Compare
Elijah Craig Small Batch vs Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Elijah Craig Small Batch and Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, classically built classic versus a new-wave, wheat-forward craft style.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Elijah Craig Small Batch | Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | Traditional Bourbon | Wheated Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley | 64% corn, 24% wheat, 12% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | 6 years |
| Proof | 94 proof (47% ABV) | 100 proof (50% ABV) +6 proof |
| Approx. Price 1 | ~$28 – $35 ~$21 less | ~$45 – $60 |
- US shelf prices as of 2026-08; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Elijah Craig Small Batch
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Elijah Craig Small Batch Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
spice 5/3 spice: Elijah Craig Small Batch 5 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 3 out of 10
oak 7/5 oak: Elijah Craig Small Batch 7 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
fruit 4/6 fruit: Elijah Craig Small Batch 4 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 6 out of 10
sweetness 6/7 sweetness: Elijah Craig Small Batch 6 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 7 out of 10
heat 4/5 heat: Elijah Craig Small Batch 4 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
nuttiness 4/4 nuttiness: Elijah Craig Small Batch 4 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 4 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
The gap between these two is mostly about spice.
- Elijah Craig Small Batch: A heavily oak-driven pour for the money, with vanilla bean and brown sugar riding on top of real char and smoke. The extra age shows up as wood depth rather than harshness.
- Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond: A sweet-mash, bonded wheated bourbon from a distillery founded by two fermentation scientists, and the technical care shows in how clean it tastes. One of the strongest craft arguments on the shelf.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Elijah Craig Small Batch if you want the best oak-forward value on the shelf, with more wood character than its price suggests.
- Go with Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond if you want a bonded, sweet-mash wheater from a modern distillery doing genuinely careful work with slightly more proof behind it.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks, old-fashioned (Elijah Craig Small Batch); neat, rocks (Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond).