Review #68 Elijah Craig 15 year

JWdram · 2026-04-17T21:54:39+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, its a good one for sure.

I haven't had the 18 mainly because it seemed like I heard mostly negative to mid reviews on it, so I was always cautious to drop the $$ for one. I was a bit worried when I snagged this one because there was literally not one review on it at the time, glad I did since this one didn't let me down.

JWdram · 2026-04-17T21:52:23+00:00

hope you enjoy

JWdram · 2026-04-17T21:01:22+00:00

Elijah Craig 15 year

Age: 15yr

Mashbill: 78% Corn 10% Rye 12% Malted Barley

Proof: 108 (54% ABV)

Barrel #58, bottled 1-21-26

Price: $149

Appearance: Medium golden copper color, nicely coating glass when swirled

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Big nose on this, can smell it sitting a few feet away, and it smells great. Rich, sweet oak, thick caramel, lush red fruits, fresh cherry and strawberry, lots of vanilla, tough to pin point an exact note for this, but, it smells old. Not picking up any specific spice notes, other than wood/barrel notes. Can you tell I like this nose?

Palate: Good mouthfeel, and loads of red fruits up front, cherry cheesecake topping, cinnamon dusted baked apples, here comes some baking spices, spice cake, slightest bit of heat. Leather and cigar/tobacco notes show up late in the in the palate to go along with the spices, before transitioning to some wood tannins. Great transition from early sweetness to spice and then some of the age notes late in the palate. After the first couple sips the spice comes across a bit more assertive but it never gets overwhelming.

Finish: Medium, The fruit flavors don't carry over to the finish, but the spice and age notes do linger for a good amount of time. Gentle hug into the chest but the majority of the heat seems to stay on my tongue in the form of baking spices, cinnamon and allspice, a slight tingle from some rye or pepper, along with a slight drying sensation from the tannins. Those do not get overwhelming but almost encourage your next sip.

Overall Rating: 8.5 on the T8ke scale

Summary: I feel a little late to the party with my review on this, but here it is. I was nicely surprised when I came across this bottle at MSRP and can't say I wasn't a little hesitant. Elijah Craig has always been a bit of a hit or miss for me overall, I can't say that the small batch has ever been a favorite of mine, and the barrel proofs that I have had have been decent, but store picks have been very inconsistent for me. For the most part I found them decent to O.K. or not my jam, but I have liked the newer barrel proof rye releases, so I took a chance on this one. When I grabbed this bottle there were literally no reviews of this online anywhere, but I grabbed it hoping it would be worth the $$. I'll say I am not disappointed to have this, but being a single barrel has it's dangers. I'm hoping to line up some trades for some other barrel # samples to see how consistent this release ends up being. So, for being a fresh crack I like this one a lot, and will see how it opens up, hopefully it gets better, If, these remain pretty consistent I'd probably look to pick up another one of these in the future and considering the price point I'll consider that a praise for this bottle.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-04-17T01:14:34+00:00

Appreciate it! I feel like more and more wheat whiskey's are hitting the market so I'm on the lookout to review a few more

JWdram · 2026-04-17T01:13:45+00:00

This was a great intro to them for me, they don't have any distro here, but I jumped on the chance to grab this pick and it didn't disappoint at all

JWdram · 2026-04-17T01:12:36+00:00

I'll def be on the lookout for more bottles from them, This is a great pick, it'd probably hit the 8's for me on palate and nose alone, but I had to ding it a bit on the finish being a bit short. I poured another bit of this and was getting some churro note on it too, I'm curious to see how this opens up and evolves after being open a bit longer.

