Elijah Craig Small Batch is one of those bottles that keeps showing up behind every serious bar I've ever worked — and for good reason. At 47% ABV and carrying a 12-year age statement, this Kentucky Straight Bourbon punches well above its price point. For under fifty quid, you're getting a properly aged bourbon with enough proof to stand up in cocktails without losing its identity when sipped neat.
Let me be clear about what we're dealing with here. This is a bourbon that helped popularise the small batch category, and the 12-year maturation gives it a depth that plenty of bottles at twice the price struggle to match. Kentucky warehouses do serious work over a dozen years — the temperature swings between summer and winter push the spirit in and out of the charred oak, building up layers of complexity that younger bourbons simply haven't earned yet. That's not marketing fluff, that's just physics and patience.
What to Expect
At 47% ABV, Elijah Craig Small Batch sits in a sweet spot. It's got enough backbone that you won't lose the whiskey's character under a single large ice cube, but it's not so hot that it overwhelms anyone who's still finding their feet with bourbon. The 12-year age statement tells you this has had proper time in the barrel — expect the kind of oak influence that gives you warmth and weight without tipping into tannic bitterness. This is a bourbon that leans into the richer, fuller side of the category.
The small batch designation means they're vatting a selection of barrels rather than pulling from the entire warehouse. In practice, that gives the blenders room to aim for consistency and a specific flavour profile batch to batch. It's a considered approach, and it shows in the glass.
The Verdict
I'm giving Elijah Craig Small Batch a 7.6 out of 10, and I'd argue that's generous praise when you factor in the value. At £46.75, this is a bourbon that competes with bottles sitting in the £60-£70 range. The 12-year age statement does the heavy lifting — there's a maturity and confidence here that makes it equally at home as an after-dinner sipper or the foundation of a properly built cocktail. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel. It's just doing the fundamentals extremely well, and sometimes that's exactly what you want from a bourbon.
If I had one minor gripe, it's that at this proof point, I'd love to see what a barrel-proof version could do with the same 12-year maturation. But that's me being greedy — what's in the bottle is genuinely impressive for the money.
Best Served
This is an Old Fashioned bourbon if ever I've seen one. The 47% ABV means it won't disappear under the sugar and bitters, and the 12-year oak character gives the cocktail a rich, rounded backbone. Two dashes of Angostura, a barspoon of demerara syrup, a large ice cube, and an orange peel expressed over the top. Keep it simple — the bourbon will do the talking. Equally, if you want to drink it straight, try it with a single ice cube and give it five minutes to open up. You'll be rewarded for your patience.
