Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon

Elijah Craig Small Batch is a bourbon, meaning a mash bill built mainly on corn and aged in new charred oak. The "small batch" name points to a blend drawn from a limited number of barrels, not a single-barrel or mass-blended bottling. The details supplied don't give a proof, age statement or mash bill, so the notes below describe what bourbon of this kind typically shows, not a measured profile of this bottle. On the nose, expect the usual bourbon trio: caramelized sugar and vanilla from the charred oak, a toasted-grain sweetness from the corn, and a layer of baking spice such as cinnamon or nutmeg. Bourbons in this style often add toasted nuts, a little orange peel and a drier oak note toward the finish. Smoke is not a feature of the category. Any char character comes from the barrel and reads as toasted wood and caramel, not peat or campfire. Neat is the best way to learn the whiskey. Pour about an ounce and a half into a Glencairn, let it sit for a minute, and nose it with your mouth slightly open to keep the alcohol from overwhelming the vanilla and spice. If the first sips feel hot, add a few drops of room-temperature water, which loosens the aromas and softens the alcohol. A single large ice cube in a rocks glass is a good alternative. It chills the pour slowly and mutes the sweetness a little without watering it down quickly. Skip crushed ice for sipping, because it dilutes too fast. In cocktails, a bourbon with this much corn sweetness and oak suits the classics. In an Old Fashioned, stir two ounces with a sugar cube or a teaspoon of simple syrup and two dashes of Angostura over ice, then finish with an orange peel. For a Manhattan, use two ounces of bourbon, one ounce of sweet vermouth and a couple of dashes of bitters, stirred and served up. A Whiskey Sour, with two ounces of bourbon, three-quarters of an ounce of lemon juice and a half ounce of simple syrup, lets the vanilla balance the acidity. A highball of one part bourbon to three parts soda over plenty of ice, with a lemon wedge, keeps it light and shows off the grain character. Serve the cocktails in a rocks glass or a chilled coupe, and keep the Glencairn for sipping.