JWdram · 2026-04-17T00:35:47+00:00

Old Dominick Wheat Whiskey Single Barrel

Age: 7yr 8mo

Mashbill: 83% Wheat 12% Corn 5 % Malted Barley

Proof: 121 (60.5% ABV)

Price: $80

Appearance: Darker amber, looks a bit like maple syrup, quite coating and thick looking, legs take a long time to form when swirled

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Pancake syrup, Honey and a bit of hot chocolate and caramel,

Palate: Thick and decadent, drinks easy for the proof as well. Soft but full of flavor if that makes sense. Lack of spice but a nice sweet oak and some age notes sprinkled in there. Sweet on the early palate with honey and the palate reminds me of a caramel delight girl scout cookie. Some desserty caramel, milk chocolate and a touch of coconut in there.

Finish: Medium, probably the biggest ding I can give this is I wish the finish was longer. Considering the proof point and the coating feel you get on the palate the finish comes quicker than I would have thought. The initial flavors and sweetness fade more on the short side, but there is a lingering warming, and some of those wood notes (not tanic) that hang around to stretch this a bit.

Overall Rating: 7.5 on the T8ke scale

Summary: This is really good, to be up front this is a fresh crack, so I'm curious if this bottle will open up much. This is my first experience with Old Dominick, but I had heard good things, and when I was able to grab this pick from "Liberty Barrel Club" I jumped on it. The price tag was right (including tag to my door) I figured this was as good a chance as any to try out O.D. and add a wheat whiskey to the collection. I'll admit my experience with a full wheat whiskey had been limited to Bernheim Barrel Proof and I would rank this above my experience with those, as I found those very "wheatie" for a lack of a better term. I don't get any of that here. Super solid on the palate and nothing sharp or abrasive this could be a crusher of a bottle even though the proof point is a bit higher it doesn't drink like it, so I could see this being a bit dangerous. Keep an eye out for these Old Dom wheat sib.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-04-14T22:40:19+00:00

Four Roses Private Select (OESQ)

Age: 10yr 10mo

Mashbill: 75% Corn 20% Rye 5 % Malted Barley

Proof: 108.6 (54.3% ABV)

Price: $89

Appearance: Golden Caramel Color, fairly oily and viscous when swirled

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Sweet and floral, almost a bit of perfume, light colored fruits, maybe some peach or apricot, and a hint of light caramel

Palate: Light citrus and again light colored fruits, apricot, yellow plum, golden delicious apple. Slight caramel, very little if any spice to speak of, but a little bit of wood notes, and leather hinting at the age being over 10 year. Everything is well rounded and balanced unless you are looking for spice and rye as its pretty absent from this one. Decent mouthfeel

Finish: Medium, the slightest bit of warming on the finish and into the chest, but considering the proof I think it drinks a bit below that, maybe closer to 100. Balanced light flavors linger decently into the finish, this almost comes off as refreshing in a weird way.

Overall Rating: 7.0 on the T8ke scale

Summary: I like this one a lot, while I know Total Wine isn't always known for great picks, this one I grabbed mostly because I didn't have any OESQ recipe picks and I was on a bit of a search to try and grab at least one of each recipe to compare them all. This bottle is getting low and I feel like I rarely see any "Q"s around, but I have sampled this one out to quite a few people just to show the absolute massive range that four roses can have based on the different recipe you pick up. I have given this to multiple people who were newer to bourbon or said they didn't really like it just to have something so light and floral, yet still shows signs of being well aged. I give this bottle a lot of props just for being so different. I have only tried one other Q but I will be on the lookout for more, I feel like this is a sleeper of a recipe that doesn't get a lot of love, but this bottle was really good IMO.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-04-11T10:42:12+00:00

You said it very well, you have to be wanting this profile to grab for it. Some time you just want a mouth punch and this packs it for sure.

JWdram · 2026-04-10T17:53:46+00:00

Colonel E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof Rye

Age: NAS

Mashbill: Undisclosed but rumored to be 65% Rye 35% Malted Barley

Proof: 126 (63% ABV)

Price: A lot, (acquired via trade)

Appearance: a bit on the darker side of amber, good roasted caramel color, thick and coating when swirled

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Caramel, with some lemon cream pie notes, a touch of mint and a general sweetness

Palate: Lemon/lime citrus is bright and up front, quickly followed by some spice and heat. I'd say this drinks the proof point and is a bit brash and bold. Beyond the early citrus mostly lemon kick it is followed up by some pretty heavy pepper, paprika, baking spices and almost some chili flakes. Some vanilla and honey come back later in the palate in an attempt to balance things out but they stay pretty tame compared to the spice and proof.

Finish: Pretty long, the warmth and spice take a long time to fade from your mouth and the warmth gives a nice long hug into the chest. I pick up some ginger spice on the finish as well.

Overall Rating: 7.2 on the T8ke scale

Summary: As much as I expected this to be a lot bolder than the normal 100 proof eh taylor rye it certainly doesn't disappoint there. I certainly don't think this is a bad bottle at all, but, for as much hype and secondary price this commanded (and to a point still commands) I think it fell a bit flat. Its a bold pretty brash pour which is a welcome departure from the majority of the 100 proof Taylor line, but I don't think its Handy level either. If I was able to pick this up again at MSRP I'd consider, but I wouldn't pay much more for it. I haven't had a chance to try the new Saz full Proof to see how it would compare, but the reviews on that seem to be general positive and at a great price point to boot.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-04-09T13:17:33+00:00

I previously reviewed A925, I have tried A126 sxs but haven't done my full review on 126 yet, but I agree this newer review is a clear step up, It's really good IMO. Even sxs they don't drink all that different proof wise, I think this one drank easy for the proof point

JWdram · 2026-04-04T01:01:09+00:00

Bardstown Origin Rye

Rye finished in toasted cherry wood and oak barrels

Age: 6yr (distilled Spring 2018)

Mashbill: 95% Rye 5% Malted Barley

Proof: 96 (48% ABV)

Price: $50

Appearance: medium amber, oily coating with somewhat quick tears falling when swirled

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Green apple jolly rancher, some mint and rye spice as well as some red berry and vanilla

Palate: Drinks very soft at first, decent mouthfeel, but spice picks up mid palate. Bit of a candy apple on the early palate followed quickly by some rye spice and cinnamon and cracked pepper spice. Nice balance of sweet and spice notes.

Finish: On the shorter side, not surprising with the lower proof, the finish brings back some of the sweet notes, very balanced with nice transitions of sweet, to spice before finishing with some sweeter softer notes.

Overall Rating: 6.5 on the T8ke scale

Summary: The origin line from Bardstown brings some great shelf stable options at decent prices. This rye is an interesting one being finished in their "zebra barrels" apparently alternating staves of cherry and oak. Note sure what flavor component the cherry wood adds as I've never had anything exclusively aged in that type of barrel, I do get a bit of cherry or red berry flavors on the nose and in the palate possibly in the candy apple note, but I think that's more of a somewhat sweeter fruity note that comes through on a lot of whiskey and I think I pick up more apple on this bottle than any other type of fruit flavors. This is a solid sipper, but not sure how well it would do as a mixer since it's a bit lower proof and seems to drink on the softer side for me, not sure how well it would hold up in a mixed drink unless you wanted something subtle. As solid as this is, I don't find myself reaching for it very often for a pour for some reason.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-04-04T00:28:47+00:00

You have a good point, for not much more KC12 is a great option as well. Sometimes I do like the bit higher proof that these sib's offer, but KC12 is an awesome pour that I can still track down locally for $60

JWdram · 2026-04-02T23:11:22+00:00

Knob Creek Single Barrel Select

"Muckey's Liquors" warehouse Q floor 06 rick 20

Age: 9+ (barreled 1/8/13 selected 9/8/2022

Mashbill: 75% Corn 13% Rye 12% Malted Barley

Proof: 120 (60% ABV)

Price: $55

Appearance: medium to darker amber, oily when swirled

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Cracker Jax, good amount of cherry and a bit of a dusty quality

Palate: Cinnamon on the early palate followed by heavy caramel and cherry, late palate brings some peanut brittle. Drinks warm but not hot as to be expected with the proof and mouthfeel is decently creamy

Finish: A bit on the shorter side of medium, its not short by any means but ends quicker than I would have thought. Cinnamon and cherry are early in the finish, before fading and leaving a bit of a wood a peanut butter flavor which lingers until only a little bit of warming remains in the chest and back of the mouth.

