I took what seemed like forever to locate a bottle of Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel at retail. Eventually I happened upon it, but the 50 buck price of admission seemed like it might be a bridge too far when regular EC retails around 30 bucks. Anyway I decided to keep an open mind and eventually got around to the bottle in the queue. At 94 proof I knew it should not be filled with alcohol, and likely would be reminiscent of EC Small Batch with added oak flair. The aroma was deep and rich with brown sugar, cinnamon, leather, orange citrus, and glorious toasted oak. The flavor was very similar with an initial sweet impression of brown sugar, restrained cinnamon, light citrus, slight chocolate, then leather, and toasted oak. The finish was slight brown sugar with lasting leather and oak. Alcohol really only came to the surface in the post consumption warming. I kept trying to convince myself this was not worthy of the price of admission, but every time I poured a glass I came to a different conclusion. This is a tasty Bourbon which has enough complexity to earn the price point. Do I wish it was less expensive? Yes I do, but it’s still a tasty drop. If you haven’t tried it or run into a bottle, seek it out. While I wouldn’t stand in line for hours to have it, if I happen to see another bottle I’ll likely bring it home.
Bangers and Mash 