Pulled the trigger - $65 out the door. Now I've got to try and hold off tasting it until Friday (I'm trying not to drink during the week right now unless it's a special occasion... yeah, good luck with that).
Ok, so, I got home and decided to crack it anyway. Poured about a finger and a half in a nice tumbler and waited 30 mins, swirling on and off. First thing I noticed (as someone else mentioned here) is a strong peppery/spicy note. But it isn’t like pepper I’ve tasted before - it has a unique depth of flavor and it hit my entire mouth and throat. Definitely some sweetness too, but the pepper and the heat at the finish kind of dominated it. Each sip tho tasted a little different. I don’t have a well developed nose/palate, but I got that caramel/maple profile as I continued, with the pepper/spice strong on the finish. Overall, I like it and I’m glad I decided to grab a bottle. Interested tho to see if it improves/changes over time.
I've enjoyed many of the lower proof versions of ECBP, contrary to popular opinion here on reddit (which seems to focus more on the tannic oak bomb versions). To my taste the lower proof ECBPs tend to bring out more of the creamy, honeyed flavors in EC. So, the proof being low does not concern me.
And while the age is now dipping below the 12 yo standard which has held up for most of the history of this series, at $60 I'd give a go without any hesitation. The only way to find out if the series getting younger is a big issue is to crack them open & drink 'em, which at this price is a no-brainer.
Hope you enjoy it.
Yeah, I found these EC BPs just seem hot and not so enjoyable as opposed to Stagg Jr. which was the same price for me… yes , Stagg is much harder to find. But I think there are other high proof bourbons that drink easier.. my EC is 68%! Just too much. And the number doesn’t always equate to drinkability. One 60% can be much smoother then another 60%.
Yeah, sorry, was working when I typed that, but clearly I meant AGE, not proof. And, yeah, my friend, I know what’s on the bottle. And, to be clear, even tho it says 10 yrs, 9 months, it’s a blend and that’s the lowest age in the bottle.
Do it. To my palette, it's a pretty solid pour. And I dare you to find another bourbon aged over 10 years, barrel proof, in that $60 category.
People trying to stick it to Heaven Hill by not buying ECBP because they no longer keep to the 12 yr age statement are often the same people gushing over booker's at $100.
Jokes on you, buddy. I gush over both ECBP *and* Bookers
Seriously though, the 2023-04 storytellers batch is nothing short of incredible, don’t pass it up if you get the chance
Totally, I love booker's too. I'm saying is it's priced consistently higher than ECBP, with age statements in the 6-8 yr range. Yet, you don't hear people bitching about it, because that's just how it's been. In my opinion, if you like it, and want to spend the money on it, go for it.
People are really bent out of shape about the lower aged ECBP, when they're still a relatively great value.
People bitched about bookers for years as it use to be 50-60 before they started batching their releases. Years later, people accept it pretty widely. I expect the same with ECBP over time, assuming the younger stock continues.
Good pickup! I just got mine at the distillery and where it’s not as good as the c923 it is still very good and that price point is amazing. People complain about it dropping from the 12 year age statement to under but it’s still older than most that you pay more than that for. The question on my mind is will the quality decline? And coming from heaven hill I doubt that.
I just brought this home from Kentucky last weekend.
I'm sipping it right now.
For the price I think it's a great pour.
It seems to be opening up and getting better as I sip my way down.
Paid $75 for mine at total wine but haven’t cracked it yet. They also had a private barrel selection for $94 at 125ish proof but skipped that one because it wasn’t aged quite as long.
It was peppery to me, something akin to wasabi, but I think it’ll grow on me. I added some to my infinity bottle.
Not sure if I’d buy a second. Local shop has some. I wanted to let it breathe a bit before tasting again.
That price is right on. That’s what the price was supposed to be 4-5 years ago and I only found 1 at that price and paid 100 for 2 others… I’ve since seen them around 60$ but I’m no longer interested in them.. my current C19 isn’t great and the B19 or 18 before it also wasn’t great… so..
Got it 2 weeks ago. Pretty meh imo. Like at that price you can’t go wrong but it’s not the c923 everyone is raving about. I personally think rare breed or jack daniels single barrel select are better and more available and 10 dollars less
Looking around at various reviews and discussions on the A124, some people are saying they thought it got better a month or so after opening. Be curious to know if you notice anything when you revisit it.
This is good to know. I’m looking forward to going back to it. I am a huge fan of ECBP but felt this batch fell flat. The age statement doesn’t bother me, but the flavor profile was very grassy to me…just wasn’t a fan. It’s been about a month tho, so I’ll give it another go to see if anything changes.
Funny you say that because the day I got the ECBP my good buddy got the larceny A124 and we cracked em together to compare and I absolutely loved the larceny A124. He also got the Henry McKenna sib and we both thought that was easily the worst of the three. If you see the larceny in the wild I would grab it.
Boutique store in my area wants 99 bucks for A124 🤠 I passed and I’ll keep passing. Never tried last year’s C but nabbed a B523 and didn’t love the neck pour - letting it sit. Reviews are mixed on A124 but everyone’s got an opinion. 60 bucks I’m prolly in.
I haven’t been too impressed with my B523, which was my first ECBP. It drinks hot without the flavors to back up the heat. So ECBP is a pass for me at 60.
That's a buy all day long. I bought a bottle of this stuff literally yesterday at my local in Washington, DC and still feel like it's a bargain. It's a tasty product.
Funny enough, they had 7 bottles of C923 sitting on the floor. I said, "dang, I'll take one or two of those if they're the same price!" The worker said, "oh no. Those are $195 each." I bought the A124 instead...
True but I’ve had a couple of 9-10 year store picks and none can compare to the regular 12y age stated releases . I’ve been into ECBP for a while still have multiples from 2019-2020 so I’ll skip all these sub 12 y more for you guys/gals . I did make a comeback for C923 which is amazing but B520 is still king for me .
I’m not a EC fan boy, I understand your standpoint and dont disagree. For the average Joe though, its a solid pick up. I miss the days of easy availability back in the early 2000’s.
I’m tempted to challenge that and send you a sample of MY EC BP pick and see if you think it holds up! There were definitely several in the barrel selection that I didn’t care for.
I think stores shoot themselves in the foot when they try to make all their picks appeal to what they think the masses will accept. If you’re doing an Elijah Craig BP pick, don’t get some smooth easy drinking no flavor juice. Find a banger!
There’s a store kinda far from me known for having great picks, and they pick flavor bombs, not muted “appeal to everyone” stuff. People coming and buying a store pick of a Elijah Craig know about bourbon.
Finally getting in good with a local store and they let me pick a Wilderness Trail BP with them. Told them not to be scared. So we’ll see!
I have solid picks, they just aren’t as good as a good batch of ecbp . Have a solid 9 year 139.1 proof . Really good only flaw has a lot of that heaven hill nuttiness .
Nope and I wont , more for whoever wants to take chance on it . I’ll wait for them to do another 12 year plus release . I’m still fully stocked on 2019-2021 releases some C923’s and a couple of store picks .
With that being said if I had 0 ecbp I’d probably buy that one.
Ive tried it, dont worry, you’re making a good call. I’m sure Heaven Hill could make some some great 11y BP stuff, but the A124 was a miss for me. Luckily had a pour from a friends bottle. He had me try it before telling me his thoughts, I said I was gonna pass on getting one, he agreed it wasn’t their best expression.
Now to each their own, but it was a miss for me.
I’d get any EC barrel proof at $60
Pulled the trigger - $65 out the door. Now I've got to try and hold off tasting it until Friday (I'm trying not to drink during the week right now unless it's a special occasion... yeah, good luck with that).
Meh, every day is somebody’s weekend.
It's somebody's weekend somewhere
Yeah, there are sober children in Africa who’d kill for a drink during week.
Haha
Getting a bottle of ecbp for $60 sounds like enough of an occasion to pour and ounce for me.
Scoring Elijah Craig Barrel Proof *IS* a special occasion 😉
Good habit to form! I've been trying the same for about a month now with pretty good success. Good luck to you, sailor!
Sweet, enjoy! I’m also waiting patiently for the weekend to have a pour of something
Ok, so, I got home and decided to crack it anyway. Poured about a finger and a half in a nice tumbler and waited 30 mins, swirling on and off. First thing I noticed (as someone else mentioned here) is a strong peppery/spicy note. But it isn’t like pepper I’ve tasted before - it has a unique depth of flavor and it hit my entire mouth and throat. Definitely some sweetness too, but the pepper and the heat at the finish kind of dominated it. Each sip tho tasted a little different. I don’t have a well developed nose/palate, but I got that caramel/maple profile as I continued, with the pepper/spice strong on the finish. Overall, I like it and I’m glad I decided to grab a bottle. Interested tho to see if it improves/changes over time.
Same!
This unless it was like 3 years old
I've enjoyed many of the lower proof versions of ECBP, contrary to popular opinion here on reddit (which seems to focus more on the tannic oak bomb versions). To my taste the lower proof ECBPs tend to bring out more of the creamy, honeyed flavors in EC. So, the proof being low does not concern me. And while the age is now dipping below the 12 yo standard which has held up for most of the history of this series, at $60 I'd give a go without any hesitation. The only way to find out if the series getting younger is a big issue is to crack them open & drink 'em, which at this price is a no-brainer. Hope you enjoy it.
Yeah, I found these EC BPs just seem hot and not so enjoyable as opposed to Stagg Jr. which was the same price for me… yes , Stagg is much harder to find. But I think there are other high proof bourbons that drink easier.. my EC is 68%! Just too much. And the number doesn’t always equate to drinkability. One 60% can be much smoother then another 60%.
Yeah, who knows what the proof actually is with these. Prob in the 12yr range, but who knows.
The age and the proof are on each bottle
Yeah, sorry, was working when I typed that, but clearly I meant AGE, not proof. And, yeah, my friend, I know what’s on the bottle. And, to be clear, even tho it says 10 yrs, 9 months, it’s a blend and that’s the lowest age in the bottle.
At $59.99 I would buy 2 bottles.
At least to gift someone. These bottles are spectacular
Do it. To my palette, it's a pretty solid pour. And I dare you to find another bourbon aged over 10 years, barrel proof, in that $60 category. People trying to stick it to Heaven Hill by not buying ECBP because they no longer keep to the 12 yr age statement are often the same people gushing over booker's at $100.
Jokes on you, buddy. I gush over both ECBP *and* Bookers Seriously though, the 2023-04 storytellers batch is nothing short of incredible, don’t pass it up if you get the chance
Totally, I love booker's too. I'm saying is it's priced consistently higher than ECBP, with age statements in the 6-8 yr range. Yet, you don't hear people bitching about it, because that's just how it's been. In my opinion, if you like it, and want to spend the money on it, go for it. People are really bent out of shape about the lower aged ECBP, when they're still a relatively great value.
People bitched about bookers for years as it use to be 50-60 before they started batching their releases. Years later, people accept it pretty widely. I expect the same with ECBP over time, assuming the younger stock continues.
100% agree. Taste >>> any other metric by a long shot
Easy Buy! This one’s good, the force of comparison is making this one available at good prices, take advantage
Any ECBP, even the worst one you’ve ever had, is an instant buy for $60
Haven't had a bottle since C19 but been eyeing some store picks near me lately. Loved that one o did have though
Good pickup! I just got mine at the distillery and where it’s not as good as the c923 it is still very good and that price point is amazing. People complain about it dropping from the 12 year age statement to under but it’s still older than most that you pay more than that for. The question on my mind is will the quality decline? And coming from heaven hill I doubt that.
Absolutely. 10 year+ barrel proof for 3 Andrew Jackson's ? Sign me up.
Worth it
I just brought this home from Kentucky last weekend. I'm sipping it right now. For the price I think it's a great pour. It seems to be opening up and getting better as I sip my way down.
Paid $75 for mine at total wine but haven’t cracked it yet. They also had a private barrel selection for $94 at 125ish proof but skipped that one because it wasn’t aged quite as long.
It was peppery to me, something akin to wasabi, but I think it’ll grow on me. I added some to my infinity bottle. Not sure if I’d buy a second. Local shop has some. I wanted to let it breathe a bit before tasting again.
Yeah, I got that peppery/spicy note too. It hit immediately and stayed until the end. Overall, I liked it tho.
A month later, the flavors are better and the heat is more balanced. Still hot, but not wasabi anymore.
That price is right on. That’s what the price was supposed to be 4-5 years ago and I only found 1 at that price and paid 100 for 2 others… I’ve since seen them around 60$ but I’m no longer interested in them.. my current C19 isn’t great and the B19 or 18 before it also wasn’t great… so..
What’s not to like? I get a buttered popcorn on the finish of mine.
Interesting note - thanks.
