BARDSTOWN, KY – Elijah Craig Barrel Proof was named Whisky Advocate’s 2017 Whisky of the Year, featured in the Winter 2017 magazine issue. Elijah Craig was chosen from among hundreds of samples submitted globally throughout the year. Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 are chosen each year from a collection of the highest-rated whiskeys nominated by the Buying Guide reviewers, and ranked based on quality, value and availability. Read and watch the full review on Whisky Advocate’s website here.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof previously earned spirits industry acclaim in 2017 as a World Whiskies Awards’ category winner, receiving Double Gold and Best Small Batch Bourbon – 11 Years and Older at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 95 Points at F. Paul Pacult’s Ultimate Spirits Challenge, and Gold at the SIP Awards. As a small batch, 12-Year-Old Bourbon bottled straight from the barrel three times per year, the nose, taste, and finish are preserved in their simplest form, just as Master Distiller Denny Potter tastes them in Heaven Hill’s central Kentucky rickhouses. Originally scoring a 94 in the Summer 2017 issue of Whisky Advocate magazine, Fred Minnick described Elijah Craig Barrel Proof as a “Pure bliss; must sip.”

“Elijah Craig is an essential part of American Whiskey’s history, and we’re proud to embrace that legacy,” said Master Distiller Denny Potter. “As a nurturer of storied brands, Heaven Hill Distillery has been lifting America’s spirit for more than 81 years.”

The signature Bourbon bears the name of Reverend Elijah Craig, a Bourbon pioneer who is credited with being the first distiller to age his whiskey in charred oak barrels, or the Father of Bourbon. Heaven Hill Distillery preserves the Bourbon making traditions developed by Elijah Craig over two hundred years ago, where local corn and grains are milled and mixed with limestone-rich Kentucky spring water, then fermented and distilled. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is available nationally in limited quantities.