Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C924 Review
Batch C924 is the 36th release of the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof series which made its first appearance in March of 2013. Beginning with batch B523 (May 2023), the brand dropped the standard 12-year age statement and batches have ranged from 10 years, 9 months to 13 years, 7 months old. Batch C924 is 11 years, 0 months old. If you have an ECBP, pour yourself a dram and sip through this Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C924 review with me.
Series: Annual Barrel Proof series, Batch 3 of 3
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age: 11 years, 0 months
Proof: 129.0
Batch Designation: Small Batch
Proof Designation: Barrel Proof
Filtered Status: Non-Chill Filtered
Mash bill: 78% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, 10% Rye
Barrel Char Level: 3
Barrel Entry Proof: 125
Distillate Source: Heaven Hill
Distillery: Elijah Craig Distillery Co. (Heaven Hill)
Company: Heaven Hill
Bottled By: Elijah Craig Distillery
Distilled/Aging Location: Bardstown, Kentucky
Master Distiller: Conor O’Driscoll
Release Date: September 2024
MSRP: $75
Secondary Market: $99 – $120
Availability: Relatively Available
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C924 Review
My tasting reviews are unique in that I include the notes of several well-known whiskey critics. The hope is that this format will help me and others to explore and expand their tasting experience. After you have taken your own tasting notes, read the reviews and see if there is a flavor note that others discerned that now you can detect as well.
For this tasting: Fresh Crack, Glencairn Glass, Neat, Room Temp, Breathe: 30 minutes.
Legs
After a swirl, beads begin to form on the crown at about 10 seconds, the legs begin to form at about 31 seconds, and the first legs fall to the bowl at about 87 seconds.
Nose
Caramel, fruity, raisin, apple pie, apricot, sweet leather (as opposed to old leather), mild vanilla, hint of mocha.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: very sweet on the nose. All those rich, brown sugar, caramels, heavy vanillas you get on Elijah Craig Barrel Proof are all here. That Heaven Hill sweet peanut butter note is there as well. Barrel char, oak, some baking spice, some light nutmeg, a hint of cinnamon, but more of a nutmeg-allspice.
Breaking Bourbon: Charred oak | Cinnamon | Brown sugar | Stewed fruit
Bourbon Guy Blog: Cinnamon candies, caramel, chocolate, and oak.
Palate
Chocolate! And a Butterfinger candy bar vibe (so pleasant but so weird!). A fruity-caramel, brown sugar, brandied-vanilla, baked cinnamon-apples, or apple pie a little orange peel, sweet leather, apricot, toasted oak, barrel char, a little molasses.
Palate with Distilled Water?
Yes! Sometimes a few drops of distilled water can help bring out other flavors that are “hidden” or “dominated” by the ethanol. For me, C924 was pretty good solo, but better with a few drops of distilled. Other flavors popped. Sometimes it is not necessarily about the proof, but about the ethanoyl interfering (dominating) the flavor profile.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: A straight-up peanut butter cookie in a glass. The proof is here, it hits. You do get a pretty decent burn on the back-end. Vanilla extract, peanut butter, some oak. It’s almost like an older Booker’s from Jim Beam. It almost has a salted peanut note, a little drying on the back end. I feel that it’s missing a little bit of the sweetness and that dark fruit characteristic. It’s peanut butter cookie, some spice, a little bit of cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Breaking Bourbon: Caramel | Charred oak | Dark fruit | Pie crust | Baking spices | Bold
Bourbon Guy Blog: Cinnamon candies, chocolate, caramel, and oak.
Finish
Medium-long finish with mild caramel and vanilla, barrel char, orchard fruits, a hint of peanuts and cocoa.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: A nice, long finish.
Breaking Bourbon: Rush of spice | Tobacco | Caramel chews | Vanilla | Slight leather | Lingering heat
Bourbon Guy Blog: Warm and medium length. Notes of cinnamon, and chocolate with dusty oak appearing after a while.
Mouthfeel
The mouthfeel is creamy, although, the spice and ethanol may mask it a little. If you do not get a nice mouthfeel on this, add about 4 – 6 drops of distilled water to a 1 1/2 oz pour and examine the difference. For me, the mouthfeel came alive.
Mouthfeel Rating Guide: Thin = Watery | Silken = smooth & slippery, but not mouth coating | Creamy = coats the tongue like heavy cream does. | Rich or Unctuous = coats the entire palate like quality olive oil
The Burn
3 out of 5. This means that the burn from the alcohol is pretty close to what I would expect it to be. If I didn’t know the proof was 129, I would guess it to be around 125 – 130 proof. C924 is hot compared to other bourbons with a similar proof.
Tasting Summary
On the palate, sweet notes hit first with some heat and a balanced dryness like you experience from the tannins in a red wine. Caramel, toffee, chocolate, and a Butterfinger candy bar vibe that I’ve never experienced before. C924 has a fruity rather than a dark flavor profile. Orchard fruits, apple, maybe apricot. A friend got strawberry, but I have difficulty finding berry notes in bourbon.
My personal score of C924 compared to the other 2024 batches, A124 sucked! with a score of 6.3, B524 got an 8.3, and C924 gets an 8.1. So I liked the darker notes on the B524 the best , but this one is still quite good. My personal rating for one of the best recent batches, C923, was an 8.5 so this batch is in the ballpark and worth purchasing.
My Rating
The higher the score the better the whiskey is in my opinion. For reference, my best rated bottle so far is the George T. Stagg 2022 (138.7p) with a score of 9.7.
| Score Type | Score | Examples |
| Likability Score | 8.1 | 1.0 – 10.0 |
| Availability Score | 3 | 1-Rare, 2-Hard to Find, 3-A Little Hunting, 4-Easy to Find |
My Tasting Notes
A blank version of this tasting notes wheel is available in both a color and a black & white version in the member’s area.
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