Review #648 - Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon (2016)

Back in 2016 and earlier, the entry-level Elijah Craig small batch bourbon carried a 12 year age statement, and it came in the older style ‘pirate bottle’ which has now become a very desirable. Other than the age statement and bottle shape, though, there aren’t any specific differences in terms of specifications compared to the current version; that doesn’t necessarily mean these will taste the same, though.

Back before the bourbon/whisky boom started, whisky production was much lower, and production methods were different. Traditionally, higher protein grains were used, which potentially led to more flavor delivery in the whisky; these days, though there will be much more consistency, grain varieties used for distilling will often be picked for their efficiency, or how much alcohol they can produce by weight. Yeast strains will also change over time, leading to changes in the flavor of the spirit.

Another big factor is the quality of the oak used for maturing the whisky: similar to the grain aspect, there is a lot more consistency these days in barrel production, but the quality might not always reach the peaks from decades past. The explosion of whisky consumption caused barrel shortages, and to try to keep up with demand, barrel production needed to speed up; because of this, younger trees are used than before, and kiln drying the oak staves has become much more common than before, when longer periods of air drying were the norm.

So, taking into account all of the differences in production and length of aging, how different does this older version of Elijah Craig Small Batch taste compared to the modern iteration?

Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon (2016)

USA - Bourbon

Price: USD 105 (2025, based on recent auction results)

Age Statement: 12 Years

Strength: 47% ABV

Details: Bottled 2016

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 50% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: A dark complexion - barbecued oak, a bit of tannin. A decent amount of cherries, especially medicinal cherry; hints of leather and anise add spice, and we get a soft, sweet tobacco note in the background.

Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin; tannic oak, tart cherries, a hint of grape; there's some wood spice, as well as a soft nutty note like pecan. The complexion is dark again, and it leans just slightly sweet.

Finish: Cherry cough medicine, lots of red fruit. The oak becomes more reserved, but we still get some sweet tobacco smoke; overall, it grows more mellow.

Final Note: The flavor profile is quite different on this older version of Elijah Craig Small Batch - a lot darker and more brooding, a lot more oak influence, and more dark red fruits. The mouthfeel is a bit lacking at this strength, and the finish isn't too long; the nose especially was a treat, though, with lots of those old bourbon notes we only see on exclusive releases these days.

Value these days on these older small batch bottlings is okay - the flavor is superior (in our opinion) to the modern bottlings, but these 'pirate bottles' are quite desirable, and there's a secondary market for them. The last time we checked, prices were hovering around $100 or so for these small batch bottles; we found this better than a lot of modern bottles in the $90 to $100 price range, so it could be worth the splurge.

Our Average Rating: 7.5 / 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: 6.36

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.