Nobody’s putting Elijah Craig Barrel Proof on a pedestal right now. Proofs have been trending lower, people are convinced Heaven Hill is watering these things down, and every new release gets roasted online before anyone’s even cracked the seal. I get it. I’ve said similar things.

But quite frankly, it’s still really good bourbon, and at $75 to $85 a bottle, it’s still one of the best values sitting on a shelf right now.

Named after Reverend Elijah Craig, the guy Heaven Hill decided to crown the father of all bourbon, the barrel proof line has been running since March 2013. Three releases a year, each one coded so you know exactly what you’re looking at. The letter tells you whether it’s the first, second, or third release of the year. The numbers give you the month and the year. B520 means second release, May 2020. Once you know the code it’s pretty straightforward.

The mash bill never changes. 78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, 10 percent rye. Always 12 years old. What swings batch to batch is the proof, and it can swing more than you’d expect.

I ran a full flight of four releases side by side, went left to right, then right to left, then threw them into a blind against Stagg Jr. Batch 15 and a Jack Daniels Single Barrel Barrel Proof. Here’s what I found.

The VOC is always there. Vanilla, oak, cherry, caramel. Every single release, every single time. That’s the floor and it’s a damn good floor. But what happens on top of that is where it gets interesting.

The higher proof releases come out swinging. We’re talking that classic Kentucky hug right out of the gate, big brown sugar on the nose, then cherry, then a long peppery finish that just sits there warming your chest. On the right batch you’re getting graham cracker, marshmallow, a little cookie dough dust on the back end. The whole thing smells like you’re sitting in front of a campfire making s’mores and I mean that in the best possible way. One of the releases I had was straight up orange marmalade on the nose, jammy and sweet, almost citrusy, totally unexpected and completely fantastic.

The lower proof releases are a different experience. They’re slower. The nose is lighter, almost deceptively thin at first, but give it a minute. What opens up is more brown sugar forward, a little more caramel, and then that oak starts creeping in on the finish. Some batches hit you with a Rolo situation, that chewy dark caramel that just parks itself on your tongue and stays there. Others finish dry, more leather and tobacco, a little popsicle stick wood that can be off-putting if you’re not ready for it. But even those grew on me by the second sip.

That’s the thing people miss. Someone watches a review, hears that a particular batch didn’t measure up to the previous one, and leaves it on the shelf. Huge mistake. A barrel proof that finishes fourth in a flight of four Elijah Craigs is still a 12-year bourbon at barrel strength. It’s still going to outperform most of what’s next to it.

The inconsistency people complain about is actually the whole point if you think about it right. Comparing batches to each other and calling one inferior is kind of missing what barrel proof bourbon even is. Every barrel is different. Every release is a different experience. That’s the appeal.

So if you see one on the shelf for $75 to $85, pick it up. Don’t wait for a review. Don’t cross-reference batch numbers on some Facebook group. Grab it, pour it neat, give it a few minutes to open up, and drink it.

That’s all I got.