Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (Batch A119), 67.6%

This year's first of three annual releases has a higher ABV than Whisky Advocate's 2017 Whisky of the Year, which was 62.1%. The nose offers caramel, vanilla cream pie, cocoa powder, baking spice, baked apple, orange, marzipan, leather, and oak. Very well-integrated on the palate, but the high ABV cries out for water, which brings chocolate, butterscotch, bitter orange, coconut, almond, and creamed corn. The finish is a long, delightful reprise of it all. Editors' Choice