Elijah Craig Barrel Proof RYE – Batch A925

ELIJAH CRAIG BARREL PROOF RYE
Inaugural Batch A925 (Fall 2025)

MASH BILL – 51% rye, 35% corn, 14% malted barley

PROOF – 108

AGE – 12 years 3 months

DISTILLERY – Heaven Hill

PRICE – $127 (includes tax and shipping; msrp is $80)

WORTH BUYING? – Yes, despite the sting of the pricy shipping

Back in 2021 I posted notes on the then newly released Elijah Craig Rye. I liked it fine—a perfectly good rye mixer alongside Old Forester and Rittenhouse. I also noted this:

And you just know there’s going to be a Barrel Proof Rye release at some point! Maybe it won’t be aged 12 years like the bourbon. But I can’t imagine Heaven Hill not offering it once they have the stocks on hand and have determined what age works best for both taste and the financial bottom line. Whenever that bottling rolls out, I’ll be eager to try it.

Indeed, when that bottle rolled out I was so eager to try it I didn’t wait for it to hit California. I paid extra for shipping!

I was wrong about the age. They did release it at 12 years! And at 108, the proof was lower than any Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon I’ve seen. Though I used to be dazzled by 120+ proof whiskeys, I now prefer the 90 to 115 range. So this 12-year 108-proof rye was cause for great anticipation.

But was immediate gratification worth the $40 shipping?

Here we are, one week after uncorking and three pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using both a simple brandy glass and traditional Glencairn.

COLOR – medium oranges both vibrant and soft

NOSE – sparkly cinnamon and rye spices, oak wood and bark, navel orange zest and satsuma orange pulp, dark chocolate fudge

TASTE – syrupy texture, with a brightened up version of the aromas, now also with toffee, coffee, dark caramel chews, a thick dark chocolate sauce, oak tannin

FINISH – the orange notes take another tangy, syrupy turn; lingering oak, oak tannin, dark chocolate sauce, faint coffee

OVERALL – a chocolatey spiced dessert served with coffee at a rustic cabin in the woods

Though not the most pronounced among the notes, the dark chocolate aspects really anchor this whiskey for me. That’s where the weight is. The orange variations give it life and brightness, accented substantially by the oak and rye spices.

Given the mash bill is as low-rye as possible to still qualify as a rye whiskey, this will appeal to bourbon fans and the rye curious. It wears its age very well. The oak is present without overwhelming things. And the sturdy but easygoing 108 proof adds to the spice without singeing the sweeter aromas or flavors.

This is only my second Elijah Craig rye experience, following the brand’s initial standard release rye. There’s the Toasted Barrel Rye out there as well, though it hasn’t kicked up too much dust on the whiskey social meds. I liked the Toasted Barrel Bourbon very much. That, and this solid inaugural Barrel Proof Rye, do make me curious to try the Toasted Barrel Rye variation.

Perhaps what keeps my curiosity about the Elijah Craig Ryes subdued is that, as an experience, they are so close to bourbon. If you told me I was sipping a high-rye bourbon right now, I’d believe you without question. So if I’m in a rye mood, I’m much more likely to reach for something like a Sagamore, one of the older High West Rendezvous Ryes I still have kicking around, or the Willett Four Year. These are all definitely rye whiskeys.

I suspect this new brand extension will follow the trend of its Barrel Proof Bourbon brother, with an impressively appointed early release followed by much lower ages and more expected proof points. But if they keep the age range up and the proof level down, though I wouldn’t pay to have it shipped again, if I can eventually find it locally and at msrp, I’ll be very glad to always have a bottle of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye on my shelf.

Cheers!