Elijah Craig WhiskeyElijah Craig Whiskey Elijah Craig Whiskey
Elijah Craig (bourbon)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elijah Craig is a 12 year-old super-premium bourbon whiskey produced in Bardstown, Kentucky by the Heaven Hill Distillery. The brand is sold both as a straight bourbon. It is sold in glass 750ml bottles. Elijah Craig whisky is made in both 12 "Small Batch" and 18 year-old "Single Barrel" bottlings. The 18 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon is touted as "The oldest Single Barrel Bourbon in the world at 18 years . . ." made in oak barrels that are "hand selected by Parker and Craig Beam," losing nearly 2/3 of the barrels contents in Angel's share.[1] The barrels are thereafter considered to be prime for sale to the Scotch Whiskey industry, and for use by microbrewers in making cask-conditioned beers, e.g., Goose Island Brewery"Bourbon County" Imperial stout.[2] In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition of 2010, the 18 year-old Elijah Craig Single Barrel Bourbon was awarded Best Bourbon and a Double Gold Medal rating. In previous years, it had received a Double Gold Medal rating in 2008, a Gold Medal rating in 2004, and four silver ratings in other years (2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007).
NamesakeThe bourbon itself was named in honor of Reverend Elijah Craig (1738/1743 - May 18, 1808) was a pioneering Baptist preacher, born in Virginia, who became an educator and capitalist entrepreneur in the state of Kentucky. He is credited with the invention of bourbon whiskey, improving the locally made distillate from an un-aged corn liquor to the familiar reddish drink through barrel-aging in charred oak casks.[3]Elijah Craig may be most widely known for the premium bourbon that bears his name produced by Heaven Hill distillery.
Elijah Craig 18 year-old Super-Premium Bourbon DistilleryIn approximately 1789, Craig founded a distillery. This last enterprise likely led to his subsequent reputation as the inventor of corn-based bourbon whiskey. Rev. Craig is said to have been the first to age the distillation in charred oak casks,[3] "a process that gives the bourbon its reddish color and unique taste."[4] When he built it Rev. Craig's distillery was in the territory of the original Fayette County, from which later Bourbon County was created. Both were named in honor of the noted Revolutionary War Gen. Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette of the French nobility and its royal House of Bourbon.[5] As American whiskey authority Charles Kendrick Cowdery has observed, "By the time Bourbon County was formed in 1785, there were dozens if not hundreds of small farmer-distillers making whiskey throughout the region... Ultimately, most of the corn-based whiskey made west of the Alleghenies was called 'bourbon', to distinguish it from the rye-based whiskies that predominated in the East."[5]. See also
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External linksCategories: Bourbon whiskey | Bardstown, Kentucky | Distilleries in Kentucky | ||||||||||||||
