Ezra Brooks Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Nose: The nose is light but with some fairly strong alcohol to it (but not moonshiney). There are also light notes of caramel and butterscotch. Palate: The first sip had a decent amount of heat to it, so I didn’t immediately pick up on any specific flavors. The mouthfeel was right in the middle of the spectrum and leaned to the watery side, and the finish was in the medium to long range. The second sip, after my mouth had adjusted, brought out a decent amount of rye spiciness, but mixed in some pleasant light sweetness. It definitely leans more toward the rye side, but it was a pretty decent balance. Later sips bring out the caramel and the slightest amount of the butterscotch hinted at in the nose. There isn’t a whole lot of complexity to this one, but it is an easy sipper. Comments: This clocks in at 90 proof. The first sip definitely lets you know this, but later sips seemed quite a bit toned down, heat-wise. This is your classic “bottom shelf” bourbon that has been around a long time…..and has probably been overlooked for much of that time. As with almost all bourbons at this price-point, it isn’t very complex and nothing really stands out with it, but it a very good, average workhorse of a bourbon. If you are looking for a new daily drinker, you could do much worse that try this one. The general belief on the Internet is that this is sourced from Heaven Hill. Considering it’s taste and the fact that the “Lux Row Distillers” who put this out are in Bardstown, I wouldn’t be surprised it that was correct. The mashbill is reported to be 78% corn. 12% rye and 10% malted barley. It is also reportedly charcoal filtered before bottling (vice before barreling, as in the Lincoln County process). I got this on sale at $12.99. It was a brand new bottle and I need to note that I found several people on the Internet who stated that this improves significantly after it has been opened a while.