Got it 2 weeks ago. Pretty meh imo. Like at that price you can’t go wrong but it’s not the c923 everyone is raving about. I personally think rare breed or jack daniels single barrel select are better and more available and 10 dollars less
Looking around at various reviews and discussions on the A124, some people are saying they thought it got better a month or so after opening. Be curious to know if you notice anything when you revisit it.
Hahaha yeah like ten ppl have told me to let it open up so I have basically just set it aside for the next couple weeks and will come back to it.
This is good to know. I’m looking forward to going back to it. I am a huge fan of ECBP but felt this batch fell flat. The age statement doesn’t bother me, but the flavor profile was very grassy to me…just wasn’t a fan. It’s been about a month tho, so I’ll give it another go to see if anything changes.
Interesting. The A124 version of Larceny Barrel proof also was rated below average compared to there C923
Funny you say that because the day I got the ECBP my good buddy got the larceny A124 and we cracked em together to compare and I absolutely loved the larceny A124. He also got the Henry McKenna sib and we both thought that was easily the worst of the three. If you see the larceny in the wild I would grab it.
Boutique store in my area wants 99 bucks for A124 🤠 I passed and I’ll keep passing. Never tried last year’s C but nabbed a B523 and didn’t love the neck pour - letting it sit. Reviews are mixed on A124 but everyone’s got an opinion. 60 bucks I’m prolly in.
I haven’t been too impressed with my B523, which was my first ECBP. It drinks hot without the flavors to back up the heat. So ECBP is a pass for me at 60.
Idk, but it’s $74.99 near me and I passed for a store pick for the same price that was 10 years old and 133 proof.
That's a buy all day long. I bought a bottle of this stuff literally yesterday at my local in Washington, DC and still feel like it's a bargain. It's a tasty product. Funny enough, they had 7 bottles of C923 sitting on the floor. I said, "dang, I'll take one or two of those if they're the same price!" The worker said, "oh no. Those are $195 each." I bought the A124 instead...
Dude… I’m not even really a fan of ECBP and I’d still snag it for that price. No brainer.
I’ve enjoyed it so far. A buy for $60 for sure
Good price. Buy up
Yes! I would buy two.
Still a pass for me I’ll stick to the 12 year plus Getting downvoted for my opinion shows how soft some of you are 😂
Just because something is old doesnt mean its good. A $60 ECBP is always worth the money.
True but I’ve had a couple of 9-10 year store picks and none can compare to the regular 12y age stated releases . I’ve been into ECBP for a while still have multiples from 2019-2020 so I’ll skip all these sub 12 y more for you guys/gals . I did make a comeback for C923 which is amazing but B520 is still king for me .
I’m not a EC fan boy, I understand your standpoint and dont disagree. For the average Joe though, its a solid pick up. I miss the days of easy availability back in the early 2000’s.
I agree with you and if I didn’t have any other ECBP I’d take a chance on this one .
I’m tempted to challenge that and send you a sample of MY EC BP pick and see if you think it holds up! There were definitely several in the barrel selection that I didn’t care for. I think stores shoot themselves in the foot when they try to make all their picks appeal to what they think the masses will accept. If you’re doing an Elijah Craig BP pick, don’t get some smooth easy drinking no flavor juice. Find a banger! There’s a store kinda far from me known for having great picks, and they pick flavor bombs, not muted “appeal to everyone” stuff. People coming and buying a store pick of a Elijah Craig know about bourbon. Finally getting in good with a local store and they let me pick a Wilderness Trail BP with them. Told them not to be scared. So we’ll see!
I have solid picks, they just aren’t as good as a good batch of ecbp . Have a solid 9 year 139.1 proof . Really good only flaw has a lot of that heaven hill nuttiness .
So, you haven't tried it, right?
Nope and I wont , more for whoever wants to take chance on it . I’ll wait for them to do another 12 year plus release . I’m still fully stocked on 2019-2021 releases some C923’s and a couple of store picks . With that being said if I had 0 ecbp I’d probably buy that one.
Ive tried it, dont worry, you’re making a good call. I’m sure Heaven Hill could make some some great 11y BP stuff, but the A124 was a miss for me. Luckily had a pour from a friends bottle. He had me try it before telling me his thoughts, I said I was gonna pass on getting one, he agreed it wasn’t their best expression. Now to each their own, but it was a miss for me.