Ezra Brooks?

[dts]

Had a bottle of Ezra Brooks in my hand today but put it back when I saw that it was charcoal filtered. Which as far as I know makes it not a true Bourbon.
It was 26 bucks a good price for Bourbon in Alberta, but if it tastes like Jack I'll pass. Can anyone tell me how it tastes and what it compares to. I went with my Jim Beam Black for $29.00

[kickert]

Many bourbons are filtered with activated charcoal... that is not the same process as the charcoal mellowing process Jack and George use. The former pulls out impurities after barreling while the later intentionally adds charred character before barreling.

[Josh]

If you look at the labels all Heaven Hill whiskeys have that "charcoal filtered" thing. Ezra Brooks is contract distilled for Luxco (or whoever owns it) by HH. So I would say it most closely copares to Evan Williams and Heaven Hill brands. The Ezra B I think most closely compares to EC 12.

I've never had the 90 proof, but I've had the 101 7y/o and it's a decent sipper, excellent mixer. I think the Ezra B is overpriced, but good.

[OscarV]

If you look at the labels all Heaven Hill whiskeys have that "charcoal filtered" thing. Ezra Brooks is contract distilled for Luxco (or whoever owns it) by HH. So I would say it most closely copares to Evan Williams and Heaven Hill brands. The Ezra B I think most closely compares to EC 12.

I've never had the 90 proof, but I've had the 101 7y/o and it's a decent sipper, excellent mixer. I think the Ezra B is overpriced, but good.

Yeah, you are right about the Ezra 10 and stuff,... also you might look into Evan Williams Black Label and a bag of ice.

[boss302]

I've never had the 90 proof, but I've had the 101 7y/o and it's a decent sipper, excellent mixer. I think the Ezra B is overpriced, but good.

I don't know where you're from, but in Pennsylvania, a single-barrel spirit aged for 12 years, selling for less than Maker's Mark is a pretty darned good deal...

You have to account for production method when pricing a product, in addition to quality.

[Josh]

I don't know where you're from, but in Pennsylvania, a single-barrel spirit aged for 12 years, selling for less than Maker's Mark is a pretty darned good deal...

You have to account for production method when pricing a product, in addition to quality.

Where I'm from, Ezra B is $10 (at least) more expensive than MM or EC 12 for that matter. If it was less than MM where I'm from, then yes it would be a good buy.

And I'm sorry but your last sentence makes no sense whatsoever.

[fishnbowljoe]

Josh, The Old Ezra 12 yr old is about the same price, or a couple bucks cheaper than MM around here. I got a bottle of Old Ezra 7 yr 101 a couple of weeks ago, and it was $16.99. You sure it's not the 15 yr old? Not doubting you, I just can't believe the 12 yr would be that expensive anywhere. I've been wrong before though. You never know. Joe

[Bourbon Geek]

Many bourbons are filtered with activated charcoal... that is not the same process as the charcoal mellowing process Jack and George use. The former pulls out impurities after barreling while the later intentionally adds charred character before barreling.

While I totally agree that charcoal mellowing by the TN whiskey folks is quite different than the activated charcoal filtration used by some bourbonfolks, we have a difference of opinion about the rationale for activated charcoal filtration ...

The principal reason to use it is to get rid of the chill haze for products bottled at less than 86 proof. Some companies may do their whole line for convenience in this regard.

Secondarily, some may use ac filtration to make small adjustments to the final color of the product.

Additionally, some use ac on their incoming water to avoid 2-MIB and Geosmin contamination that result in earthy, fishy, or dirty socks smell only for the very small few that are chemically sensative.

You probably get much more "charred character" from the barrel char (especially if you use #4) than from any level of ac filtration.

[kickert]

we have a difference of opinion about the rationale for activated charcoal filtration ...

The principal reason to use it is to get rid of the chill haze for products bottled at less than 86 proof. Some companies may do their whole line for convenience in this regard.

Secondarily, some may use ac filtration to make small adjustments to the final color of the product.

Additionally, some use ac on their incoming water to avoid 2-MIB and Geosmin contamination that result in earthy, fishy, or dirty socks smell only for the very small few that are chemically sensative.

You probably get much more "charred character" from the barrel char (especially if you use #4) than from any level of ac filtration.

No disagreement here... I was a bit loose with my words there... the point I was trying to make is that AC filtration is used to "remove stuff" where charcoal mellowing is trying to "add stuff"

[Josh]

Josh, The Old Ezra 12 yr old is about the same price, or a couple bucks cheaper than MM around here. I got a bottle of Old Ezra 7 yr 101 a couple of weeks ago, and it was $16.99. You sure it's not the 15 yr old? Not doubting you, I just can't believe the 12 yr would be that expensive anywhere. I've been wrong before though. You never know. Joe

That's funny, I've been known to be wrong too! Small world.

I'm getting confused myself so I better start over. There are three products available in Michigan that bear the Ezra Brooks name (these are all 750 ml prices):
A. Ezra Brooks (90 proof black label)- $11.28 state min.
B. Old Ezra 7 y/o 101 proof- $15.99
C. Ezra B (12 y/o, I'm 75% sure)- $29.99

Maker's Mark is $26.99

So the state min for Ezra B is three dollars more than for Maker's. For some reason I was thinking that Maker's was more like $21. But I've seen Ezra B at my local place for a couple bucks over minimum. So that explains my exagerated estimation of the price difference.

But I stand by my statement that Ezra B is overpriced. Maybe not by as much as I originally said, but I still think it is. And so is MM for that matter!

So it looks like this was one of those times when I was wrong!