Drinking 50 Year Old Whiskey from a Decanter - 1970 Ezra Brooks Bourbon

Today, I'm drinking a bourbon older than Space Invaders

Hey guys, and welcome to Bourbon Bites. I am Clifton, and today we are drinking some

Ezra Brooks from 1970. So this bourbon actually came from a decanter. I'll throw up a picture of

it right here. This was actually for the Nugget Casino near Reno, Nevada, not to be confused with

the Golden Nugget. I'm not sure if there's relation there. I don't think there is, but apparently the Nugget Casino has an 18 carat golden chicken statue. So that's what this

decanter is modeled after. Like I said, I don't have it here. This was actually a gift from a

friend. I was buying another decanter, which hopefully I'll review soon. He was like, hey

I have this 1970 Ezra Brooks. Do you want it? I'm like, yes. So that's actually how I came across

this whiskey. This is a 90 proof 12 year old whiskey. That means this was distilled in 1958

or sometime around there. So this is definitely a vintage whiskey. Now, I do know that this did

come from a decanter, so there is the threat of there being some lead in there. I will say

I'm taking this in small portions. This is very, very dark. I don't know if that's an indication

of anything. Like I said, I'm sort of new to vintage whiskey, but I'm excited to try this out

and review it for you guys. So let's go ahead and pour some. So a little bit of history about this

itself back in the 1970s Ezra Brooks was actually a pretty reputable company The US government actually considered it Kentucky finest little distillery in the late 60s So it had a reputation It also had a reputation of being a copycat whiskey

The bottle design of the regular release was very similar to Jack Daniels. But this is, I believe it

was a sourced product from Kentucky. It's still Kentucky bourbon. I believe back in the 70s, this

was sourced from the Hoffman Distilling Company, which, as you may know, they produced some of the

first bottles of the Pappy Van Winkle line. So that's a pretty cool fact I just learned by

researching this bottle a bit. So yeah, Ezra Books was pretty well known. Nowadays, it's kind of known

as, you know, a budget brand. They are coming out with some old Ezra that's very reputable

They're currently owned by the Luxco Distilling Company, or Luxro, which just started its own

distillery. So that's where the brand lies now, but it has a long, long history. Of course

decanters were super popular back in the 1960s and 70s. I think pretty much every major distillery

were releasing some sort of annual decanter, like bicentennial or things like that. So it was a very

popular thing back in the day. And the fact that some of this stuff survived for 50 years is crazy

to me. So that's why I'm so excited to get into this glass and see what we find. So on the nose

it's, it's, the alcohol is a little astringent. The first thing you get is that proof, I think

It's coming out of the glass a bit more than I thought, especially for some of these older

whiskeys, I think, tend to be a little more mellow, I would say. But this one is pretty forward with

that you know the ethanol from the alcohol But behind it though is a really unique note and I still trying to pin down how I would describe that It may come from the decanter itself It does smell a little musty like it been kept in a basement or an attic for a long time maybe 50 years

But that mustiness isn't off-putting at all, and it's actually combined with a very, really, I guess I would say generic sweetness

It's not like it's a caramel or anything specific. It reminds me of almost like walking into a candy store

Like, you know, there's candy like on the wall out of dispensers and chocolates and, you know, Skittles and all that

Just like a very generic sweet candy sweetness. It is a 12-year-old whiskey, but I'm not getting as much of that oak note that you find in a lot of older whiskeys today

That could be because it mellowed, I guess, in a decanter for 50 years

But I'm curious if I'll get more of that on the taste. So cheers. Like I said with the nose, it's very alcohol-forward

It actually burns a good bit more than I imagine a 90 proof whiskey to do

It's the oaks definitely more there on the palate. It's really dry, but it's also it's almost it's more of like a library, like an old book

You know, I don't know about you, but I love smelling old books. It is very reminiscent of that, which may say that maybe something went a little wrong, although it is very clear

Like I've heard that these older whiskeys, as long as they're clear, they're they're pretty safe to drink

I mean, of course, I wouldn't drink this whole bottle. But just a little bit you know every now and then doesn hurt you But that old note that I so familiar with like in an old house or an old book the fact that that translates into a whiskey really brings a character And I don know if it always had that note That may have came from where it was stored This was

purchased in an estate sale, so I don't know exactly where this bottle was for all that time

But I do know it was sealed so that it had not been opened, which is obviously a good sign. I

don't think I would be drinking if it had been opened. I think with that vintage note is almost

like a graham cracker note. Not really like a sweetened, like a cinnamon graham cracker

just like the plain graham crackers. I think that or like a pie crust really complements the

sweetness that I get off this whiskey. It's not quite as rich of a sweetness that I expect from

whiskey. It's not like that dark caramel or that dark sugary butterscotch or whatever note. I mean

if I had to compare it to any candy, I would almost compare it to like a Smarties. So it has

that kind of like dusty kind of powdery note to it. But of course, it's still a whiskey. It has

a lot more oak and a lot more character than that. But overall, I am really impressed. I think this

is really unique. I've been giving out samples of this to friends. I think it's a true sign to how

whiskey was done in those days, and I think that's why I really, really love trying these vintage

whiskeys. So please let me know if you want to see me do more of these decanters or vintage whiskey

reviews. I have a couple more in storage. I have some from Jim Beam, some from Wild Turkey. Until

next time, this is Bourbon Bites. Whiskey reviews with a retro twist, and what better way to do it

than with Vintage Bourbon. Cheers