With the upcoming release of the Elijah Craig 21-year-old Single Barrel Bourbon (45% ALC/VOL), Heaven Hill Distillery has done it again. The family-owned distillery continues to deliver sensational value.

(Note: This Elijah Craig 21-year-old was a media sample.)

Earlier this year in my American Whiskey column, I declared the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof at $40ish to be the best deal in all of bourbon.

The 21-year-old Elijah Craig follows this trend, selling for only $140 a 750ml bottle. I say “only” because approximately $84 is tax (get a subscription to Whisky Advocate to read my breakdown on whiskey taxes). Other American whiskeys at this age sell from $200 to $500 at retail. It’s worth pointing out that Elijah Craig 18-year-old used to be less than $40. I miss those days. With bourbon becoming more popular, the prices go up.

There’s also the older bourbon factor. Sometimes, you’ll get a 15-year or older bourbon that is a lot like licking the insides of the barrel; they’re just too woody.

That’s not the case for Elijah Craig 21-year-old. The sample I received—Barrel No. 41—was put in the barrel on November 26, 1990. So, they’ve been hanging on to this release for a couple years.

Nonetheless, the color impresses me right away, shining like a sun setting over a contrasting desert with an almost-brown tint and specs of gold. The nose fully pronounces the style of great bourbons: It’s complex, layered and completely balanced with cotton candy, vanilla cream, caramel, the freshly burnt crisp of Crème brûlée, toffee, chocolate and praline. Elijah Craig 21-year-old offers a baker’s kitchen aroma, with the palate letting you step inside the spice rack. The whiskey’s velvety structure endures a juicy, somewhat fruity beginning, and jumps right into a spice kick of cinnamon and nutmeg with the zest of orange peel, toasted almond and gently bringing the caramel, vanilla and spice back to a warm, long finish. The whiskey just lingers.

My only constructive critique is I’d prefer this at a higher proof. I find whiskey drinkers, like myself, are in bliss when these perfect barrels enter the glass. But, I certainly understand why Heaven Hill bottled at 90 proof, cutting the straight-from-barrel whiskey with water. Over Elijah Craig’s Barrel No. 41’s 21 years of aging, 3 to 5 percent a year was lost to the evaporation known as the “angel’s share.” If the 53-gallon barrel evaporated at an average rate of 4 percent a year with no other barrel complications such as leaking, that means only about 8.48 gallons of barrel-proof whiskey survived for Barrel No. 41.

So, Heaven Hill had to cut this whiskey down to 90 proof. Otherwise, I would not receive a sample.

The one-time bottling will be shipping in mid-August to high-end spirits retailers and on-premise accounts. It will also be available in the Bourbon Heritage Center in Bardstown, Ky.

I doubt the bourbon will be around for long. If you’re a collector, buy two, one for sipping and one for saving.