Head to head · same category, comparable price
Elijah Craig Small Batch vs Four Roses Small Batch
No flavour axis separates these two, so the choice is price and occasion.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Elijah Craig Small Batch | Four Roses Small Batch | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Bourbon | Bourbon |
| Origin | Kentucky, United States | Kentucky, United States |
| Age | No age statement | No age statement |
| Strength | 47% ABV | 45% ABV |
| Cask | New oak barrel, Level 3 char | New charred oak barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £43 | £34 |
| Per 10cl | £6.14 | £4.86 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £131 | £108 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both Kentucky whiskies, from different distilleries.
Neither carries an age statement, so neither discloses its youngest spirit.
Cask as each producer describes it: Elijah Craig Small Batch in new oak barrel, level 3 char, Four Roses Small Batch in new charred oak barrel.
Neither states chill filtration.
Colour: Elijah Craig Small Batch natural colour, Four Roses Small Batch natural colour.
What the price buys
Elijah Craig Small Batch is £9.00 dearer a bottle than Four Roses Small Batch.
Strength keeps that ordering: £108 a litre of pure alcohol for Four Roses Small Batch against £131.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Elijah Craig Small Batch is 11th cheapest and Four Roses Small Batch 7th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Elijah Craig Small Batch | Four Roses Small Batch |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 7 | 6 |
| Fruity | 5 | 5 |
| Spicy | 6 | 7 |
| Woody | 7 | 6 |
| Sherried | 1 | 1 |
| Cereal | 4 | 4 |
| Oily | 7 | 6 |
No axis reaches the 3-point gap we call meaningful. Widest is sweet, 7 against 6.
Identical on peaty, fruity, sherried and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
Elijah Craig Small Batch
Vanilla, toffee and charred oak at 47%. Still one of bourbon's better value propositions.
Heaven Hill removed the 12-year age statement in the week of 27 January 2016 and now ships an 8-to-12-year blend — it chose to hold the price and keep wide distribution rather than let the bottle go scarce, which is the opposite of what most brands did.
Full record →Four Roses Small Batch
Red fruit and rye spice, cleanly made. One of the few bourbons that tells you its recipe.
Four Roses is one of the very few American distillers to publish actual mash bills: this blends recipes B (60% corn / 35% rye / 5% barley) and E (75% / 20% / 5%). Its single-storey rack warehouses vary only about 8°F from top rack to bottom.
Full record →Both listed for value; only Elijah Craig Small Batch for old fashioned; only Four Roses Small Batch for cocktails and transparency.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Elijah Craig Small Batch and Four Roses Small Batch: elijahcraig.com, fourrosesbourbon.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.