Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (Batch A119)

This year’s first of three annual releases has a higher ABV than Whisky Advocate’s 2017 Whisky of the Year which was 62.1%. The nose offers caramel vanilla cream pie cocoa powder baking spice baked apple orange marzipan leather and oak. Very well-integrated on the palate but the high ABV cries out for water which brings chocolate butterscotch bitter orange coconut almond and creamed corn. The finish is a long delightful reprise of it all. Editors' Choice