The father of bourbon steps into the rye world.
Around 1789, a Baptist preacher by the name of Elijah Craig made history as the first distiller to use charred barrels to age whiskey. Whether this charring was a calculated, scientific move or the product of an accidental warehouse fire remains to be seen…But either way, the charred barrel was a huge success and earned Elijah Craig the title of, “Father of Bourbon.” (Or at least that’s what the folks at Heaven Hill, the owners of the Elijah Craig brand, like to say). Ambiguous historical facts and titles aside, Elijah Craig remains one of the biggest names in bourbon with Elijah Craig Small Batch, Barrel Proof, Toasted Barrel, and a new 18-Year-Old bourbon.
But as of 2020, Elijah Craig has set its sights on rye whiskey with the release of its Straight Rye Whiskey. With a mash bill of just 51% rye, 35% corn, and 14% barley, this rye is considered “barely legal” since the legal requirement for rye whiskey is set at exactly 51% rye. And this mash bill produces exactly the kind of rye whiskey you would expect it to.
Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey carries a distinctly corn-forward sweetness with thick caramel, vanilla, and butterscotch flavors. The rye grain does manage to claw its way into the flavor mix with baking spices like clove and allspice, but the characteristically rye pepper flavor is a no show. The finish is a tad hot, but it actually manages to balance out the reappearance of the thick, corn sweetness in a nice way.
At the end of the day, Elijah Craig’s rye is a perfectly standard, middle of the road kind of rye whiskey. However, for just $27 that may have been the exact intention. As far as the competition goes, Elijah Craig certainly beats out similarly priced bottles like Old Forester Rye or Russell’s Reserve 6 Year Rye, but hasn’t quite beat out the big personalities of James E. Pepper 1776 Rye or Wild Turkey 101 Rye. In fact, Elijah Craig’s biggest competition should be a close family member – Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond Rye Whiskey. Rittenhouse is also made by Heaven Hill and even has the same barely legal mash bill, yet it somehow pulls off a bit more flavor and attitude. Guess proof really does influence the taste of whiskey, who would have thought?
As a first start, Elijah Craig Rye Whiskey is not a bad bottle for the brand or for the price. However, they have a long way to go before they can even think of claiming the “Father of Rye” title.
STATS: Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey
- Price for us: $27 for 750 mL
- Proof: 97
- Aged: NAS
- Distillery: Elijah Craig, owned by Heaven Hill
- Recommendation: Mixer
