All three are richly flavored. The Elijah Craig 18 is also complex and just a superb 'dram'. I really like the Elmer T. Lee as a fine all-around sipper--gently rich. And the Buffalo Trace (which you can get in Northern Kentucky areas as specialty bottlings from different casks and with different flavor profiles) is big and spicy.
No offense taken on the malt choice. I started decades ago with wine (in the 1970's) and got pretty serious on a limited budget. Then I discovered good beer in the 1980's. Finally I became fascinated with the single malt raves and began reading all the hundreds of hours of written blogs on the Malt Maniacs web site, which steered me into single malts. Now, I'm beginning to venture off into the bourbon single barrels.
Bourbon has some advantages over scotch. Price is a big one, availability (in the U.S.) is another. Bourbon is somewhat sweeter, so for me it's not used in the same situations as single malts. Scotch is rather dry (as in wines), bourbon is softer, sweeter and great in its own right. You can't say one is better than the other, just different.
I haven't poured a bottle of either out yet.
Well, you've still got Calvados, Armagnac, Cognac, and Salignac to go through yet -- live long and drink up!
-- Larry
Yeah, well I probably won't live long enough or sustain my budget long enough to finish the list.
Cheers!
The Elijah Craig 18 year old single barrel is very flavorful. The most pronounced flavor is a deep spicy oak taste. The oak can be overpowering if you prefer a lighter taste profile. The bottle itself is well done and looks good prominently displayed in a conspicuous place. If you like a mouthful of whiskey flavor then you'll probably like this version of Elijah Craig.
Daniel
wow...i am drinking the 12yo EC tonight, and am absolutely loving it. very smooth all the way around, and just the right amount of bite. i figured i'd blow $23.00 first, before forking out the $ 40.00 for the 18yo. that'll be next week's bottle!
i am running out of cupboard space! i need to drink faster.
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