Review #535 - Elijah Craig 9 Year Private Barrel - Kroger Pick

In addition to the regularly released Barrel Proof versions of Elijah Craig, Heaven Hill also bottles many single barrel versions of their bourbon - here's one selected for retail at the Kroger grocery store chain. This pick was aged for 9 years before bottling, and it comes with a hefty cask strength of 66.25% ABV (132.5 proof).

Elijah Craig uses Heaven Hill's famous 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley mashbill; typically, this would be considered a 'low-rye' bourbon mashbill. After fermentation and distillation, the bourbon is aged in char #3 white oak barrels.

Elijah Craig 9 Year Private Barrel - Kroger Pick

USA - Bourbon

Price: USD 85 (2025, equivalent bottling)

Age Statement: 9 Years

Strength: 66.25% ABV

Details: Not chill filtered; barrel 6665375

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 3 months; bottles at 20%, 20%, and 10% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Quite nutty on this single barrel - crunchy peanut butter, dry almond, dusty, with a moderate oak influence. There's sweetness, too: caramel, brown sugar, some cinnamon. Pepper and nutmeg are accent flavors; leather arrives from the oak in time.

Palate: A thick mouthfeel; spicy and rich with lots of oak and some tannins. Quite warming from the strength, too - that high alcohol content adds great oily texture. Nutmeg and clove add baking spice while creamy almond butter and leather are accents. At the end, it's more dessert like - caramel pecan turtles.

Finish: Still warming and a bit tannic, with lots of leather and dusty oak. Brown sugar, butter, and soft caramels balance the profile; peanut brittle and pecans linger in the aftertaste. It's a long finish.

Final Note: A solid single barrel from Elijah Craig - their barrel proof bourbons always pack a lot of flavor, and this one leaned more heavily into the baking spice and nutty flavors you sometimes get from Heaven Hill. The oak had decent strength, adding a bit of leather, but wasn't quite a hefty as some of the 10 to 12 year old barrel proof versions.

Value is decent, above average. The prices on these single barrels from Elijah Craig can vary depending on the age statement and where you buy them; don't overpay, but a price in the $75 to $90 range is common and somewhat fair.

Our Average Rating: 7.2 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 6.52

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.