Ezra Brooks 99 Kentucky Straight

About the Ezra Brooks 99 Kentucky Straight

Ezra Brooks 99 Kentucky Straight is a bourbon bottled at 49.5% ABV. It comes from Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, Kentucky, the home of the Ezra Brooks brand. The mash bill uses corn, rye and malted barley. That rye share is what gives the spirit its pepper. The 99 refers to the proof, and it separates this release from the standard bottling. Lux Row Distillers opened its doors in Bardstown in April 2018. The brand belongs to Luxco, a St. Louis company founded in 1958. The Lux family still owns and runs it. Every batch here is charcoal filtered before bottling. That step is an old Kentucky habit and it softens the spirit. Master distiller John Rempe oversees the work. The barrels are charred oak, and the corn does the rest. Vanilla and sweet corn come first, backed by caramel and a dusting of allspice. Cinnamon builds behind them, along with raisins and sultanas. A little strawberry shows up if you wait. Sipping turns things drier and more cereal driven. Graham cracker and oak carry the weight in the middle. Dried fruit and sugar run into the finish, ending with a flick of spice. At 99 proof, nothing here feels thin. Ezra Brooks 99 Kentucky Straight sits above the original 90 proof bottle in the range. It arrived in January 2021 for drinkers who wanted more punch. The recipe did not change. Only the strength did, and that extra 9 proof pushes the spice and the wood forward. Next to the standard bottling it feels firmer and less polite. For the money, it is one of the easier ways into higher proof bourbon.