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Elijah Craig Adds Toasted Barrel Expression to its Range

By Jonah Flicker Published April 20, 2021

There’s been a lot of talk about toasted barrel whiskey, particularly bourbon, over the past few years. And like everything else concerning whiskey, there are fans on one side of this technique who love the flavor it brings to the mix, and detractors on the other side who say it does little or even ruins the taste. The basic concept is this — by law, bourbon must be matured in new charred oak containers (which are virtually always barrels). But for a toasted barrel whiskey, the liquid is placed into a toasted (and sometimes also charred) barrel for a further period of time after the initial maturation. Why exactly? Brands claim that placing the already mature whiskey in these barrels infuses it with new layers of flavor and complexity, augmenting the characteristic notes of vanilla and caramel that are already present. Michter’s has put out a few limited release toasted barrel finish whiskeys, including a bourbon, rye, and sour mash whiskey that are finished in toasted but not charred barrels. Woodford Reserve has its Double Oaked Bourbon, which is barreled for a second time in “deeply toasted, lightly charred” barrels. Then there are whiskeys that are matured entirely in toasted barrels (some of which are also charred), like Wilderness Trail, Coopers’ Craft, and Jack Daniel’s Heritage Barrel.

Elijah Craig — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The latest toasted barrel release comes from Elijah Craig, a dependable bourbon brand produced at Heaven Hill in Kentucky. For this release, the mature bourbon, already aged in char #3 barrels, is put into “custom toasted and flash charred [char #1] new barrels made of premium American white oak air-dried for 18 months.” The distillery worked with Independent Stave Company to come up with a custom toast that it says brings a hint of smoke and extra sweetness to the whiskey. Everything else is the same as regular Elijah Craig, like the mash bill and proof, but this process does indeed create a different flavor profile, with flavors of caramel and butterscotch that arrive with an extra pop. Whatever side of the toasted spectrum you fall on, give this one a try if you are already a fan of Elijah Craig, or even if you’re not.

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Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel launches nationally this month with an SRP of $49.99 (on an allocated basis, according to the distillery).

Jonah Flicker is a freelance writer who covers booze, travel, food, and lifestyle. His work has appeared in a variety of…

Food & Drink

Little Book Chapter 4: Lessons Honored is a Conceptual Whiskey

Little Book Chapter 4

Freddie Noe is the son of Fred Noe who's the son of Booker Noe. If you are not familiar with these names, these men are essentially bourbon royalty, with a lineage that has been part of Jim Beam and its many brand offshoots for eight generations. Booker was sort of a bourbon luminary, a larger-than-life presence who was responsible for creating the Small Batch Collection -- Basil Hayden's, Knob Creek, Baker's, and the eponymous Booker's. Fred took over as master distiller in 2007, and has been a ubiquitous presence on the road promoting Beam products and holding court at the distillery. And now his son Freddie has taken an integral role at the distillery, most prominently with his Little Book series of blended straight whiskeys. The latest release, Chapter 4: "Lessons Honored," is an homage to his dad and the things he's taught him over the years, and it's really an excellent example of a conceptual whiskey that delivers in flavor as much as it does in ideas.

Like all the past chapters, this fourth installment is a blended straight whiskey (no neutral grain spirits here, folks). The components in this edition are: a 4-year-old Kentucky straight brown rice bourbon, an 8-year-old Kentucky straight "high rye" rye whiskey, and a 7-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon. I had a chance to taste through the components and the final product with Freddie a few weeks ago, and he had a lot to say about picking these particular whiskeys. The brown rice bourbon is the base of the blend, and on its own it really stands out from other Beam-distilled whiskeys. Freddie said that rice is a soft grain to work with, containing lots of starch, and it converts well. The resulting whiskey drinks beyond its four years, with dry spice and an underlying flavor that's almost like a sherry cask finish. The next largest component is the 7-year-old bourbon, which is actually a younger, cask strength version of Knob Creek. Freddie brought Knob Creek aged between seven and nine years to his dad for a blind tasting, and the elder Noe chose this one. There's a touch of astringency in this liquid, but it's still got those deep vanilla and caramel notes that make up Knob Creek. Finally, the last whiskey in the blend is a "higher rye" rye. At about 65% rye, that's definitely more of the grain in the mash bill than other Beam rye whiskeys. According to Freddie, this whiskey was made using the same mash bill as Booker's Rye, but he said it really hasn't been used for any Beam products before this Little Book release.

Food & Drink

Angel’s Envy Releases Special New Mizunara Cask Whiskey

Mizunara Cask Whiskey

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of Angel's Envy's Founder's Day on August 19, the distillery released a new bourbon finished in Japanese Mizunara oak casks. This blend of four-year-old and nine-year-old whiskey spent an additional two years in these new charred oak casks, made from 200-year-old trees, during which it picked up a bouquet of floral notes including sandalwood, coffee, and a bit of smoke. "We chose this release for the tenth anniversary because my dad, having taken on several consulting roles in Japan during his career, always had a deep appreciation for the country and its distilling community," said cofounder and chief innovation officer Wes Henderson in a prepared statement. "This release, finished in Mizunara casks made from this rare, 200-year-old wood, felt fitting for such a special milestone for Angel’s Envy.”

This is a first for the distillery, and it really stands out in terms of flavor from its core range that is finished in port and rum barrels. "When we set out on this project, we knew where we wanted to end up, but we also knew we might not wind up there," said Henderson in a recent Zoom meeting. His son and production manager Kyle detailed the difficult and lengthy process of getting ahold of these barrels, which he said are extremely limited and tightly controlled by the Japanese government. It took about five years in total to procure them, and 18 months of that time was spent on a waiting list.

Food & Drink

New Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Release Out in September

makers mark 2020 wood finishing limited release maker s 2

Last year, Maker's Mark released its first nationally available limited release edition of its Wood Finishing series, which joined the ranks of other wood stave-finished bourbons from the distillery like Maker's 46 and Private Selection. The bourbon had the arguably inartful name of Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2019 Limited Release: Stave Profile RC6, based on the name of the staves that were placed in the barrel as part of the whiskey's finishing process. This September, the distillery is releasing the second edition, which rolls a bit easier off the tongue: Maker’s Mark 2020 Limited Release.

Two different staves were used for this year's bottling, the result of about a year's work with Independent Stave Company -- SE4, made from virgin French oak cooked at medium heat to bring out flavors of caramel, and PR5, made from virgin American oak and cooked slow and low to augment the vanilla notes.