Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 90 |
| Style |
Rye American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 47% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $54.99 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2024-08-28 |
Elijah Craig Toasted Rye Review
In 2020, Heaven Hill first released Elijah Craig Toasted Bourbon. The expression took the brand’s traditional small batch bourbon and gave it additional aging time in a new, toasted and charred barrel. The release proved popular enough to become a mainstay (and sometimes to command a hefty retail markup, though that trend fortunately seems to be waning).
Now, the brand is back with another toasted riff, this time with its small batch rye. Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Rye takes “fully matured” Kentucky straight rye whiskey (which we assume to be in the four to seven year range) and matures it for an undisclosed amount of time in a new, toasted and charred barrel.
Elijah Craig Rye is made from a mashbill of 51 percent rye, 35 percent corn, and 14 percent malted barley. It’s an archetypal Kentucky rye, meaning the mashbill contains close to the minimum amount of rye to be classified as a rye whiskey. The relatively large percentage of corn typically leads to a sweeter whiskey that runs somewhat close to a classic bourbon flavor profile (with some exceptions!).
Let’s talk about those secondary barrels for a second. Heaven Hill says they’re unique to the new rye, made in partnership with Independent Stave Company. After toasting, “a cap is placed on the barrel to quickly ramp up the heat to an extremely high temperature allowing phenols to embed in the surface of the barrel for an added element of smoke to complement the spice and sweetness.”
It’s time to taste Elijah Craig’s newest toasted expression. Let’s see how it stacks up!
Elijah Craig Toasted Rye: Stats and Availability
Heaven Hill says its new toasted rye will be “highly allocated,” though it comes with a relatively modest MSRP of around $55. (That’s significantly higher than the regular small batch rye and about the same as Elijah Craig Toasted Bourbon, for those wondering.) That same toasted bourbon will occasionally command a retail markup, and several years ago, I saw it listed for as high as $140 in NYC. However, prices seem to be trending back down to earth, and these days I’m coming across Toasted Bourbon for anywhere between $55 and $70. My guess is the rye will settle into a similar range.
Elijah Craig Toasted Rye Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
Kentucky-style rye whiskeys often start off sweet on the nose — or at least sweeter than some high-rye cousins. Elijah Craig Toasted Rye certainly fits that bill, though at least here, the corn isn’t so dominant that one would easily confuse this for a bourbon.
Threads of green, vegetal and herbal notes weave through the entire nosing experience, though specifics are fleeting. There’s a pop of freshly cut grass here, a tiny bit of crushed mint there.
Let’s zoom in on those sweet elements. The extra influence of toasted wood is apparent, as is a hefty dose of spice — think more oaky gingersnap than brown sugar. Paired with the herbal notes outlined above, aromas of cocoa and creamy vanilla push the nose toward mint chocolate chunk ice cream.
Overall, the nose does feel a tiny bit restrained, and I found myself wishing this came in at six proof points higher for an even 100. Higher proof doesn’t always mean a richer, fuller nose, but here, I wonder if that would have brought out even more wood sugars.
A few more sniffs in, and cooling menthol and wintergreen take hold, a final (albeit somewhat gentle) reminder of the majority grain before we move on to the first sip.
Taste
Semi-sweet baking chocolate leads, the cocoa elements coming far earlier on the palate compared to the nose. That’s quickly backed by an undercurrent of mint and baking spice. Things get gradually sweeter and spicier toward the midpalate, reminiscent of the aftertaste of crystalized, candied ginger chunks.
That ginger never truly dissipates, by the way. Barring a curveball on the finish, if I had to summarize this whiskey in two words, they’d be “minty gingersnaps.”
It’s all (well, mostly) oak from the midpalate on. Wood sugars, soft leather, and unmistakable oak tannins layer across the tongue. In effect, this takes the initial flavors and turns them a shade darker. Roasted pecans and walnuts also make an appearance toward the back and sides of the palate, carried by a mouthfeel that’s slightly oily but still a little less viscous than I would have personally liked.
Overall, the palate delivers some punchy, oak-forward flavor, with components dialed up compared to the nose.
Finish
Maybe my favorite part of Elijah Craig Toasted Rye, the finish is long and satisfying: minty, sweet, and a touch spicy, with clove layering in alongside ginger. It’s not so woody as to become noticeably drying, but that toasted finish has left fingerprints aplenty.
Elijah Craig Toasted Rye Rating
90/100
Recap
I believe Elijah Craig Toasted Rye will prove to be an adaptable spirit we’ll be seeing a lot of in the coming years. At the suggested retail (and one would assume wholesale) pricing, high-end bars may be tempted to experiment with it in certain cocktails. I’ll likely keep a bottle on hand for when I want more oak in my at-home mixed drinks. And to be clear, it’s plenty tasty to sip neat.
Now if only Heaven Hill would answer my calls about releasing Elijah Craig Rye at barrel proof…
*Image retrieved from Heaven Hill Brands
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