Elijah Craig 21 Single Barrel Bourbon

Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — 94

Price

$549.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: 18 Years | Region: Bardstown, Kentucky, USA | Proof: 90 Proof

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Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

21yr

Age Statement

Proof

47%

ABV

2013

Previous Edition

2026

Reintroduced

Heaven Hill Distillery bottles each barrel of Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel on its own, at 94 proof (47% ABV), from Kentucky straight bourbon aged 21 years. It returned on June 14, 2026, National Bourbon Day, at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience in Bardstown, thirteen years after a one-time 21-year-old edition at 90 proof, and each bottle ships in a custom wooden display case.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Bottled barrel by barrel. Each barrel Heaven Hill selects is emptied and bottled by itself, never blended with another, and the purple band on the front label carries that barrel’s number and its bottling date in handwriting.

Twenty-one years in oak. Elijah Craig’s own account of the 21 stresses attrition: tasters check the barrels as they mature, some miss the standard even at 21 years, and few of the barrels maturing across Kentucky are ever given that long.

94 proof, up from 90. The label reads 47% alcohol by volume. The 21-year-old Elijah Craig single barrel of 2013 held the brand’s traditional 90 proof.

A case of its own. Heaven Hill packs the 21 in a custom wooden display case that it ties to the barrel charring behind Reverend Elijah Craig’s “Father of Bourbon” name; the lid is cut with the Elijah Craig name, the words Single Barrel and a round 21 seal.

Top of the range. At the June 2026 launch, Heaven Hill master distiller Conor O’Driscoll described the 21 as the oldest age statement Elijah Craig then had on sale; it joins the brand’s 15- and 18-year-old single barrels.

Nº 02

2012 to 2026

The Single Barrel’s Older Ages

Heaven Hill released a 20-year-old Elijah Craig single barrel in the spring of 2012, and when it sold out a 21-year-old took its place: a one-time edition sent to selected markets from mid-August 2013 at 90 proof. Craig Beam, master distiller at the time, said its barrels came from several hundred identified at middle to high storage in what Heaven Hill called its best rickhouses. A 23-year-old succeeded it in August 2014, drawn from the middle floors. In March 2026 Heaven Hill added a 15-year-old at 108 proof alongside the 18, and three months later it brought back the 21, this time at 94 proof.

Nº 03

The Label, Then and Now

Two 21-year-old bottlings

2013

Blue label, 90 proof

The 2013 edition: 45% alcohol by volume, packed in three-bottle cases, with a back label left open for the barrel number and the date the barrel was filled.

2026

Purple band, 94 proof

The front label states 47% alcohol by volume, and its purple band holds the bottling date and barrel number in handwriting beside a seal ringed with the words Aged Twenty-One Years.

Every bottle

Its own barrel

Since every barrel goes into bottle alone, the number written on a label identifies the cask that filled it.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Heaven Hill’s tasting note for the 21 Year Old describes a rich mahogany bourbon that opens on toasted oak and leather over layered spice. Milk chocolate, toasted nuts and burnt caramel make up the palate, and the finish starts with aged oak and molasses before barrel char and pepper take over. Master distiller Conor O’Driscoll framed it as Elijah Craig’s familiar warm spice with new layers drawn out by the longer maturation.

Strategic Position

Three years older than Elijah Craig’s 18-year single barrel at 90 proof, the 21 keeps the same one-barrel method and goes into bottle four proof points higher. Another of Heaven Hill’s 2026 bourbons, the 22-year Heritage Collection at 129.2 proof, is a year older but draws on 270 barrels of 2003 whiskey bottled together at barrel proof; the 21 never mingles its barrels and stays at 94.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

Launch day in Bardstown

Heaven Hill opened sales at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience at noon on June 14, 2026, after handing out wristbands before its 11 a.m. opening, with Conor O’Driscoll and artisanal distiller Jodie Filiatreau signing bottles.

→

Bottles held for the holidays

After a launch sold only to visitors in Bardstown, Heaven Hill reserved 1,789 bottles, a figure chosen for the year it says Elijah Craig first made bourbon, for select markets ahead of the 2026 holiday season.

Collector IndexEC 21 · 2026

Line: Elijah Craig Single Barrel
Age: 21 years
Strength: 94 proof · 47% ABV
Previous edition: 2013 · 90 proof
Reintroduced: June 14, 2026
Case: Custom wooden display case

The 21 sits among every bourbon in the shop and, with the 18 Year Old, the Heritage Collection editions and Parker’s Heritage, in our Heaven Hill selection.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Whiskey	Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel
Class	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age statement	21 years
Proof	94
ABV	47%
Style	Single barrel: each barrel emptied and bottled on its own
Label	Barrel number and bottling date handwritten on each bottle
Mash bill	78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley (Heaven Hill’s traditional bourbon mash bill)
Producer	Heaven Hill Distillery
Region	Kentucky
Packaging	Custom wooden display case
Release	Reintroduced June 14, 2026 at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience, Bardstown; further distribution later in 2026
Previous edition	2013, at 90 proof
Format	750 mL

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel starts from Heaven Hill’s traditional bourbon mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley. Barrels are tasted at intervals as they mature, and only those still at Heaven Hill’s standard at 21 years go forward; each is then emptied and bottled separately at 94 proof, with its number and bottling date written onto the label.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What proof is Elijah Craig 21 Year Old?

Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel carries 94 proof on its label, which is 47% alcohol by volume, as Heaven Hill Distillery announced for the June 2026 reintroduction. The earlier 21-year-old Elijah Craig, a one-time 2013 edition, was bottled at 90 proof.

When did Elijah Craig 21 come back?

Heaven Hill Distillery announced the return of Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel on June 9, 2026 and first sold it on June 14, 2026, National Bourbon Day, at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience in Bardstown, Kentucky, and set further distribution for later in 2026. The previous 21-year-old Elijah Craig shipped as a one-time edition in 2013.

How is Elijah Craig 21 different from Elijah Craig 18?

Both are single-barrel Kentucky straight bourbons from Heaven Hill Distillery, each bottle drawn from one barrel with its barrel number and bottling date handwritten on the label. Elijah Craig 21 Year Old ages three years longer and is bottled at 94 proof, where Elijah Craig 18 Year Old is bottled at 90 proof, and the 21 comes in a custom wooden display case.

What does Elijah Craig 21 taste like?

Heaven Hill Distillery’s note for Elijah Craig 21 Year Old Single Barrel gives it a rich mahogany colour and a nose of toasted oak, leather and spice. Milk chocolate, toasted nuts and burnt caramel follow on the palate, and the finish moves from aged oak and molasses to barrel char and pepper.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Elijah Craig · 21 Year Old Single Barrel

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