Ezra Brooks Bourbon

Mar 5

Every brand has a bottom-shelfer, and for Lux Row Distillers this is that bottle. Now, as we all know, bottom-shelfer doesn’t automatically mean bad - OGD, thanks for backing me up on that one - and this bottle can stand right next to OGD as a great sub-$20 pickup.

For at least another year, this is going to be sourced distillate (poorly hidden secret: it’s Heaven Hill). A Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey with no age statement, it’s at least four years old and bottled at a 90 proof.

In yet another square bottle with a black label, it might not be the most exciting thing I've tried recently, but I was surprised at how much I liked this. There’s definitely a cinnamon one-note-ness about it, but it’s an easy drinker that has enough flavor to make it worthwhile and a solid mouthfeel, too.

The one question I have - a $15 bottle with a real cork? Make it a screw top and bam - $12 bottle.

Ezra Brooks Bourbon: Specs

Classification: American Bourbon

Origin: Lux Row Distillers (Sourced from Heaven Hill)

Mashbill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, and 12% Malted Barley

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Age: NAS

Location: Kentucky

Ezra Brooks Bourbon Price: $15

Official Website

Ezra Brooks Bourbon Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Orange blossom honey. Thin to no rims, droplets hand on where the rims disintegrated.

Nose: Sweet, mild bourbon nose. Vanilla and cooked grain. Gentle cinnamon spice with a hint of oak that adds more body than flavor.

Palate: Spicier than I expected on the front palate. Sweeter, vanilla-forward with lots of oak body and warming spice. Mouthfeel is light-to-medium, velvety, tingly, coating and leaves a brief but pleasant vanilla scent.

Finish: Vanilla-forward. Some barrel char emerges with toasted wood on a medium-length finish.

Overall: This is a cracker of a $15 bottle - vanilla city with plenty of oak for body that’s neither too young-tasting or too old-tasting.

Final Rating: 6.8

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)

3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)