Old Ezra 7 Year Barrel Strength Bourbon

Black cherries, fig, and a little vanilla nose; dried fruit, fresh oak, and walnuts; a lot of heat—too much honestly; long finish with walnuts and some cedar; decent flavor, but too hot to be enjoyable for me

This is my first taste of Old Ezra 7 year barrel strength. Visually it's a dark amber and on the nose I get oak and ethanol. I'm not getting the rich sweetness you get with some of my favorite barrel proofs. Pretty light on the caramel notes too. I'm picking up a bit of nuttiness and roasted corn. Not much spice, but a fair amount of heat from the proof. The finish is nice, long, and has a hint of red licorice. I wouldn't put this on par with an Elijah Craig Barrel Proof or a Stagg jr, but it's solid. This was just my first pour, so I've got a whole bottle left to explore the profile further.

If you'd like to avoid my random musings on the bourbon world please skip to then end and tasting notes are listed. If you'd like to hear about a day trip to Bardstown, KY complete with distillery gift shops, secondary retailers and the broken three tier system then pour yourself a drink and sit down. Kentucky in the spring is magnificent. The splashes of purple, white and pink along the Bluegrass Parkway along with the blue sky and open road just beg you to visit Bardstown, KY. It is a good sized town (not a city) that makes me wonder why my father didn't go into the business of building rickhouses. The smell of beer blows in the air, but it's fate is not to be canned. No. Those sweet and sour, grain and yeast aromas will be thrown into the furnace and boiled down. A quarter lifetime later (for some) it will become Kentucky bourbon. Heaven Hill, Willett and Barton 1792 are within stumbling distance of one another. Not far off are the new kids - Bardstown Bourbon Co. (complete with Michigan Ave. cosmopolitan flair and lovely dining spaces) and Lux Row (which sits atop a hill next to an old stone house, relatively quite compared to the others). After proceeding down the parkway at an undisclosed speed we arrived at Heaven Hill. We stood around with a crowd of 30 that grew to over 100 for an hour or so. Being number 30 in line I purchased the second to last bottle of ECBP A121 for $85. There were very few Parker's Heritage, Heaven Hill Select and some grenades but only for the first 10-15 people. I assume the short supply has to do with the fact that gift shops may not even be supplied directly by their namesake distilleries, but rather by an agreement with the distributors they are legally bound to sell to (ie. three tier system). Not a complete loss but a bit of a let down. We next visited Toddy's liquors, a stone's throw away from the Bardstown Cathedral. The small shack is 1) a fire hazard and 2) a bourbon holy land of sorts. The selection was outstanding but prices were, well, not good. A bottle of EC Rye was $130. A pint of Weller SR was $35 (not as bad). Weller Full Proof was on the shelf for $450... and so on. Old Fitz topped out at over $500. There were many, many others but none we could afford. A quick trip to Bardstown Distilling revealed a crowded, white washed, steel and airy space that was too crowded to accommodate us for lunch. Their gift shop had around 100 bottles of their Fusion Series, maybe 20 bottles of "The Prisoner" and not a single bottle of their Discovery series or other special releases. Onward we went. Lux Row had a small parking lot, but we nabbed the first spot. Just inside the door is a small bar where a wonderful young woman poured us very generous 2+oz drinks of Old Ezra 7 year and their 12 year Double Barrel. We proceeded to sit outside where it was quiet. Very quiet actually. We soaked up the sun, talked about life, dopamine, the pursuit of happiness, etc. Then there was a peacock. No joke. A giant, vibrant green and purple feathered peacock just strolling around. What did I just drink?? Old Ezra 7yr, "barrel strength" but suspiciously bottled at the exact same strength every time. Close enough. It was just fantastic. From a highball glass there were plenty of cherry candy, cola and pine aromas. Overall very sweet and fruity with a bit of ethanol singe. The mouthfeel was thick and prickly and much like the nose there was abundant barrel spice, cheery candy, maple syrup, wood notes and bits of milk chocolate and cedar there as well. This was a fantastic pour on a fantastic day. Bourbon hunting got me nowhere and not until away from the crowd with a good friend with a hearty pour was I able to truly appreciate Bardstown. Don't come to hunt. You will be disappointed. Come to find a place to relax and enjoy a pour of Kentucky bourbon and let your troubles go.

Brown sugar and honey on the nose. Vanilla and caramel on the palate. Spicy, cinnamon finish

Great flavor but a little more burn than I like. Of course that's to be expected at 117 proof, I suppose.