Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 47%

Description

Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a no-age statement Bourbon whisky produced by the private family-owned and operated Heaven Hill Distilleries.

Heaven Hill Distilleries was founded shortly after the repeal of Prohibition in 1935 and would become the largest independent, family-owned producer and marketer of distilled spirits in the United States. Heaven Hill’s success can be attributed to a mix of good business acumen, continuity, heritage and uncompromising craftsmanship. The company is still owned by descendants of the founding Shapira brothers and five generations of the famous Beam family have overseen the distillation.

Distilled at Bernheim Distillery

After a disastrous fire at their Bardstown production plant in 1996, Heaven Hill were without a distillery until 1999 when they acquired the Bernheim Distillery from Diageo. Double-distillation takes place at the modern Bernheim facility where current Master Distillers Craig and Parker Beam produce rye and wheat-influenced bourbons as well as straight rye, corn and wheat whiskies.

All the whiskies are made using a 7th generation family yeast strain rescued from the 1996 fire and which they’ve been using since 1935. Brands produced include Evan Williams, Fighting Cock, Pikesville, Rittenhouse and Bernheim Original. Kentucky, and Heaven Hill is the world’s second largest holder of bourbon whiskey with over 675,000 charred white oak barrels ageing in 42 open-rick warehouses.

Elijah Craig Small Batch Composition

Elijah Craig Small Batch is considered to be one of the original small-batch Bourbons. It replaced the old Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Bourbon and was first launched in the UK in 2017. By law, Bourbon must be made up of at least 51% corn and be aged a minimum of two years in a new charred white oak barrel, standards that were pioneered by early Bourbon makers such as Evan Williams and Rev. Elijah Craig.

The mash bill is a very traditional bourbon mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley. The Bourbon is blended from a small batch selection of barrels (in this case, less than 200) drawn from the middle to upper floors of Heaven Hill’s traditional metal-clad rickhouses. These are between 8 to 12 years old, far older than used for many other no-age statement Bourbons. It remains a superb, quality bourbon. Bottled at 94 Proof or 47% ABV.

Who Is Elijah Craig Small Batch Named After?

Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is named after the Reverend Elijah Craig an 18th century Baptist preacher, educator and entrepreneur who founded a distillery in Scott County, Kentucky in 1789. Heaven Hill calls Elijah Craig “The Father of Bourbon” and he is credited as the first distiller to age his whiskey in charred oak barrels.