When I think of Ezra Brooks I’m reminded of an old saying from a wise man “Bourbon, on the rocks please.” Now while all of us at the Buffalo Lounge have had their fair share of whiskey, our tastes (Mine especially) centered on Scotch. I sampled a vast amount of different varieties of Scotch, and I had tried Jack Daniels. It wasn’t until that fateful day though, when I was given just a small 375mL of Ezra that I thought the Americans could make a whiskey.
Now don’t get me wrong, Single Malt Scotch may be one of the few things in the world that lets me believe in a benevolent creator. However due to price and taste, you tend to save scotch, you have it every now and then, and at special occasions. Sure you have blended scotch for everyday use, but I’d rather top off a hard day with a nice glass of bourbon.
Which leads to my disappointment in most whiskies and praise for Ezra. As I mentioned I am not prolific in bourbon trying only over a handful of varieties. Yet every time I try something else – I keep coming back to Ezra. The taste continues to grow on me, and best of all not on my wallet. One of the best things about booze reviews is letting us try different things, and it’s worked quite well we’ve found a bunch of new types of alcohol, better and often cheaper than what we were used too.
Ezra breaks this trend, now I can’t give Ezra a perfect because I know I haven’t tried much else, and some whiskies taste a bit better. So while the taste and aftertaste may not exceed other types of whiskey – there’s something else. Something a few of us noticed in the reviews, and something I’ve known for a while. That Ezra just gets better the more you drink it. I of course am not referring to drunkenness, I’m talking long term here, and while it may be a little harder to find, it’s definitely harder to lose.
Let’s see what they say about themselves:
What they say: “Since 1800, Ezra Brooks remains the perfect way to cap off the day. Ezra Brooks is a genuine sour mash, still bottled at an honest 90 proof; aged naturally in new charred white oak barrels and charcoal filtered for a mellow flavor.
We invite you to sit back and savor the experience that is Ezra Brooks Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and see why through seven generations it is, and always will be, the bourbon for those with a rugged spirit and taste for adventure.”
Taste: 5.125 – Whiskey flavored whiskey. Little bit of sweetness, little harshness.
Aftertaste: 7 – Like the woodiness and warmness. Delicious bourbon aftertaste.
Burn/Smooth: 6.735 – Pretty above standard for whiskey burn, nice warm burn. It grows on you?
Aroma: 5 – Smell does have a kick to it. Pretty average.
Honesty: 8 – Little bit of wank, but a real nice bottle with its shape coloring and cork. Really appreciate the southern style.
Mixability: 7.875
Old Fashioned (Bourbon): 8.375 – One of the best Old-Fashioned’s we’ve ever had.
Whiskey on the Rocks: 7.375 – Really heals the taste.
Value: 8.25 – This is really cheap for how good it is.
Google Shop Average: $13
Website: http://www.ezrabrooks.com/
Reviewer Scores:
William Henri Neve the IV: 7
Justice: 7
BuffaloJern: 8
DJ_Lvl: 7.5
Swetta Vest: Still suffering from the STD known as ANTIBIOTICS!
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Metric Score: 47.985/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.855 |+| Reviewer Average: 7.375
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Final Thoughts:
Eating cherries out of an old fashioned is the best. ~ William. This is a bourbon that has made Justice consider buying more bourbon, and the Buffalo continues to go back too. DJ_Lvl is a big fan. It’s just really good to keep around for bourbon.
If you can get hold of the 90-Proof version of this GREAT inexpensive bourbon, HOARD it, because you’ve got the BEST inexpensive 90-proofer out there!! I live in NE Ohio, where a liter of EB is $15. That, to me, is my $ WELL-SPENT, as this is better than ‘that Jack-off stuff’, for MUCH LESS!! (An ‘Irish Pub’ I semi-frequent carries it!!)
For those, like me, who drink hard on a budget, if you can get ahold of Mr. Brooks (even at 80 proof), PLEASE do so….you will NOT regret it.
Drink well & thriftily, my friends…..
I agree with this man more than most men.
I have a bottle of this,90 proof, with a black on white label rather than the white on black I see in the ads. I have had this 30 years or so. I also have a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle of about the same age. I cracked the seal on the Rip Van Winkle the other day….How wonderful. You have convinced me to do the same on the Ezra Brooks. I like straight whiskey so I won’t be telling you about “Old Fashions” etc…okay here goes…deamons out…This, is a unique bourbon. The age is on the bottle and I can taste it but that is not unpleasant. The char taste is not overpowering like some bourbons…to my taste this is very good bourbon. It may be the definitive taste. No buts, and nobody else will get any of this bottle. I kept it 30 years as well as the Rip Van Winkle and it is mine.
Blech. While it is indeed the best “bad” whiskey that I’ve tasted, its still a bad whiskey. All bad whiskey’s have an under-taste of like, weed or lawn clippings or something, and will make you nauseous as soon as they’ll make you drunk. Which, let’s face it, is the sole purpose of this class of alcohol.
That said, its not as bad as some I’ve tried. It has a strong solvent taste, and under that is only a faint taste of lawn clippings, but its still there. If you go through half a liter of the stuff in an evening you WILL wake up with a hangover, and I say this as a 240 lbs, burly 30-something American male. I make 150 bucks a week and I live with my parents, and even I’m not poor enough to save money by defaulting to this stuff. Please, if you live in a house and not under a bridge, cough up the extra 5 bucks and go for something like Jim Beam if you’re going to buy a cheap whiskey.
This stuff is plenty fine at the price point, and the 7 year 101 proof, fantastic. Seems as if your living situation has made you bitter. Man up, and after you do, maybe you’ll appreciate this stuff.
I was still hangin’ with you despite the living with the parents thing, and the grass clippings and all that… but when you went to Beam as your savior…. nah…. sorry, kid.
I prefer this over Jim Beam. I like Evan Williams Bin B better than Jim Beam as well. My favorite is Elmer T. Lee but it is rare as hen’s teeth nowadays. To each his own.
It’s been decades since I’ve lived someplace where Ezra was available…but with that said, it was and always will be my favorite “daily” sour mash.
I’ll just pass along the following…
When driving into the lower Sierra Nevada’s on a fishing trip, we’d taken partial bottles of EB and JD to while away the evening hours after fishing. These had bounced around the back of the pickup inside rolled sleeping bags. The EB; there was literally smoke inside the corked, warm, and shaken bottle. We did side by side comparisons between the EB and JD. The verdict: EB was smooth and flavorful while the JD…tasted plain “green”.
I have been a moderate whisky drinker for decades. I find ezra brooks 90 to pack a punch with flavor. It is not “smooth” in any way. I usually drink my bourbon neat. The ezra needs water and a little time to really open up. Once there I find it delicious. I know this will sound crazy, but if I tasted it blind I would guess it to be 10-12 years old and 50-55% abv, really. It’s that good to me.