The Elijah Craig family grew by one today.
Heaven Hill just announced that a brand-new bourbon, Elijah Craig 15-Year-Old Bourbon, would be joining the critically acclaimed lineup, and fans are already salivating at the chance to try it. Lucky for you, here at UPROXX, we were able to get an advanced taste of the new age-stated bottle for review.
But why let the fun stop there?
While the immediate question that comes to mind is how it compares to Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Bourbon, we took things a step further and decided to put the entire Elijah Craig whiskey lineup in a taste test to determine the best of the bunch.
If you’re not familiar with the iconic Elijah Craig lineup, that’s a solid indication that the rock you’ve been living under is pretty cozy. With its launch in 1986 as a 12-year-old age-stated small-batch bourbon, Elijah Craig almost immediately took the American whiskey world by storm. The brand was created by the legendary late Master Distiller Parker Beam as a way to honor the Reverend Elijah Craig, who is at times credited with being the man who first charred new oak barrels for the express purpose of aging whiskey. It’s an admittedly dubious claim from a time when less-than-stellar documentation rewards the best storytellers more than the honest-to-God truth, but it’s that compelling tale that brought us one of the best everyday bourbons on the market.
You’ve got to love some good bourbon lore.
Returning to the facts, the new Elijah Craig 15-Year-Old Bourbon follows in the footsteps of its 18-Year-Old elder as a single-barrel expression. That means each bottle you see in stores should be slightly different, as the whiskey inside is drawn from a single cask before the addition of Kentucky limestone water, which brings it to its final proof of 54% ABV.
Let’s dive in and review the full Elijah Craig whiskey lineup!
8. Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $30
The Whiskey:
What the brand calls “the first extra-aged Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey” in the Elijah Craig lineup, this expression is aged for at least four years and bottled at the brand’s classic 47% ABV (94-proof).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this whiskey is pretty alluring, with honeyed mint tea notes combining with a touch of oak and a faint splash of dark chocolate syrup. After two swirls of the glass, you begin to pick up more of those prototypical Kentucky rye notes, with salted caramel and cardamom aromas slowly emerging. This is a really nice nose.
Palate: On the palate, you get a restrained, but undeniably delicious Kentucky rye whiskey with all of the hallmarks of the category. Caramel, nougat, honeyed mint tea, and black pepper spice all kick things off in the mouth before a slightly more herbal note comes forward at midpalate. There’s even a mild indication of some floral notes, vanilla, and Rainier cherries present.
Finish: The finish is brief, bringing some of those light and sweet notes like Rainier cherries, honey, and mint tea, which are balanced by a bit of cardamom and rye spice.
Bottom Line:
Elijah Craig Rye is a delightfully flavorful and well-balanced Kentucky rye whiskey that goes light on the spice but heavy on the enjoyment, with some mellow yet distinct sweet flavors steering the ship. This one is surprisingly better than I remember.
7. Elijah Craig Small Batch
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $30
The Whiskey:
To call Elijah Craig a classic bourbon is to echo what’s been said about it 100 times over. Named after a famed Baptist preacher, Reverend Elijah Craig is credited, at least by the brand, as the “father of bourbon.”
Tasting Notes:
Nose: From the first whiff, Elijah Craig is an elevated version of Heaven Hill’s value brands. Most reminiscent of Evan Williams, it takes the typical bourbon aromas and dials them up a notch with vanilla extract crossing over into vanilla cream, brown sugar becoming more distinct, and a robust oak backbone fully forming.
Palate: On the palate is where Elijah Craig offers few surprises again, but it plays the hits with gusto. Brown sugar, vanilla, and caramel feature prominently, but a faint nuttiness and understated, stewed stone-fruit notes further enhance the flavor profile. The texture is unremarkable but substantial enough to allow each of those flavors to unfurl fully.
Finish: For the finish, Elijah Craig closes with an interplay of oak, peanuts, and brown sugar that serves as a medium-length microcosm for the entire experience.
Bottom Line:
Sometimes, all you need is a prototypical whiskey, and this bourbon is as classic as it comes. With a proof point that bridges the bite of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and the 40% ABV that novices might be more comfortable with, Elijah Craig Small Batch delivers flavor in spades with approachability as its primary calling card.
