Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 138.8 Proof (January 2016) Bourbon Review
Bad Wine Reviews loyalist, Tyler Martin, gave me this blind and told me to tell him what I thought. I mean he wasn't blind and gave it to me - he just didn't tell me what it was. Anyway these always scare me because either someone is jacking with you or it's going to be great - no in between.
I'll spare you the surprise because you've already clicked on the link but it was the January 2016 Elijah Craig Barrel Proof that came in at a slightly strong 138.8 proof. These here are the old labels that were identified by the proof versus the new fangled alpha-numeric method they have now.
So the first pass through I didn't care for it. Thought it was over oaked and thought it was stupidly old. I came back to it the next night and it was so much better. In da nose I got chocolate and dark fruits (plum, black cherry, etc.) that mutated depending on how you held the glass. In da mouf I got a sweeter chocolate like a syrup, cherry and a surprising amount of oak on the finish. This is why I thought it was older because it exploded with oak.
This was fantastic and I can see why people try to hunt these old labels versions down - completely different than the modern versions. The only one that compares to me is the A119 which I also reviewed. The high proof whips your ass on the way down so you may want to drop some water in there if you're a giant pussy.