Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A117

I really wanted to love Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bach A117 ever since it showed up on the local shelf in 2017, but it has not been an easy bottle to embrace. At the time my MO was to first try each Bourbon neat, then with a cube if it wasn’t stellar neat. This one was not remotely acceptable neat as it was alcoholic and with a strong vegetal note. I’ve always liked Elijah Craig, but this one seemed like it needed some work. At 127 proof I expected it to be somewhat alcoholic, but never wanted to smell vegetables. No problem I thought, let’s drop a cube in and see what happens. Unfortunately not enough to tame this beast and make the vegetables go away. Because I didn’t appreciate it neat and didn’t love it with a cube it has languished in the bar for a very long time. Finally I thought to try it with a splash which would proof it down and determined if I used cold, not room temp, water and made the splash approximately 1/4 of the volume I had poured the vegetables went away and the beast was tamed. The aroma with water presented a brown sugar character with leather and oak. The flavor had more brown sugar, but also a nice peppery/cinnamon spice and still an alcohol burn post consumption. I’m glad I found a way to make this work out since I could never bring myself to ditch a 50 buck bottle of Bourbon. Reviews on this from others have been mixed and perhaps not as harsh as my critique. All other 2017 and 2018 releases have garnered rave reviews so this may just be a fluke. It certainly won’t stop me from purchasing more Elijah Craig, but if you somehow happen upon an A117 my suggestion would be to skip it.

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1792 High Rye

Happened upon a bottle of 1792 High Rye at a slightly higher price than normal retail and decided to snag it rather than try to hunt for it all over. The typical price in NC is $38, but I don’t recall ever spotting it on the shelf. This one rings in at 94.3 proof and uses a higher than normal percentage of rye in the Bourbon. The aroma is quite nice and filled with peppery rye and brown sugar with hints of sherry and cherries. The flavor is in the same vein with more peppery rye, dark cherries, brown sugar, and lasting low impression of alcohol long into the aftertaste. I’ve seen mixed reviews on this one, but I found it quite enjoyable and easily finished off the fifth without any struggle or second guessing. It is a tad bit sweet and the sherry/cherry presence is a bid overdone, but if I could snag bottles at NC retail I would keep it nearby most of the time. If you happen upon it, grab one and give it a whirl. It’s certainly worth a try and falls right in line with the NC price point.

Shenk’s Homestead Sour Mash Whiskey 2018

I was lucky enough to score a bottle of Shenk’s at a NC ABC store by locating it using their online search. A buddy picked up the $40 bottle and it took awhile for me to pick it up. The reviews were very good and the secondary market pricing was fairly high so I went in with great expectations. This 2018 release was bottle 2560 of 2691 and batch 180322. The 91.2 proof Bourbon was estery when first opened with a strong banana presence. That seemed to lessen as the bottle found shelf time and became more pronounced of alcohol with brown sugar and citrus. Lurking just behind was oak with a hint of funk and leather. The flavor was muted with oak and that subtle hint of funk with more brown sugar and a bit of pepper spice. Alcohol never lets you forget it is there with an aftertaste of oak, pepper, sugar and a lasting burn which only fades after more than a minute in the mouth and much longer in the throat. While it isn’t hot, it is alcohol centric which I actually found slightly off-putting. At $40 it seems just a bit over priced and I would not want to shell out more. On the other hand this is a more or less seasonal release from Michter’s so a 2019 could be a different animal. If you see it and it’s reasonable priced it might be worth a whirl. It’s not a favorite, but the cost of admission isn’t too extravagant so try it if you find it. It might just be your cup of tea.