Salted caramel | Fresh ground pepper | Kindling wood | Leather | Faint dark berries | Touch of dill | Light ethanol

Rye spice | Chewy oak | Cigar box | Leather | Light bubble gum | Pink dragon fruit | Caramel

Rye spice | Chewy dry tannic oak | Leather | Lingering light spice | Dry

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A125 is the first of three batches planned for 2025, with “A” signifying the first batch of the year, “1” standing for its January release month, and “25” identifying the year of the release. Similar to last year’s Batch A124, the first batch of 2025 comes in at under 11 years old. However, there is no longer a standard formula that Heaven Hill uses when it comes to the age of their batches, with age varying across the three yearly releases and by batch.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof tends to be a fan favorite among bourbon consumers. Higher aged and higher proof, with a price that’s less than other staple barrel proof bourbons such as Booker’s Bourbon. While past batches have been crowned our #1 Whiskey of the Year, Batch A125 deviates from this path. The sip is full of dry flavors that dominate and tend to take away from the supporting cast of more interesting flavors that weave in and out. I would have loved to see more of the salted caramel and dark berries scents pull forward in the nose, along with the bubble gum and pink dragon fruit notes in the midpoint. Knowing the highs past batches have reached, A125’s sip comes across as more of a headscratcher than anything else. It’s still an above-average bourbon, but considering the elevated quality the brand has achieved, it’s a rare deviation for them. It will be interesting to see how the two other batches in 2025 compared to batch A125 later this year.