Johnny Drum Private Stock VS. Old Ezra 101

[ethangsmith]

Ok, so both Johnny Drum Private Stock and Old Ezra 101 are both supposed to be HH bourbon, one being bottled by KBD, the other by Luxco. Both are the same proof, but only the OE is aged stated at 7 years. I am currently sampling both bourbons and find them to be quite different from each other, but both an excellent value when it comes to bourbon in general. It's amazing to compare the 2 bourbons to each other, and then compare it to Old HH BIB or Fighting Cock, which are both similar proofs, but different ages and distilled and bottled by HH. It's amazing how just the difference in bottlers can make the flavor entirely different. Anyone else like JD Private Stock or Old Ezra? Seems like they're not too common.

[White Dog]

Ok, so both Johnny Drum Private Stock and Old Ezra 101 are both supposed to be HH bourbon, one being bottled by KBD, the other by Luxco. Both are the same proof, but only the OE is aged stated at 7 years. I am currently sampling both bourbons and find them to be quite different from each other, but both an excellent value when it comes to bourbon in general. It's amazing to compare the 2 bourbons to each other, and then compare it to Old HH BIB or Fighting Cock, which are both similar proofs, but different ages and distilled and bottled by HH. It's amazing how just the difference in bottlers can make the flavor entirely different. Anyone else like JD Private Stock or Old Ezra? Seems like they're not too common.

Interesting comparison. I've never done a side-by-side, but I can say I LOVE Old Ezra 101 7yr. Also, I happen to think that Johnny Drum PS is one of my more favorite KBD offerings. 5-6yr 100 proof at a fair price, with a slightly richer profile than Old Bardstown Estate or Rowans. Cheaper than Rowans too.

And yes, those HH barrels sold on the open market must vary widely.

[ethangsmith]

I'm trying to nail down the age of the JD Private Stock. Seems to me to be about 6-8 years old. So sweet and mellow. Had some more after dinner this evening!

[Ruby K]

The Johnny Drum 101 is a tasty, tasty dram, and a great value. Haven't tried the Ezra yet but will sometime soon, I imagine and will try to do a side by side.

[Rughi]

The more Heaven Hill barrel samples I try, the more I find profiles that you might never expect to have an HH label.

The 4th and 5th barrels of our Ledgers/EBSG McKenna single barrels are arriving soon, and I'm not sure that you'd easily pick any of them out by having the "mentholyptus" thing that many think of as what HH always is. From the 4 main warehouse sites in the Bardstown area, the position in the rickhouse where a barrel is set, and the selections that stems from HH having about 1/2 the world's supply of aging whiskey or 8+ years, there are many, many different possible flavors from Heaven Hill.

Assuming that your samples are both 100% HH (which I don't think we really do know), I would be just as surprised if juice selected for two different orders tasted similar as if they didn't.

Roger

[Ruby K]

The more Heaven Hill barrel samples I try, the more I find profiles that you might never expect to have an HH label.

The 4th and 5th barrels of our Ledgers/EBSG McKenna single barrels are arriving soon, and I'm not sure that you'd easily pick any of them out by having the "mentholyptus" thing that many think of as what HH always is. From the 4 main warehouse sites in the Bardstown area, the position in the rickhouse where a barrel is set, and the selections that stems from HH having about 1/2 the world's supply of aging whiskey or 8+ years, there are many, many different possible flavors from Heaven Hill.

Assuming that your samples are both 100% HH (which I don't think we really do know), I would be just as surprised if juice selected for two different orders tasted similar as if they didn't.

Roger

Roger- that wouldn't surprise me at all- I remember someone got me a bottle of the McKenna single barrel for my birthday 2 years ago, and it was delicious! burnt cocoa/mocha thing going on that had me finishing the bottle in less than a month. Went back and read reviews and couldn't believe I was drinking the same stuff!

[Rughi]

Roger- that wouldn't surprise me at all- I remember someone got me a bottle of the McKenna single barrel for my birthday 2 years ago, and it was delicious! burnt cocoa/mocha thing going on that had me finishing the bottle in less than a month. Went back and read reviews and couldn't believe I was drinking the same stuff!

The thing I should have said is that we've been using McKenna as a vehicle to bottle broad variations of HH whiskey. None of them is close to a standard McKenna at all. I am very gratified that HH has been such a good partner in making very different barrels available.

So far, we've had samples from three of the four rickhouse sites: main Bardstown, Deatsville (formerly TW Samuels), and Bloomfield (formerly Schenley Fairfield). We've tasted, but not officially had samples, of Glencoe as well. Each site offers different charms, and to me only some of the Bardstown samples have been ringers for classic HH. It's time to expand our ideas on what Heaven Hill whiskey tastes like.

Roger

[Parkersback]

In terms of Johnny Drum PS vs. Old Ezra, that's $25 vs. $16.50, so it's hard for me to compare them, esp. since the former is NAS.