Caramel Corn | Chocolate crinkle cookie | Fig | Cherry | Plum | Maple wood

Cherry | Sweet oak | Caramel | Vanilla | Dried dark fruit | Leather

Roasted mixed nuts | Warm seasoned oak | Stewed cherry | Cigar leaf | Slight oak astringency

Heaven Hill has always been a forerunner in offering high aged bourbon at reasonable prices and availability. Long before age became a dominant and overly coveted attribute of a bourbon, Heaven Hill, led by their Elijah Craig brand, offered an 18 Year for $50 and a 21 Year for $140. This was 15 years ago. Since that time, they have released limited expressions of 20, 22, 23 year old bourbons that command high secondary pricing, but their 18 Year Bourbon remains an annual release found on store shelves for around $180.  

One common complaint levied against Elijah Craig's high aged bourbons is their proof points. Typically 90 proof, it makes them palatable for a wide range of bourbon drinkers and helps keep their price down. Though this somewhat follows the Pappy proof model, many of the Pappy Van Winkle releases feature more memorable flavor profiles that help make proof a non-issue. With the expansion of the Elijah Craig high aged bourbon line to now include a 15 Year option, perhaps the most notable thing bourbon drinkers can look forward to is a high proof of 108 (which also coincidentally aligns with Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year’s 107 proof).  

This higher proof does have an immediate effect on the entire sip. High aged Elijah Craig releases are typically traditional in nature, with vanilla, caramel, and oak being dominant flavors. That is true once again for the 15 year, but overall, there is a much more immediate richness to the entire sip.

From the outset, the aroma is more focused and exacting in its scents. Rich caramel corn against fresh baked chocolate crinkle cookie is then mixed with fig, cherry, plum, and brown sugar. Maple becomes top of mind from its maple wood scent. From there, cherry continues to play a major role in the rest of the flavor profile. On the palate, it's layered with sweet oak, caramel, vanilla, and a wide range of dry dark fruit notes. The finish mixes roasted nuts with warm, seasoned oak and cigar leaf against a stewed cherry note.

Like the other high aged Elijah Craig bourbons, they don’t wow just on taste alone. Where their Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon releases go for full-on boldness, the high aged releases are more tempered, gentle, and subtle. Elijah Craigh 15 Year tends to find a happy middle ground between the two. Where age and accompanying oak can play a major role in Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year and Knob Creek 15 Year Bourbon, for Elijah Craig 15 Year, it's very well integrated, and oak doesn’t overpower. It helps create a sip with a fullness of flavor, and while the mouthfeel is never quite mouthcoating, the flavors open up with considerable ease. Elijah Craig 15 Year is a very traditional style of bourbon, but that is also what many expect out of a high-aged bourbon. Save the gimmicks for the younger releases, and deliver a bourbon that is a classic bourbon at heart. With a good balance of fruit, spice, sweet, and aged oak, few will find anything remotely polarizing about Elijah Craig 15 Year. Combined with its respectable proof and price point, it's what most of us have always wanted out of a high aged, higher proof Elijah Craig bourbon. And we finally got it.

‍The bourbon in review is from barrel number 383 and was bottled on 2/19/26.