And we’re back! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! I know that mine was fantastic. It started out with a ton of dogs in my house. On Thanksgiving itself we had our traditional pan of Lasagna (neither my wife or I like turkey in it’s domesticated form), home made pumpkin pie made from pie pumpkin from our garden, and of course a glass or two of Wild Turkey. As the weekend progressed and the number of dogs began to dwindle, my beloved Minnesota Golden Gophers walloped our hated rival the Wisconsin Badgers in an upset to take possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
It was a glorious weekend.
Of course as the weekend started to draw to a close, I took a look at the calendar to see what was on the docket for tastings this week. I’d been not so patiently waiting for this pair of Ezra Brooks store picks’ turn to come since I picked them up. See, I’d found this pair, and their brethren with the Rebel label, while wandering around Tennessee and Kentucky. I’d had a vague recollection of reading about a single barrel store pick brand on the market, but that’s all it was just a vague recollection. So when I saw that there were two different labels for sale at the various stores, I figured it would be best to buy them both and figure it out when I got home.
So once I got home, I reached out to my PR contact for Lux Row and asked what was going on. According to the information he passed along, there are two main differences between these two labels. The first is the proof. Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection store picks are bottled at 107° proof while Ezra Brooks Cask Strength store picks are bottled at 120° proof. The other difference is in how the picks occurred. Distiller’s Collection picks are allocated and are done via samples sent to the retailer. There are no in-person barrel picks for these barrels. On the other hand, Ezra Brooks Cask Strength picks are not allocated and are only done at Lux Row Distillery.
So what each label tells you, the consumer, is whether your retailer went to the distillery to pick the barrel or whether it was sent to them via samples. I’m sure there is a reason for this that I am not seeing since I do not work in either a distillery or a liquor store.
So let’s check out a couple of store picks. Both from Kentucky.
Ezra Brooks Single Barrel Store Picks: Distiller's Collection and Cask Strength
Distiller's Collection: Total Wine, KY PJ #2
Purchase Info: $35.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Louisville, KY
Price per drink (50 mL): $2.40
Details: 53.5% ABV. Barrel #: 7384651. Barrel filled: 5/4/2016
Nose: Leads with oak notes. Beyond that are notes of nutmeg, spearmint, and vanilla.
Mouth: Nutty with notes of mint, nutmeg, and oak.
Finish: Warm and of medium length. Notes of mint, caramel, and nutmeg.
Cask Strength: Liquor Barn #3
Purchase Info: $52.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Liquor Barn, Danville, KY
Price per drink (50 mL): $3.53
Details: 60% ABV. Barrel #: 7544620. Barrel filled: 11/15/2016.
Nose: Vanilla, honey, orange julius, and baking spice.
Mouth: Spicy warmth with notes of baking spice, mint, citrus, and cocoa.
Finish: Spicy, warm, and of medium length- Notes of cinnamon and chocolate.
Thoughts: These are both very good. Glad I stumbled across both of them. The Total Wine bottle is sweeter whereas the Liquor Barn bottle is much more baking spice forward. If trying to define the major difference between the two, I'd say that the Liquor Barn bottle is "Beam-ier" than the Total Wine (Jim Beam and Heaven Hill being the suppliers for Lux Row as I learned from Cheif Marketing Officer and Lux family member on my tour of the facility). Saying that they are both in the Ezra Brooks flavor profile. I like them both. A lot. I am hoping my local stores can get in on these programs soon.
Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.
Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more.