Elijah Craig Bourbon 12 Year

Pros: Flavorful, smooth, and attractive price for a super premium bourbon
Cons: Can't find any fault with Elijah Craig

Elijah Craig Bourbon is the truly American liquor, or likker as most of the original makers like Elijah Craig would have termed it. Elijah Craig is reputed to have been the first distiller to age his corn squeezins in charred oak barrels, thus ...

Pros: Good solid character and packs a punch.
Cons: Not much, a little sweet, but not that bad

I went searching for the 18 y/o Elijah Craig that a friend had been given as a gift. He continued to be a stingy jerk and wouldn't let me try it; probably because he knows I would steal the bottle and finish it. So, I settled for the 12 y/o and figured ...

Pros: Taste, price, and presentation
Cons: A little hot for 12 years and a strong nose

Elijah Craig was a baptist minister and is thought to be the father of bourbon. He is credited with being the first to store his heavenly distillation in charred barrels. Heaven Hill produces this bourbon and others including Evan Williams. Elijah Craig...

Pros: Goes down smoooooth without the after burn.
Cons: Hmmmmmm...nope, there are none.

As a virgin bourbon drinker with less than a sophisticated palate, I usually judge the whiskeys I drink by the intensity of the burn it leaves in my throat. I can rarely even detect the subtle flavors because all of my attention is focused on the fire...

Pros: Great bourbon, great taste, great price
Cons: Maybe just a tiny bit too luscious, could use a little bite

If you work for Heaven Hill, please, don't read this. Just hit the Back button and go read something else. No, really, Elijah Craig 12 Year Old's great stuff, wonderful. Now go away.

Whew! Now that he's gone, I can tell the rest...

Pros: Low price
Cons: Harsh

I consider Jim Murray to be one of the better Whisk(e)y writers/reviewers on the scene and usually find his opinions to be right on the mark for my tastes. In this case, however, I have to disagree.

Based on Murray's review and a sale, I...

Pros: The best premium bourbon I've ever had, at a price that makes the competition weep.
Cons: The bottle looks a little plain compared to some of the newer premium bourbons.

I was initially reluctant to try this bourbon, and I'm not entirely sure why. I think I just didn't like looks of the bottle very much, and on the shelf with bottles from the likes of Bulliet, Basil Hayden and Buffalo Trace, the Elijah Craig looks rather ...

Pros: Great price, nice retro-style bottle with cork instead of screw top
Cons: Friends will expect you to share after tasting.

I was late in the discovery of this heavenly distilate and almost gave it a pass when I found out about it. I have been a single malt Scotch snob when it comes to hard liquors for several years and a friend of mine convinced me to try Elijah Craig at a...

Pros: Elijah Craig 12 year bourbon is warm, complex and a great value.
Cons: The bottle seems utterly incapable of refilling itself.

Elijah Craig 12 year is my personal favorite bourbon. I buy it in an attractive 1.75L bottle that has an equally delightful top which seals with a cork. The clear glass bottle allows the bourbon's rich reddish-brown color to be fully appreciated. Elijah ...

Pros: Tastes great and no burn
Cons: Can't find a 1.75 liter bottle

I was browsing the local liquor store and debating between Evan or Jack, when I noticed Elijah just sitting there calling out to me. Being an adventurous drinker I gave it a buy-good thing too. Elijah was sweet to the smell and mellow on the taste and...

Pros: Smooth on the lips and the wallet.
Cons: Bottle neck is too small to use the bottle to hold coins when out of liquor.

Being the young student of the bourbon family, I lucked into finding a bottle of EC12 after swearing off another one of those weekday Jim Beam or Jack Daniels hangovers. While 1.75 liters of Tennessee Bourbon had always sufficed for an evening...

Pros: Very good bourbon at very good price.
Cons: The bottle eventually goes empty.

The nose offers honey with a faint hint of lavender. Palate is initially sweet sliding into mild but has characteristic but mild flavors of bourbon. It rolls around the palate revealing several layers of complexity. The finish is long and smooth and seems to go on almost forever. Hard to tell when it actually disappears. The balance of the whiskey is absolutely first rate with honey sweetness, vanilla, and bourbon character showing their influence.

Pros: Cheap, ten times better than JD or Jim Beam...
Cons: A bit "hot" for weaklings, who should only drink $150 a bottle single malts.

I've loved Whiskeys for a lot longer than my 31 yrs would have one believe...

And while I've come to adore even the cheaper single malts and
fallen in love with Chivas Regal....

I must say that this Elijah Craig 12yr old STRAIGHT bourbon whiskey was a most pleasant surprise.

True it's "hot" and a very select few have pointed this out in less than favorable reviews, however, I must ask them...

Is JD or Jim Beam palatable? No,of course not.

Elijah Craig 12 yr old, is what JD and Jim Beam could only hope to be.

Even though Elijah Craig is "hot" it's equally smooth, if that makes sense and wonderfully round and pleasant.

A fantastic all around drink, and the best bourbon I've ever tasted, thank you.

Pros: Great sniff, good dark color, smooth with a "lil" bourbon bite. GREAT PRICE!
Cons: corn liquor hang over. doesn't go well with my Captain Crunch

Elijah Craig 12 yr is the finest bourbon I have had. I have been a "jack" guys for years and have enjoyed Makers Mark and now I am an Elijah Craig man.
I bought EC to bring to a party to mix and I did not want to spend the money for Jack or Makers. I was going to grab bottle of nasty Jim Beam when the EC bottle caught my eye. When I saw the price, I looked closer, picked up the bottle...12yrs?...is that price correct?...hey, I'll try it, can't be harsher than Jim Beam. Popped the bottle, wow, a cork...different. I noticed the slight color on the cork and gave it a sniff...nice!,,,smooth...taste...ooooohhh nice! SMOOTH,easy bite, a little snap to it...yum! I am sold! The price is GREAT, the flavor and smoothness is SUPERB!
I am now and forever a member of the Elijah Craig "clan"

Pros: Luscious, complex, powerful, exceptionally priced something that should not be missed.
Cons: This lil beasty will lead you to its big brother the 18 year old

I think that this bourbon delights the senses. It is a bit warming yes, but nothing compared to that of Stagg bourbon. I think there is a lot of complexity and with a little Bardstown tree water ( or distilled/soft water) it really comes alive. There are notes of caramel, vanilla, a flowery/lemon, with a chocolate finish. Truly a wonderful bourbon. Then there is its big brother the 18 year old with is simply "bourbogasim"