"Old" vs "New" Ezra Brooks

[Enoch]

Found a store that has a lot of "Old" Ezra Brooks, UPC 85676 Owensboro. They want about $4 for pints. I got one and really enjoyed it tonight. My question is whether there is any correlation between it and "modern" Ezra Brooks and how do they compare. Never had new EB. BTW, I am going back tomorrow and get some more.

[Parkersback]

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5875

I just Googled "UPC 85676" and that came right up.

Googling DSP numbers with the word "bourbon" also usually lands you back here at SB on a usually helpful thread.

[sgtgto]

Found a store that has a lot of "Old" Ezra Brooks, UPC 85676 Owensboro. They want about $4 for pints. I got one and really enjoyed it tonight. My question is whether there is any correlation between it and "modern" Ezra Brooks and how do they compare. Never had new EB. BTW, I am going back tomorrow and get some more.

Are they the 7 year 90 proof?

[BourbonJoe]

Ezra from Owensboro is probably Medley whiskey. If so it would be much better than the Luxco stuff that you can get today. IMO.

Joe :usflag:

[T Comp]

I have a bottle of '85, no age stated, 90 proof distilled at Medley that is very good and very classic dusty tasting. Per Mike Veach and his time line on BE, Ezra Brooks in 1989 won the Gold Medal at the International Spirits Competition in London. Glenmore acquired Medley in 1988 but I would presume the winner was distilled at Medley.

Never had the current as I have enough of the "old "to last me for a while. Stu brought a pint bottle of the "old" to the Gazebo last April and it disappeared awfully quick among more than a few other contenders.

[PaulO]

My first taste of Ezra Brooks was probably about 5 or 6 years ago. I was having a party and wanted something inexpensive for guests to make whiskey sours. Anyway it was the 7 year old 90 proof EB. Straight, it tasted rather dry and woody (not bad, just not what I was used to). Later batches of Ezra Brooks have tasted to me a lot like the Heaven Hill 6 year old B.I.B. I assume it is made by HH?

[theDon]

Found a store that has a lot of "Old" Ezra Brooks, UPC 85676 Owensboro. They want about $4 for pints. I got one and really enjoyed it tonight. My question is whether there is any correlation between it and "modern" Ezra Brooks and how do they compare. Never had new EB. BTW, I am going back tomorrow and get some more.

[Gillman]

Stu said that was his first, almost inadvertent, dusty. That's like batting 1000 your first year out.

Gary

[tmckenzie]

That should be good stuff. I bought some eb one time in a abc store in Alabama. Early 90's, so it probably had medley in it. I did not recognize that it was blended till I got home. The stuff was amazing. A great blended whiskey. Sounds like I am crazt but i am not. I bought them out. I cannot imagine what the straight tasted like.

[cowdery]

Not only would the older stuff be Medley, it also would be 'glut era' whiskey, bottled at a time when everyone was overstocked with old whiskey and bottling at older ages than the label stated. That's the main reason so many dusties are so good. By contrast, supplies are tight now and you know companies that sell bulk whiskey to companies like Luxco do not sell them their best stuff.

[Enoch]

That explains a lot. I have a bunch of brands that either say 4 years or no age statement and have always felt they tasted much richer than I would expect for that young a bourbon. Even my OGDs say 8 years. I have wondered if they made bourbon differently then or today the best stuff is saved for premium bottles. When did the glut end?

[Bourbon Boiler]

That explains a lot. I have a bunch of brands that either say 4 years or no age statement and have always felt they tasted much richer than I would expect for that young a bourbon. Even my OGDs say 8 years. I have wondered if they made bourbon differently then or today the best stuff is saved for premium bottles. When did the glut end?

You'll probably get better answers from others who are more familiar with the glut, but usually these things don't have clear beginings or endings. I think the glut is generally assumed to be in the late 70's and 1980's. However, I think it was a gradual shift from then to the boom of a few years ago. Some are predicting another glut in a couple of years. When a product has to age for 4-20 years, and is often purchased as an impulse buy, planning can be extemely challenging.

[ebo]

I've never had older Ezra. I like the new stuff just fine, especially Old Ezra 101.

[tmckenzie]

That explains a lot. I have a bunch of brands that either say 4 years or no age statement and have always felt they tasted much richer than I would expect for that young a bourbon. Even my OGDs say 8 years. I have wondered if they made bourbon differently then or today the best stuff is saved for premium bottles. When did the glut end?

I thiit is more of the way they made bourbon, than the older whiskey in it.

[ethangsmith]

I've become a BIG fan of the Old Ezra 101 7yo bourbon. Smooth but a good flavor. I would love to find a bottle of the Old Ezra 15yo. I'll be that stuff is amazing.

[BourbonJoe]

I would love to find a bottle of the Old Ezra 15yo. I'll be that stuff is amazing.

And you would be absolutely correct.

Joe :usflag:

[craigthom]

I've never had older Ezra. I like the new stuff just fine, especially Old Ezra 101.

You would have loved it when it was a 15yo and sold for about $15. And came in a wooden box.

[cowdery]

The Ezra 15 was a personal favorite. The 12 was good too, though not as good and for more money. Its demise sort of marked the end of the glut whiskey era.

[mosugoji64]

Speaking of older bourbons, I don't have much experience with anything outside of current bottles but the few older one's I've tried seem to have a distinct flavor that is absent from current offerings. It's like a rich, spice-cake sort of flavor. It's not necessarily better than what's currently available, just different. If anyone has any idea what I'm talking about, is that common or am I imagining things?

I had the opportunity to compare ER101 to ERSB today. While I think BT has come up with something very good and worthy of the name, it's nothing like the old ER.

[Enoch]

Speaking of older bourbons, I don't have much experience with anything outside of current bottles but the few older one's I've tried seem to have a distinct flavor that is absent from current offerings. It's like a rich, spice-cake sort of flavor. It's not necessarily better than what's currently available, just different. If anyone has any idea what I'm talking about, is that common or am I imagining things?

I had the opportunity to compare ER101 to ERSB today. While I think BT has come up with something very good and worthy of the name, it's nothing like the old ER.

I have about 2 doz "pre-government warning" bourbons and all seem to have this rich flavor you are speaking of regardless of mashbill or distillery or age. This is why I like them. I have wondered if it is the result of some chemical change that bourbon undergoes as it sits for a long time in the bottle or a difference in the distilling process or even in the barrel making process.

[mosugoji64]

I have about 2 doz "pre-government warning" bourbons and all seem to have this rich flavor you are speaking of regardless of mashbill or distillery or age. This is why I like them. I have wondered if it is the result of some chemical change that bourbon undergoes as it sits for a long time in the bottle or a difference in the distilling process or even in the barrel making process.

Since I don't have any sort of memory of what these tasted like when they were new, I have to wonder if the flavor was present in the bottles all along or if it's due to a chemical change in the bottle over time. Anyone with more experience care to comment?

[cowdery]

I don't try to explain these things. I just enjoy a good bourbon whenever I find one.

[PaulO]

I don't know exactly when this occured. The Ezra Brooks label now says "7 generations" rather than 7 years old.

[mosugoji64]

I don't try to explain these things. I just enjoy a good bourbon whenever I find one.

Good point, Chuck. I think that sometimes we get so caught up in the pursuit of the rare and hard to find that we forget there are some amazing bourbons out there that are readily available. Still, the geek factor is hard to suppress! :grin:

[Enoch]

What would be the last year that you could still be fairly assured you were getting a Medley product? I seem to find a lot of Ezra 375s from 1990 or before. Could I be fairly certain these ate Medley?