Sunday Evening Review by Eric Smith
Who says Christmas wishes don’t come true? In a minor miracle, Lux Row got us the COWS pick of Ezra Brooks Cask Strength almost two months early. Named “COWS Row Down The Brooks,” where a cameo appearance of the distillery and the whiskey got put together for the name, it is the latest pick by the COWS and now lets see if it holds up to the lofty standards that has been set by all the previous COWS picks.
Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.
NAME – Ezra Brooks Cask Strength Single Barrel
PROOF – 120
AGE – 4 1⁄2 years
COLOR – roasted chestnuts (1.4 tawny on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)
NOSE – Raw honey, peanut brittle, browned butter, malted cereal, powdered sugar, spiced chocolate
TASTE – This is where this really shines. This is a very full bodied bourbon with an incredible mouth feel. Pecan pralines, black pepper, ground cinnamon, toasted oak, vanilla crème, browned butter, and brandied cherries
FINISH – I would call this a long finish. Sit back and relax because this last for a long while. Peppery spice along with Red Hots cinnamon candy and aged leather are notes you pick up in the finish
REVIEW – I have had several Ezra Brooks Cask Strength barrel picks and I said it immediately after picking this one that this is by far the best I have had. The only slight improvement I would hope for is a little stronger nose but the palate and the finish more than make up for it. At 120 proof it is right in the pocket for my taste and the play between sweet and spicy along with a creamy texture will make this one that will be hard not to keep reaching for.
FINAL COMMENTS – Mash bill for the Ezra Brooks Cask Strength is 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% barley. Can confirm that this juice came from how they said “a heavenly hill” and there is no doubt that the traditional profile of HH is in this juice.
Also, this is charcoal filtered which is a common process for Lux Row. Many believe that this process is just for Tennessee whiskey like Jack Daniels or George Dickel but this does not disqualify it from being a bourbon and adds a smoothness to the whiskey that certainly didn’t impact the full flavor profile of this whiskey but maybe knocked off some of the sharp edges it could have had.
The other part of this and one of the reasons COWS wanted to do this pick was the value for this bottle. At 120 proof of HH juice and the total out the door cost including taxes, custom bottle sticker and all fees comes in at only $63 total. These shouldn’t last long and would make a great stocking stuffer, especially into your own stocking!
