After Missing in Action for three years, Heaven Hill’s Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon is back. In limited supplies and for a new premium price but, it’s back, along with even more limited supplies of Elijah Craig 23 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon.
When you have the luxury of owning the second largest American Whiskey holdings in the world with 1.1 million barrels, you can do things that other distillers can only dream of. In this case, you can hold on to inventory for three years until it meets your required level and then, you place your limited supply of bourbon back on the market.
Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon, a past winner of the “Best Bourbon” award at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, was first introduced by Heaven Hill in 1994, and quickly gained legendary status at a time when super-premium Bourbon offerings were few and far between. As demand for the rare whiskey grew, along with growing demand for Heaven Hill’s other super-premium Bourbons, there were simply not enough 18-year-old barrels that met the Master Distiller’s strict quality standards, so the bottling was discontinued in 2012. Since then, stocks have come back into line, to again be offered on a limited basis.
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While taste nuances will vary slightly from one barrel to the other, as they should in a single barrel offering, in general they have been selected for complex, multi-layered taste profiles that balance the 18 years in new charred oak with sweet and spicy grain notes.
Heaven Hill will release only about 15,000 750ml bottles this fall, packed in a three bottle case. It will be available in most major metro markets nationwide on an allocated basis at a suggested retail price of $120 for the 750ml bottle.
Elijah Craig 23 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon Even More Limited
Heaven Hill also announced it is re-releasing the Elijah Craig 23-Year-Old Single Barrel in even more limited in quantity than the 18-Year-Old. The additional five years of maturation gives the 23-Year-Old a honeyed, dry oakiness, while still retaining the spicy and long finish. The Elijah Craig 23-Year-Old Single Barrel carries a suggested retail price of $199 for 750ml bottle.
“We at Heaven Hill have been offering aged Bourbons and single barrel bottlings as old as 18, 23, or even 27 years, for longer than anyone else,” noted Susan Wahl, Senior Brand Manager for Whiskeys at Heaven Hill Brands. “Our experience in this arena, along with our renowned quality standards and inventory of over one million aging barrels, means we can select and bottle extra-aged Bourbons that are unlike any others in the world, and provide a unique tasting experience for the true aficionado. This is really showcased in the Elijah Craig 18 and 23-Year-Old Single Barrel bottlings.”
Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon
Elijah Craig 23 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon
