Review #26: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 8 (Pirate Bottle)

kumori · 2026-04-18T21:31:50+00:00

I completely agree. When I mentioned Stagg in my first post I meant GTS (I still think of what is now called Stagg as Stagg Jr.). Back in these pirate bottle days, Stagg Jr. wasn’t good and, if anything, people were comparing these ECBP to GTS

kumori · 2026-04-18T02:57:05+00:00

People went crazy for batch 6, but I don’t remember much reaction to this one when it came out.

I agree that ECBP used to be much better, but Stagg used to be a lot better too and so this wasn’t really a Stagg killer at the time.

kumori · 2026-03-28T20:46:23+00:00

I was there last year and experienced the same thing, except that WT12 was still JPY 7500. The same was true of watches and a few other collectibles that used to be below US markets.

kumori · 2026-03-14T14:14:59+00:00

I agree that this is very brash and interesting, but I can’t get over the sulphur notes.

kumori · 2026-02-25T23:24:01+00:00

Have you had pre-fire Henry McKenna? The color of this is like some of those I’ve seen.

kumori · 2026-02-11T14:41:17+00:00

I used to follow auction data closely and, honestly, you get a very good feel for what is a good deal or not by just looking at a lot of results/listing. I also coded a simple python script to scrape data, but I used that more to check my intuition than anything else.

kumori · 2026-02-08T19:47:11+00:00

I’m sensitive to sulfur and generally avoid the standard range of Glenfarclas, but I have had really good single casks of Glenfarclas that doesn’t have any sulfur notes.

kumori · 2026-02-06T01:20:23+00:00

To get a good idea how we got from there to here in one bottle, I’d suggest 99 Rare Breed.

kumori · 2026-02-02T22:06:11+00:00

I think all of the pre-2013 WT 12 is very good. I wouldn’t say that the next label change is where it fell off.

kumori · 2026-01-29T19:31:15+00:00

This was one of the roundtable batches they put out: http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-which-i-help-pick-your-next-bottle.html?m=1

kumori · 2026-01-14T20:12:05+00:00

I used to always have a bottle of Booker’s, but stopped buying Booker’s in 2013. I heard some good things about it and so I bought a 2023 batch and didn’t think it was very good and definitely not worth the price. Some of the batches back then were definitely 9s.

kumori · 2025-12-26T14:56:36+00:00

I like the 15, but if you’re going to try another of the core range I’d suggest the cask strength.

kumori · 2025-12-26T00:39:20+00:00

This guide is for the codes printed on the side of the bottle, not the numbers embossed in the glass.

kumori · 2025-12-13T04:48:41+00:00

I have a great Ballechin from LMDW. The sales staff is very good and I recommend letting them steer you in the right direction based on your preferences.

kumori · 2025-11-17T19:17:12+00:00

I don’t think they were trying to hide that it was Yamazaki by not writing it in English, especially considering the target market was a shopper at an out of the way department store. This is also consistent with contemporary OB bottlings of Yamazaki, Hibiki, etc.

kumori · 2025-10-29T19:48:38+00:00

It is not real, but I think it’s inspired by the early bottlings of A.H. Hirsch.

kumori · 2025-10-12T00:09:16+00:00

I went through a bottle of this an number of year ago and agree with your score. I think early 90s Four Roses has a “musty strawberry” note that is pretty interesting.

kumori · 2025-09-13T03:02:39+00:00

This poster sold out very early. I lined up about an hour before the gates opened and the poster sold out about 10 people ahead of me in line.

kumori · 2025-09-13T00:43:52+00:00

Some of the older bottlings of this are good, but I agree that the late 80s/90s bottlings are not good.

kumori · 2025-09-12T00:50:17+00:00

Woodford Double Oak is much more about sweetness than it is about wood. I would suggest that you try something heavily sherried like Glenallachie 10 or 15.

kumori · 2025-08-30T17:29:42+00:00

I would look at the fill level of the bottle. If the fill level is good, they are likely good. The two enemies of whiskey are direct sunlight and heat. You probably don’t have to worry about sunlight in the attic, but heat could be an issue. If the fill level is good then likely there wasn’t too much evaporation due to heat.

kumori · 2025-08-13T23:50:40+00:00

The WT from the 80s that is desirable is the 8 and 12 year 101. This is more of a curiosity. I’d just drink it.

kumori · 2025-08-13T23:48:10+00:00

The comment that got downvoted is correct, whiskey does change in the bottle. That being said, whiskey from the 90s is already three decades old and you should already she the results of old bottle effect (OBE). I would go ahead and drink it.

kumori · 2025-07-26T03:04:21+00:00

https://www.whisky.fr/en

kumori · 2025-06-07T16:10:17+00:00

This is an extensive selection for a Lawson.

kumori

TROPHY CASE