6. Elijah Craig Toasted Rye
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $45
The Whiskey:
For this toasted-barrel version of its Kentucky straight rye, Heaven Hill puts its Elijah Craig rye whiskey in a second custom-toasted new oak barrel for added depth and flavor.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one opens with peanut brittle and toasted marshmallows, giving a strong indication of its toasted barrel provenance. I’m not mad at that. There’s a touch of black cherry, gooey caramel, and surprisingly sparse rye spice notes to go with those barrel-driven aromas, which make this one initially difficult to peg as a rye whiskey.
Palate: Once in the mouth, this whiskey retains its deceptive nature with the toasted marshmallow, gentle oak tones, and caramel flavors masking a lot of the baking spice notes you typically associate with rye whiskey. There’s some black pepper and cinnamon bark at midpalate to go with a moderate wisp of mint tea, plus a silky, medium-bodied mouthfeel on this one before it transitions to the finish.
Finish: The finish is brief and slightly tannic. It’s marked by a touch of sorghum before amplifying the rye spice, mint leaves, maple candy, and cloves on the back end. It’s a really marvelous finish that I wish lasted just a little bit longer.
Bottom Line:
Despite the fact that its sweet flavor profile bullies the baking spice and minty rye aspects to the background, this is a delicious whiskey that elevates Elijah Craig’s straight rye base with some high-quality toasted oak notes.
5. Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $40
The Whiskey:
Elijah Craig’s (fairly) new bourbon, Toasted Barrel, first hit the market in mid-2020 with a splash despite the difficulty of launching a brand during that time. Heaven Hill takes fully-matured Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon and finishes it in 18-month air-dried American oak barrels that are toasted and flash-charred for this expression.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this bourbon is robust with hazelnut spread, chocolate, mocha, and vanilla tones. I typically find that toasted barrel bourbons strip some of those darker, sweeter notes and steer things toward marshmallows and honey, but this one does a good job of maintaining those aromas on the nose.
Palate: Milk chocolate, candied walnuts, and vanilla pods are immediate standouts on the palate with this whiskey. They’re all well-developed flavors that are slightly muddled, but eminently enjoyable on follow-up sips. There’s also some added depth thanks to hints of caramel, Chelan cherries, and black pepper spice.
Finish: The finish here is short-to-medium with the flavors of caramel, milk chocolate, oak, and dried apricots standing out the most.
Bottom Line:
Here’s what Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon is not: like other toasted barrel bourbons. The way this whiskey maintains its darker, sweet notes allows some hints of spice to elevate the base, with a buttery texture that helps extend the finish and your enjoyment. This is some deceptively delicious stuff.
4. Elijah Craig 18-Year Single Barrel Bourbon
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $250
The Whiskey:
Elijah Craig’s 18-year single-barrel expression is a dinosaur in more ways than one. First, it’s a long-standing hyper-aged bourbon expression in a whiskey world that’s only now reintegrating an influx of similarly aged bourbons. Second, it’s the last surviving member of the Elijah Craig lineup’s hyper-aged expressions, which once included 20-, 21-, and 23-year-old offerings.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is rich with dense, well-aged oak and caramel candies at first, but those notes merely open the curtain to reveal layers of plum, dark chocolate, and leather resting below the surface.
Palate: On the palate, Elijah Craig 18 swiftly finds every corner of your taste buds and floods them with vanilla buttercream, leather, and caramel candy flavors. The understated fruit tones from the nosing experience are buried beneath lush waves of caramel and vanilla. Still, they ultimately emerge and take shape at midpalate as bananas and shaved coconuts.
Finish: The finish is curt but marked by the richness of the coconut and caramel flavors, which satisfyingly coat the palate before ceding your taste buds to white pepper and vanilla before undulating gently out of existence.
Bottom Line:
The common criticisms following Elijah Craig 18 come from a two-pronged attack that says it is either under-proofed or overoaked. Both lines of fault-finding miss the mark.
Appreciated on its face, as well as for its rarity, Elijah Craig 18 is a mellow, multifaceted whiskey that plumbs a depth of flavor that can’t be found in more moderately aged expressions. For an easier-to-find alternative that outperforms its proof point as well as its price tag, give Elijah Craig Small Batch a try.
3. Elijah Craig 15-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $150
The Whiskey:
This new 15-Year expression of Elijah Craig Single Barrel Bourbon comes with a healthy bump in ABV over its older sibling, the 18-Year. The brand claims its “54% ABV offers a subtle nod to May 4, 1964 – the date the United States Congress officially recognized Bourbon as a distinct product of the United States.” Sure!