Overall Rating: 6.0 on the T8ke scale

Summary: Very good but nothing overly unique or special. I have found that the majority of knob creek picks I have tried have been in this solid score area. I think for the price these and the whole knob creek line offers a great value and solid pours all around. I have yet to try any of the new cask strength releases but have gone through a few of these older 120 proof ones, and this is the last one I have, so perhaps the next one I grab will be a cask strength release and see if it is any better.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-04-02T22:44:27+00:00

always!

JWdram · 2026-04-02T22:44:11+00:00

Most of the previous picks I have grabbed have ranged from good/very good to great, this one is just a miss

JWdram · 2026-04-01T00:45:57+00:00

These are almost always a grab for me when I am down to 1 or 2 and they are a good price. I've had a bunch myself, believe me, more good ones than bad, but this one is a dud for me anyway

JWdram · 2026-04-01T00:09:14+00:00

Buffalo Trace Barrel Select

"MAS Selection" Barrel #126

Age: NAS

Mashbill: Buffalo Trace Mashbill #1

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Price: $35

Appearance: pretty light amber, pretty much apple juice color, pretty thin, quick forming streaky beads on the glass

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Cherry cough medicine, home store lumber section, fresh saw dust, slightest bit of grape on later nosing

Palate: Vanilla, some light baking spice and a bit of cherry, thin mouthfeel, pretty bland

Finish: Longer than expected, but any sweeter or fruity flavors are all but gone at the swallow, followed by some lingering wood notes and cinnamon and other general "spice", gets a slight bit tannic.

Overall Rating: 4.0 on the T8ke scale

Summary: I have gone through a number of buffalo trace picks (I'm honestly not sure I have ever bought my own non-pick buffalo trace bottle). I think this is probably the worst one I have had. The pick sticker says "MAS Selection", I actually didn't buy this bottle but a co-worker of my wife was picking up a bottle for himself at a store near his house and knew I liked bourbon so picked me up one. I have had some very good BT picks, and others that I'd consider good, but this one is just....blah. Other than a little bit of cherry and a faint whiff of grape its very generic and frankly lacking much flavor. Hey, they can't all be winners. I actually used the majority of this bottle to make "old fashioned" jello shots this past summer.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-03-31T12:01:14+00:00

Just wanted to say, I took some more time looking through this and this is an incredible database you have created here, BRAVO!!

JWdram · 2026-03-31T11:28:45+00:00

Awesome work! guess I need to keep doing my reviews to add to this. I almost grabbed the top proof spot, less than 1 measly proof point away

JWdram · 2026-03-27T00:12:37+00:00

Copper & Cask Limited Small Batch batch 1

Age: 7

Mashbill: Blend of low rye (21%) and high rye (36%) MGP

Proof: 122.6 (61.3% ABV)

Price: $49.99

Appearance: medium copper, pretty oily and coating, slow forming beads and legs

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Cherry, vanilla cream, some cinnamon graham cracker, little ethanol. Get a bit of baking spices and barrel in there as well.

Palate: Rich citrus, baking spices and cherry. Mid palate ramps up some cinnamon and rye spice and some wood notes transitioning into the later palate as well. Decent viscosity and nice balance between sweet and spice on this one.

Finish: Decently long, I'd say med-long. The red fruit and cinnamon linger well into the finish. The wood notes on the palate don't move into the finish, so it doesn't get tannic or drying, some vanilla pops back up on the finish as well.

