Elijah Craig is a premium and super-premium brand of

bourbon whiskey Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbo ...

produced in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Heaven Hill Distilleries Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. is a private, American family-owned and operated distillery founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a varie ...

. The brand is sold as a

straight Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * Str ...

bourbon, typically in 750 mL glass bottles. Elijah Craig whiskey is offered in both

small batch Small batch whiskey is whiskey produced by mixing the contents of a relatively small number of selected barrels. Small batch whiskeys are commercially positioned for the upper-premium market. The term is most commonly used for American whiskey ...

and single barrel bottlings. The small batch variation (94 U.S. proof, 47%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

) is also available in glass 375 mL and 1.75 L bottles. The Barrel Select expression is only available in 200 mL bottles. The company is headquartered in

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...

, and its

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

(called the Heaven Hill Bernheim distillery) is in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Namesake

The bourbon brand is named in honor of Reverend

Elijah Craig Elijah Craig (November 15, 1738 – May 18, 1808) was an American Baptist Religious minister, preacher, who became an educator and capitalist entrepreneur in the area of Virginia that later became the state of Kentucky. He has sometimes, althou ...

(1738/1743 – May 18, 1808), who was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

in Fayette County, Virginia, which became

Scott County, Kentucky Scott County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,155. Scott County is part of the Lexington–Fayette, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Native Amer ...

, following Kentucky statehood in 1792. In approximately 1789, Craig founded a

there. The Heaven Hill company dubiously credits him with the

invention An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an i ...

of "true Kentucky Bourbon" by improving the locally made distillate from an un-aged corn liquor through barrel-aging in charred oak casks, "a process that gives the bourbon its reddish color and unique taste." The Heaven Hill company uses this claim, calling Elijah Craig "The Father of Bourbon" in its advertising of their product. Elijah Craig is most widely known by association with this brand of bourbon.

Variations

The Elijah Craig label is currently offered worldwide in four variations. A fifth expression, called Elijah Craig Barrel Select, is only available at the distillery gift shop.

Current

* Elijah Craig Small Batch (94 proof) * Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Small Batch Barrel Proof (around 125–140 proof, varies with batch) * Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single Barrel (90 proof) * Elijah Craig 23 Year Old Single Barrel (90 proof) * Elijah Craig Barrel Select (125 proof)

Discontinued

* Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Small Batch * Elijah Craig 20 Year Old Single Barrel (90 proof) * Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel (90 proof) * Elijah Craig 22 Year Old Single Barrel (90 proof) The 18, 20, 21, 22, and 23 year old Elijah Craig variants may be sold in a hard canister with a leather bag.

Elijah Craig Small Batch

The Small Batch bottling of Elijah Craig was originally released in 1986 with a 12 year age statement. In early 2016, Heaven Hill announced that it would drop the age statement from the Small Batch label and switch to a composite of 8- and 12-year-old bourbon to extend their stocks. The new labeling of Elijah Craig Small Batch debuted shortly thereafter without an age statement. The company also increased the maximum number of barrels dumped per batch for the Small Batch expression from 100 to 200 barrels. On September 29, 2016, Heaven Hill announced a redesign of the Elijah Craig Small Batch and Small Batch Barrel Proof offerings. The Elijah Craig Small Batch (94 proof, 47% ABV) offering is the only Elijah Craig release available for private barrel selection.

Elijah Craig Small Batch Barrel Proof

Since 2013, there have been three releases of Elijah Craig Small Batch Barrel Proof annually for a total of 22 releases as of January 2020. Starting with release #13 and the redesign of the Elijah Craig Small Batch Barrel Proof and Small Batch labels, batch numbers were included on the Barrel Proof label to specify the batch release order, month, and year.

Elijah Craig Single Barrel

A single barrel variant of Elijah Craig is currently available in 18- and 23-year old bottlings. Heaven Hill has offered a single barrel version of Elijah Craig carrying 20, 21, and 22 year old age statements as well. In May 2012, it was announced that the Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single Barrel bottling would be suspended due to limited barrel stocks near this age. Heaven Hill announced that several extra-aged releases would be released annually to augment the lack of an 18-year-old offering. Shortly thereafter, 1,300 bottles of Elijah Craig 20 Year Old Single Barrel were released. In 2013, Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel replaced the 20 year old offering. and in 2014, Elijah Craig 23 Year Old Single Barrel replaced the 21 year old. This release continues to be offered annually. In 2015, Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single Barrel was offered again and continues to be released annually as well.

Awards and reviews

In the

San Francisco World Spirits Competition The San Francisco World Spirits Competition was founded in 2001 by Anthony Dias Blue as an off-shoot of the San Francisco International Wine Competition. It assesses hundreds of entrants annually (1,407 in 2013 from 63 countries) with tastings inv ...

of 2010, the 18-year-old Elijah Craig Single Barrel Bourbon was awarded "Best Bourbon" and received a "Double Gold Medal" rating. In previous years, it had received a "Double Gold Medal" rating in 2008, a "Gold Medal" rating in 2004, and four "Silver" ratings in other years (2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007). In 2011, Elijah Craig 20 Year Old Single Barrel (Barrel #3735) was named by ''Whisky Advocate'' magazine as "American Whiskey of the Year". In 2017, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B517 (release 14, 124.2 proof, 62.1% ABV) was named by ''Whisky Advocate'' as "Whisky of the Year". Reviewer Jeffery Lindenmuth described the whiskey as "delivering a massive mouthful of incredibly robust flavors that drape leathery oak over a gooey caramel core, sprinkled with baking spice, while candied nuts and tobacco leaf notes appear on a drying finish dusted with cocoa."

References

External links

Heaven Hill Distilleries official websiteElijah Craig bourbon official website
{{Alcoholic drinks Bourbon whiskey Bardstown, Kentucky Economy of Louisville, Kentucky American brands Alcoholic drink brands