May of 2009 and bottled in September of 2019.
Distillery – Heaven Hill
Bottler – Heaven Hill
Brand – Elijah Craig
Selection – Raleigh Bourbon & Banter
ABV – 47%
Age – 10 Years
Nose – Caramel, strong rye spice, oak, tobacco
Taste – Vanilla, caramel, spicy cinnamon, cardamom, leather, tannins
Finish – Tobacco comes in but kind of harsh, bitter tannins, hot and spicy with cinnamon
Score: 4
Would I buy a bottle? No
Thoughts: I was a little sad with this one, coming from a local group. These EC Single Barrels can usually be pretty great values at $30, but this one was a little hot and unbalanced. I know the state of NC gets 4 barrels of EC so it’s up to the groups and state to clamor to get one and they are only 1 each of 8, 9, 10, and 11 year so it’s a bit of a take what you can get situation, which unfortunately sticks some groups with a hard choice to make of a subpar pick, or no pick at all.