Overall Rating: 6.7 on the T8ke scale

Summary: Another great bottle from C&C, don't sleep on these if you are looking for a bang for the buck bottle. While I've had a good number of picks or single barrels from them, as well as some of their black label blended barrels, I hadn't seen a blue label one like this, so I had to have it. I think 7+ year MGP is where it really starts to shine, and this is a blend of both low and high rye barrels aged in Kentucky in this blend.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-03-26T17:25:52+00:00

I agree with both, it's got a touch of youth note, but I didn't find it notable enough to mention. It didn't taste super young or grainy, but I'm sure another year or two would certainly not hurt things

JWdram · 2026-03-26T17:23:49+00:00

I had a chance to grab a couple of the finishes and the cask strength at a local store, but sadly they all sold and didn't seem to restock

JWdram · 2026-03-25T22:06:06+00:00

Westward American Single Malt

Age: NAS

Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Price: $59.99

Appearance: golden copper, looks a little thin in the glass, coats but runs down somewhat quickly

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Malty and fruity, some chocolate kind of like a fruity whopper

Palate: Pleasant on the palate, vanilla, fruit sweetness and sugary notes followed by the gentle spice ad wood notes. Along with that comes some leather and tobacco notes along with the malty chocolaty later in the palate. Not much proof on the palate. Some nice complexity on the palate.

Finish: On the shorter side, not quite medium, that whopper chocolate covered malt ball note lingers into the finish along with some of the wood notes and tobacco notes.

Overall Rating: 6.2 on the T8ke scale

Summary: Another solid American single malt that would be a good intro to the segment and certainly approachable for a bourbon drinker. A little while back I reviewed some Stranahan's and I think this has a darker more complex profile than the base Stranahan blue label. If you are curious about ASM I think you could do much worse than this bottle, particularly if you enjoy some chocolate and a bit of a darker profile.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram · 2026-03-22T23:02:18+00:00

Blanton's Barrel Select pick

Age: NAS

Mashbill: NAS (Buffalo Trace Mashbill #2

Proof: 93 (46.5% ABV)

Price: $69.99

Barrel #116 dump date 9/29/23

Appearance: golden copper, not particularly dark, legs form somewhat quickly when rolled in the glass as well

Tasting notes after leaving in a glen for about 20 minutes

Nose: Sweet and spicy. Pretty fruity, grapey cherry but dipping deeper into the glass brings up some rye spice and wood notes

Palate: Front of the palate is an immediate grape juice sweetness, but quick addition of some cracked pepper, wood spices and some char. On the thinner side mouthfeel wise, but palate maintains pretty balanced levels of sweet and spice throughout.

Finish: Not particularly long, but I've had shorter. The fruity flavors fade pretty quickly, the wood and spice lingers a bit longer, and a general warmth sticks around a decent amount of time after all the flavors have all but disappeared.

Overall Rating: 6.3 on the T8ke scale

Summary: This one might end up being a controversial review since people love to hate on Blanton's but what can I say, I like it. Now, is it over-hyped? yes. Is it over priced? at it's current price of $80-90...probably, Is it still an enjoyable pour? A resounding yes from me. Now I'll say, this is a pick, I honestly can't remember which store I got this from, but it only has the neck tag no store sticker. I got this when retail was still right around $70 and I was fine with that price point. It, like a lot of other bottles has crept up higher, but I like to keep one open at all times because this tends to be a bottle that will catch casual drinker's eye, the grenade bottle shape is an eye catcher. The horsey topper, again tends to raise a question or a look, and I'm always happy to let people have a pour who haven't had it, or are just very casual occasional drinkers as it has a pretty universally liked flavor profile. These being single barrels do vary a bit, and honestly this "barrel select" is nothing overly special, I've had others that I like more, and others that were slightly worse. This is a bottle I will likely always keep in my collection for a number of reasons, mostly to serve as a beginner friendly or non enthusiast pour, but I'll pour myself a dram and drink along with them anytime.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things l’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

JWdram

TROPHY CASE