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this whiskey is packed with distinct sweet notes, from fresh bubblegum to gooey caramel, brown sugar, and black cherries. It’s a potent bouquet despite its modest proof, accented by pops of mature oak, oleo saccharum, nutmeg, cola nuts, and vanilla extract.
Palate: The first sip of this whiskey is bursting with flavor as it plays the hits: candied walnuts, oleo saccharum, black cherry syrup, mature oak, and vanilla. They all evolve and open up at midpalate, where some black pepper spice and a swirl of cinnamon bark stir things up, before sending some of that savory caramel flavor up the roof of your mouth. This is wonderful stuff.
Finish: The finish is medium-length, and reissues the flavor of caramel candies, walnuts, black cherries, and a touch of sweet oak across the palate and down the chest. It’s a fantastic finish.
Bottom Line:
Oh boy. This just might be the most balanced whiskey in the entire Elijah Craig lineup, delivering a ton of mature, sweet flavors while balancing them out with rich barrel-driven aspects that push each lip-smackingly delicious note deeper into your taste buds until it all crescendos with a satisfying send-off.
For those who were looking for more oomph out of the Elijah Craig 18-Year Bourbon, Elijah Craig 15-Year-Old Bourbon delivers a knockout thanks to its deceptively forceful punch and beautifully composed flavors.
2. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B525
ABV: 63.1%
Average Price: $95
The Whiskey:
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon is an absolute classic of the bourbon world, so I’m going to assume this one needs no introduction, dear reader. What can be said about one of the recent, more exemplary releases, batch B525, is that this one is aged for 11 years and 6 months.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this batch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof bourbon is humming with roasted almonds, brown sugar, nougat, and very faint orange pith notes. After a few waves of the hand, the sweetness blows off a bit, and the nose begins to favor the nuttier, earthier aromas.
Palate: On the palate, this whiskey follows a similar track with the sweetness gracing the tip of the tongue with brown sugar before almonds, nougat, and caramel come careening in. At midpalate, it veers into the earthier tones with nougat and more dilute caramel joining forces with peppercorns, nutmeg, and cornbread.
Finish: At the conclusion, there’s a fresh hit of oak and nutmeg to spruce up the lingering sweet notes of brown sugar on the medium-length finish.
Bottom Line:
Enough ink has been spilled over Elijah Craig’s Barrel Proof Bourbon to fill the Ohio River, so suffice it to say that this critically acclaimed iteration is an above-average expression for a brand whose baseline is excellence. It’s not the highest pinnacle the batched product has reached in recent years (with the mythical C923, and for me the even better A123 standing out), but it’s damn sure delicious, and proof positive of Elijah Craig’s outstanding quality.
1. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye Whiskey Batch A126
ABV: 60.2%
Average Price: $75
The Whiskey:
Elijah Craig fans didn’t know what hit them. In late 2025, the brand announced that a barrel-proof rye would be joining the lineup alongside the barrel-proof bourbon, and the crowd went wild. Then, when the proof was announced, doubt crept in, and ultimately the first release was met with mixed reviews. Now in its second iteration, and at a much heftier 120.4-proof, expectations were once again high. This time, expectations were met.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A ton of honey, graham cracker, rye spice, and salted milk chocolate notes leave the glass and greet the senses at first. The rye spice grows in prominence over time, and it’s propped up by an infusion of brown sugar, mature oak tones, cinnamon, and cloves. It comes across as more bourbon-y than rye-like, but it’s a decadent, balanced nose all the same.
Palate: On the palate, the first sip is impressively dense and loaded with smoked honey, freshly cracked black pepper, gentle rye spice, and mature oak. It has a creaminess that really blossoms at midpalate, giving it some great heft as custard, brown sugar, and cinnamon bark notes start to take shape. This is lovely stuff.
Finish: The finish on this one is mellow but long-lasting, and prominently features rye spice, vanilla custard, black pepper, and honey. There’s a bit of clove, milk chocolate, and mature oak rounding things out, as well as a flourish of Aleppo red pepper flakes.
Bottom Line:
What’s most interesting is that this one clearly shares much of the same DNA as Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon, but with more shades of rye spice than caramel and corn-forward sweetness. To be sure, this is still a sweet rye and one that bourbon drinkers will absolutely adore, but it’s that ability to please both crowds that makes this one so special.
