{"id":2155,"date":"2026-02-19T18:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/?p=2155"},"modified":"2026-02-19T18:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:20:00","slug":"elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/","title":{"rendered":"BCA &#038; ACE Liquor Center Release Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>PUBLISH DATE: February 19, 2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Arkansas bourbon community continues to produce standout private barrel selections, and the latest release from the <strong>Bourbon Club of Arkansas (BCA)<\/strong> and <strong>ACE Liquor Center<\/strong> brings a powerful counterpart to an earlier pick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel<\/strong> arrives as a high-proof, double-digit aged selection from Heaven Hill Distillery\u2019s Elijah Craig line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This release serves as the darker companion to the previously released <strong>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/bca-elijah-craig-light-side-barrel\/\">Light Side Rebel Barrel<\/a>,\u201d<\/strong> with both barrels reportedly aged in the same rickhouse and dumped on the same day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source:  Gary Penna &#8211; 02\/16\/2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"bottle-details\">Bottle Details<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Brand:<\/strong> Elijah Craig<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expression:<\/strong> Barrel Proof Private Selection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Type:<\/strong> Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Age:<\/strong> 10 Years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Proof:<\/strong> 129.5<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Selection:<\/strong> Bourbon Club of Arkansas &amp; ACE Liquor Center<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Retail Price:<\/strong> <strong>$79.99 + tax<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-high-proof-elijah-craig-pick\">A High-Proof Elijah Craig Pick<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Elijah Craig Barrel Proof selections are known for delivering bold, uncut bourbon straight from the barrel. At <strong>129.5 proof<\/strong>, the \u201cDark Side\u201d barrel falls squarely in the range that many enthusiasts seek for maximum flavor intensity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Private selections like this allow local groups and retailers to choose a single barrel they believe represents the best profile available at the time. In Arkansas, organizations such as the <strong>Bourbon Club of Arkansas<\/strong> have built a strong reputation for identifying standout barrels, with many of their picks receiving recognition in national competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a <strong>10-year age statement<\/strong> and a barrel-proof presentation, the Dark Side release is positioned as a rich and powerful counterpart to the earlier Light Side barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"availability\">Availability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Elijah Craig Barrel Proof <strong>\u201cDark Side\u201d<\/strong> private barrel was released through <strong>ACE Liquor Center<\/strong> in February 2026 at a retail price of <strong>$79.99 plus tax<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This particular release was <strong>exclusive to members of the Bourbon Club of Arkansas (BCA)<\/strong> and was not available as a general public release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-elijah-craig\">About Elijah Craig<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Elijah Craig is one of the flagship bourbon brands produced by Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Named after the 18th-century Baptist preacher often credited in bourbon folklore with pioneering charred oak barrels, the brand has become one of the most widely respected bourbons in the <strong>premium small batch and barrel-proof category<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Elijah Craig Barrel Proof<\/strong> series, first released in 2013, is particularly popular among enthusiasts because it is bottled <strong>uncut and non-chill filtered<\/strong>, allowing the whiskey to retain its full strength and flavor profile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PUBLISH DATE: February 19, 2026 The Arkansas bourbon community continues to produce standout private barrel selections, and the latest release from the Bourbon Club of Arkansas (BCA) and ACE Liquor [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_gspb_post_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-2155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ace-liquor","tag-bca"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BCA &amp; ACE Liquor Center Release Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel - Arkansas Liquor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bourbon Club of Arkansas and ACE Liquor Center release the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d private barrel \u2014 a 10-year Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 129.5 proof for $79.99, exclusive to BCA members.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BCA &amp; ACE Liquor Center Release Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel - Arkansas Liquor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bourbon Club of Arkansas and ACE Liquor Center release the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d private barrel \u2014 a 10-year Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 129.5 proof for $79.99, exclusive to BCA members.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arkansas Liquor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-20T00:17:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-20T00:20:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Justin Jones\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Jones\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BCA & ACE Liquor Center Release Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel - Arkansas Liquor","description":"Bourbon Club of Arkansas and ACE Liquor Center release the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d private barrel \u2014 a 10-year Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 129.5 proof for $79.99, exclusive to BCA members.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BCA & ACE Liquor Center Release Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel - Arkansas Liquor","og_description":"Bourbon Club of Arkansas and ACE Liquor Center release the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d private barrel \u2014 a 10-year Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 129.5 proof for $79.99, exclusive to BCA members.","og_url":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/","og_site_name":"Arkansas Liquor","article_published_time":"2026-02-20T00:17:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-20T00:20:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1152,"height":2048,"url":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Justin Jones","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Justin Jones","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/"},"author":{"name":"Justin Jones","@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4717d2568afff4fa89c8b3bd8871a49"},"headline":"BCA &#038; ACE Liquor Center Release Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel","datePublished":"2026-02-20T00:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-20T00:20:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/"},"wordCount":394,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4717d2568afff4fa89c8b3bd8871a49"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026.jpg","keywords":["BCA"],"articleSection":["Ace Liquor"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/","url":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/","name":"BCA & ACE Liquor Center Release Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel - Arkansas Liquor","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-20T00:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-20T00:20:00+00:00","description":"Bourbon Club of Arkansas and ACE Liquor Center release the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d private barrel \u2014 a 10-year Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 129.5 proof for $79.99, exclusive to BCA members.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Gary-Penna-BCA-Elijah-Craig-Dark-Side-02-16-2026.jpg","width":1152,"height":2048,"caption":"Source: Gary Penna - 02\/16\/2026"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/elijah-craig-dark-side-barrel-bca\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BCA &#038; ACE Liquor Center Release Elijah Craig Barrel Proof \u201cDark Side\u201d Private Barrel"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/","name":"Arkansas Liquor","description":"All Things Liquor in The Natural State","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4717d2568afff4fa89c8b3bd8871a49"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4717d2568afff4fa89c8b3bd8871a49","name":"Justin Jones","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/511beeccc1b69d17eb6327c63745ab9e5e152516990e9298a923bee0bb0ed88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/511beeccc1b69d17eb6327c63745ab9e5e152516990e9298a923bee0bb0ed88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/511beeccc1b69d17eb6327c63745ab9e5e152516990e9298a923bee0bb0ed88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Justin Jones"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/511beeccc1b69d17eb6327c63745ab9e5e152516990e9298a923bee0bb0ed88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/arkansasliquor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/author\/5e2793\/"}]}},"modified_by":"Justin Jones","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2158,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions\/2158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasliquor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}