Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon

Brian’s Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon Review:

reviewed 28-December-2021

ELIJAH CRAIG TOASTED BARREL BOURBON REVIEW:

In my opinion, the Elijah Craig line of bourbons from Heaven Hill Distillery is a stalwart representation of the craft. From small batch shelf stock, and bold barrel proofs to Private Barrel Picks and a yet unreviewed 18 Year, their bourbon is no stranger to our home bar. So it was with great anticipation, we popped the cork on our Christmas bottle of Toasted Barrel Bourbon (ECTB). As stated on the label, this is Elijah Craig Small Batch finished in toasted new oak barrels. I am not disappointed and am happy to have another in the bunker.

ELIJAH CRAIG TOASTED BARREL BOURBON VITAL STATS:

Category: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in toasted oak barrels
Type: Small Batch Toasted Barrel
Region: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Distillery: Heaven Hill Bernheim Distillery
Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Barrel Char: #3
Barrel entry proof: 125
Age: nas
Non-chill filtered
ABV: 47% (94 Proof)
NABCA CSC #: 17913
Price $54.95 (2021 in Idaho)

Twice barreled for added complexity, Toasted Barrel takes our award-winning Small Batch Bourbon to new heights. After it’s fully matured, we finish this Bourbon in a second, custom toasted new oak barrel, where it’s left to develop even more sweet oak flavor.

— ElijahCraig.com

Learn more at https://elijahcraig.com/toasted-barrel.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

For the evaluation, alternating pours to equal four once review amounts went into two Glencairns. My daughter and I enjoyed the bourbon neat for this review.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

NOSE:

ECTB smells warm and inviting. While sweetness dominates the nose, I do get a trace of roasted corn and drying grain along with faint spices of powdered ginger, white pepper and rye. But sweet vanilla infused toasted graham stands out along with candy notes of Milky Way nougat and vanilla taffy. And there’s more — I also get butterscotch and sweet, buttery brown sugar syrup drizzled over toasted pecans. However the woody aromas are faint, simple and gentle even though ‘Toasted Barrel’ is emblazoned the label.

PALATE:

The first sip of ECTB is warm and easy to hold. I sense an herbalness of roasting corn and a few dark dried figs. Spices of dark cinnamon, cloves, and rye are faint as are sweet notes of bittersweet chocolate, some light vanilla, buttery brown sugar and a hint of honeycomb. But now comes the wood, first in the form of bitter hazelnuts, then with plenty of heavy, old oak and toasted barrel char. There’s also some earthy leather here too.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
As I hold ECTB on my palate while taking notes, my salivary glands go into overdrive making the liquid buttery and quite viscous. While the aromas are more sweet, the flavors are more woody … but the blended combination works. After each sip, a heavy sheet clings to the inside of the glass before breaking into fat legs transporting the whiskey back to the deep burnt amber colored pool. The only trace left behind by the sip is a ringed crown with just a few drops.

FINISH:

Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel has a warm medium-long finish. There is a bit of lingering roasted corn and grain mixed with dark fig, cloves and rye but other than a hint of dark molasses, the sweetness sensed on the nose and palate is all but gone. The finish is heavy old oak and char forward, but in no way harsh as a bit of leather fades away. And when the last dram is gone, dried oak plywood sawdust and buttered popcorn drifts from the empty Glencairn.

MY RATING: 88/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 88/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Elijah Craig.

WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

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A Midwinter Nights Dram Act 9 Scene 4

Brian’s A Midwinter Nights Dram Act 9 Scene 4 Review:

reviewed 08-December-2021

HIGH WEST A MIDWINTER NIGHTS DRAM ACT 9 SCENE 4 RYE REVIEW:

Each fall, High West Distillery’s A Midwinter Nights Dram is a much sought after bottle. This year’s addition, Act 9 Scene 4 (MWND A9S4) is no exception and my first experience with both the offering and distillery. Admittedly, this is only my ninth rye, (a favorite enjoyed while on vacation went unreviewed). I was really looking forward to this pour. While I understand the passion for limited release whiskies, for me and my nose and palate, I feel a little let down.

HIGH WEST A MIDWINTER NIGHTS DRAM ACT 9 SCENE 4 RYE VITAL STATS:

Released: October 2021
Category: A blend of straight rye whiskeys, finished in port and French oak barrels.
Region: Wanship, UT
Distillery: High West Distillery (HWD)
Mash Bill: 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP Ingredients, Inc.
80% rye, 20% malted rye from HWD
Ratio of whiskeys: Top secret!
Barrel Char: undisclosed
Barrel entry proof: undisclosed
Barrels: Aged in new, charred, white American oak and finished in French oak port barrels
Filtration: Not chill-filtered, or carbon treated.
Age: undisclosed
ABV: 49.3% (98.6 Proof)
NABCA CSC #: 27041
Price: $99.95 (Fall 2021, Idaho)
Availability: A limited release of High West Rendezvous Rye finished in French oak port barrels
Bottle Identifier: Act 9 Scene 4

“Act” and “Scene” reference the release and bottling run. This is the 9th release (the Act) bottled on the 4th day (the Scene) of this MWND production.

Learn more at https://www.highwest.com/.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

By alternating pours, four once review amounts went into two Glencairns. My daughter and I enjoyed the bourbon neat for this review.

Check out her review for this rye here!

HIGH WEST A MIDWINTER NIGHTS DRAM ACT 9 SCENE 4 NOSE:

MWND A9S4 has no alcohol nip or burn when first brought to the nose. Most aromas are faint but I do get notes of sherry wine, which I am sure is due to the port barrel finishing. I also sense dusty grain, some tobacco laid out in the sun to dry, red grapes and plump gourmet raisins nestled in a mixture of bready cinnamon and rye. The sweets are faint as well, just a touch of light vanilla, some nearly burnt brown sugar, and roasted hazel and pinenuts. Even the earthy woodiness is muted, with just the faint aroma of seasoned wood toasted to a light char coming through.

HIGH WEST A MIDWINTER NIGHTS DRAM ACT 9 SCENE 4 PALATE:

The first sip of MWND A9S4 is warm, is easy to hold and gives the tongue a nice tickle. The aroma I sensed of sherry wine passes through to the palate but I also taste a potpourri of dried herbs, dusty grain, and faint tobacco. The fruit shifts from grapes to dried figs with some orange zest, pepper and rye now found in the liquid as well. While the light vanilla remains, the sweetness changes to light molasses and slightly bitter hazelnuts. But the woodiness in the Dram throws me off. The wood flavors present as strong seasoned and toasted pine, not the oak to which I am accustomed. But a new flavor of earthy old leather helps to save this pour.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
MWND A9S4 has a subtle balance in its traditional flavors. The mouthfeel is full and silky and in the Glencairn the legs disappear quickly into the burnt amber pool leaving behind fast falling drops from the crown. But while the pineyness I sense is a bit off-putting, the flavor diminishes as my pour is downed.

HIGH WEST A MIDWINTER NIGHTS DRAM ACT 9 SCENE 4 FINISH:

A MWND A9S4 has clean and warm medium finish. I sense a hint of mint, orange zest, some cinnamon, pepper and light molasses; in a sense the flavors of mulling spice. The pine-woodiness I sensed on the palate remains as does the earthy leather. And when the final dram is downed the empty Glencairn smells of toasted pine along with a little black pepper.

MY RATING: 84/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
While I typically would not purchase another bottle with a rating as noted above, A Midwinter Nights Dram is an annual release and each one will differ from one another. Therefore I will always be interested in the next release.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 84/100 to access other whiskies with this score.

WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

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Whiskey for the Ages is Two Years Old!

Whiskey for the Ages is Two Years Old!

When Hannah and I launched our website, WhiskeyfortheAges.com just two short years ago, we didn’t realize how much fun we would have. During the past year we have been fortunate to meet some awesome people and enjoy some really fine whiskey. We look forward to 2022 so we can nurture those friendships and discover more fantastic product.

On this second anniversary, the site offers over 245 whiskey reviews! The library includes profiles of 130 whiskeys (most of them bourbons) and the number grows nearly every week. While our noses, taste buds, and preferences continue to conflict from time to time, we are enjoying this adventure together.

The Sip – Whiskey Articles

With this post, The Sip page includes two dozen whiskey articles, with more on the way. Some of the most popular include Start your Own Infinity Bottle Project, Sentimental Favorite Whiskies, State Controlled vs State Licensed Liquor Stores, Water in your Whiskey?, and Does Whiskey Glassware Matter? We also had fun this past September when we challenged our readers to enjoy 30 Bourbons in 30 Days. National Bourbon Heritage Month was so much fun, we’re doing it again in 2022. So save a dram or two of your favorites and enjoy them with us next September.

New Site and Navigation Features

We’ve added many new features to the website as well. One of the most useful can be found in the Menu bar at the top right of every page — Latest Whiskey Posts. By clicking the redirect, one can access our last five whiskey reviews, read our last two articles and be kept up to date with what we’re doing. This tool is so useful, we use it to navigate our site ourselves!

Other new navigation features can be found the site sidebar widgets located at the top, right or bottom of each page depending on the device being used.

▪︎A “Search” function redirects readers to specific reviews and articles related to the entry of a few key words.
▪︎The expanded “Whiskey Sorted” widget provides quick access to Brian’s or Hannah’s ratings as well as listings by Price or Proof.
▪︎And at the bottom of the sidebar we have provided links to products we reference in our reviews and articles.

Social Media

This month we’re having a dram a night as we enjoy different Whiskey Advent Calendar pours leading up to Christmas day. Members of a local whiskey enthusiast group (to which we belong) donated 24 bottles and we are sharing the unique one ounce pours. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter to see what we’re drinking, where we are and what we are doing next. Or use our Contact Page to email review and content requests and connect by clicking the .. LEAVE A REPLY .. button in the field below.

And lastly, be sure to “subscribe” so you can be notified when Hannah and I publish new content. Find the SUBSCRIBE widget in the site sidebar below or to the right, then enter your name and email address so you’ll never miss new content. WhiskeyfortheAges subscribers are notified by email whenever we post … and don’t worry … we hold contact information in the strictest confidence. Click to read our Privacy Policy.

Make 2022 your best year ever! And as always, we look forward to sharing our pours and thoughts in the year ahead.

Cheers!
– Brian

WhiskeyfortheAges.com, Editor
Brian Dawson, LinkedIn