Old Ezra Barrel Strength Review

Here is a new product launched by Luxco in late 2018. Luxco is widely known to source from Heaven Hill so it's highly likely this is 7 year old cask strength Heaven Hill bourbon. It's rare this day and age we see a new cask strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey carrying an age statement that is both affordable and easy to obtain but in some sort of weird 2010 time-warp, here we are. I thought the Old Ezra 7 year 101 (which has been discontinued) was pretty good so I'm going into this expecting the same quality.

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Aged 7 Years; 58.5% ABV; $35

Nose: Typical woody bourbon with decent age. There is a bit of peanut, cherry, and a little cedar element to the wood notes. The proof is pretty evident but not overpowering - about right where it should be for nearly 60% ABV. 

Taste: Like the nose, it's pretty consistent with the core bourbon wheelhouse of vanilla/oak/caramel. There is more of the light cherry note and some peanut, something that is increasingly more common for me in Heaven Hill bourbons lately. It has some rye spice and decent amount of wood depth with minimal young, grainy mash notes. The proof is certainly there and it's a touch bold but certainly very drinkable.

Thoughts: This is exactly what it should be - a classic, no frills, no bullshit bourbon. It isn't going to blow you away as the most amazing bourbon you've ever had but it delivers the solid quality that you'd expect of a middle aged whiskey from a tenured distillery. If this had been released by Heaven Hill I think Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Jr would be an apt product name as that's what it tastes like. Considering the price, stats, and how easy this was for me to obtain, I'm calling this my best bourbon of 2018.

Rating: B

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Old Ezra 101 Review

Old Ezra 7 year is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon released by Luxco. Though the front label says "DISTILLED & AGED IN KENTUCKY BY EZRA BROOKS DISTILLING LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY", don't believe that for one second since there was no Ezra Brooks distillery seven years ago. Most credible sources have this as being sourced from Heaven Hill and like many Heaven Hill bourbons this is also charcoal filtered. Due to some positive reviews I'd read and that it's likely age stated highish proof Heaven Hill bourbon at a low price, I figured it was worth a shot as potential good and cheap daily sipper. 

Before we get into the review though, a curious story. At some point during the few weeks I spent with this bottle, I happened to notice this verbiage on the back label.

"CONTAINS CARAMEL COLOR"

Uh, wut? I do what any enraged whiskey nerd does and make a post in a whiskey group to the effect of can you believe this shit. Visceral rabbling immediately ensues more or less that the TTB is worthless and yeah that's definitely not a KY straight bourbon if coloring has been added, shame on the TTB and Luxco. But then someone asks about the TTB label so I start doing some digging. It took some time but eventually I deduced that there are a lot of flavored products that are put out under the Ezra Brooks line and the TTB label for this product doesn't match the one that's on the back of my bottle. Though I never found an exact match for the SKU, I came to the conclusion that somehow there was a bottling line mishap and one of Ezra Brook's other back labels like this one ended up on my bottle. 

Crisis averted, pitchforks lowered, bourbon can again be consumed at ease.

Aged 7 years; 50.5% ABV; $20

Nose: Rye menthol spice, decent amount of oak, about the level of caramel/vanilla sweets you'd expect for a 7 year old bourbon. 

Taste: Typical caramel/vanilla/honey sweets you get in a middle aged bourbon. It's rather forward on the sweets in the front and middle palate, much like creme brûlée. The finish has a good bit of rye spiciness that's inline with Heaven Hill's standard rye bourbon mash products. 

Thoughts: Pretty decent and above what I consider an average of something like Maker's Mark. Given the price, it's a good deal and that makes it a good candidate for a good daily driver. For day to day sipping, I think this is easy and pleasant to drink as it's a nice classic bourbon. Having said that, I don't know if it's as good as my current gold standard for a universally versatile daily bourbon which is Wild Turkey 101. This bottle is probably more refined than WT101 with a higher overall age but it's hard to for me to say this is better than the bold, spice forward profile that WT101 brings to the table even if it drinks a little younger.

Rating: C+ / B-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.