Ezra Brooks 99 Rye Review
Ezra Brooks 99 Rye ReviewWhere to buy Ezra Brooks 99 Rye — compare online retailers and find local stores near you.
WHERE TO BUY — ONLINE & LOCAL
Quick Facts
Is This For Me?
You want a lot of proof for very little money. At 99 proof for around twenty-five dollars this is one of the better value propositions on the shelf, and it's a genuinely herbal, minty rye rather than a sweetened-up bourbon substitute. Whisky Advocate put it in their Top 20 Whiskies of 2023 — the cheapest bottle on that list.
You want depth or maturity. It carries a two-year age statement and the oak is young and sawdusty rather than rich. The 51% rye mash bill also means it drinks softer than the label suggests — several reviewers found the spice muted, and opinions on the texture split sharply between creamy and watery.
Flavor Profile at a Glance
What It Tastes Like
Nose
Herbal and green up front — dried grass, fennel and lemongrass — with clear mint running through it. Rye spice, vanilla, a dusting of cinnamon and a thread of honey sit underneath.
Palate
Black pepper and dry rye spice lead, lifted by citrus. Honey and vanilla fill the middle, with young oak arriving late to dry things out.
Finish
Medium. Black pepper and rye spice hold longest over fading honey and vanilla, finishing dry and a little oak-tannic with a last flick of citrus.
Best Ways to Enjoy
Neat
Better than the price suggests. The herbal-mint character is the interesting part; the young oak is not.
With Water
A few drops help. It opens the mint and honey and takes the edge off the peppery bite.
On Ice
Fine, but the finish is already medium at best — chilling shortens it further.
Cocktail
Its strongest use. Ninety-nine proof and a green, minty backbone cut cleanly through vermouth and sugar.
Cocktail Scores
Price & Value
Value is the whole argument here. Ninety-nine proof at twenty-five dollars is unusual, and it puts this bottle in direct competition with the two cheap ryes everyone already owns: Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond at 100 proof and Old Overholt at 80. Rittenhouse still wins on depth, but the Ezra is greener and more distinctly rye-flavoured than Jim Beam Rye at a similar price. If you're shopping this tier, it belongs on the shortlist alongside our best value rye whiskey picks.
Bottle Transparency
- DistilleryNot named by the brand. The back label states "Distilled in Indiana"; Lux Row is the bottler of record in Bardstown, Kentucky.
- Mash Bill51% rye / 45% corn / 4% malt — published on the Ezra Brooks product page and confirmed in the 2023 launch release.
- MaturationNew charred American white oak. Two-year age statement on the back label.
- FiltrationCharcoal filtered prior to bottling — the brand describes it as producing "a smooth, mellow finish."
- Grain SourcingNot disclosed.
- Proof99 proof / 49.5% ABV
- Labelling NoteSome retailer listings still call this a "Kentucky Straight Rye" at 90 proof with a 95/5 mash bill. That is stale copy from the discontinued predecessor — the current bottle is 99 proof on a 51/45/4 recipe.
Full Review: Ezra Brooks 99 Rye
A Replacement, Not a Reissue
Lux Row launched this in May 2023, and it is important to be clear that it is not the old Ezra Brooks rye with more proof in it. The previous bottle was a 90-proof MGP 95/5. This one is 99 proof on a 51% rye / 45% corn / 4% malt recipe — a low-rye mash bill by category standards, closer to a high-rye bourbon flipped over the legal line. Same brand, different whiskey. Enough retailer pages still carry the old "Kentucky Straight Rye, 90 proof" copy that it is worth checking the label before you buy.
The other thing the brand doesn't say out loud is where it comes from. The back label reads "Distilled in Indiana," and since Luxco merged with MGP in 2021 the obvious inference is Ross & Squibb in Lawrenceburg. Reviewers have also noted it is effectively the same liquid as Lux Row's Rebel 100 Rye, one proof point apart.
Aroma & Palate
What surprised me is how green it is for a mash bill this corn-heavy. The nose is dominated by herbal notes — dried grass, fennel, lemongrass — with mint sitting right on top of them, and that herbal-mint axis is the single most consistent thing reviewers report about this whiskey. Vanilla, cinnamon and honey fill in behind it. It smells more expensive than it is.
The palate is where the two-year age statement starts to matter. Black pepper and dry rye spice arrive first with a citrus lift, honey and vanilla soften the middle, and then young oak turns up — sawdust and lumber rather than the rounded barrel character you get from four or six years. The finish is medium, dry and peppery, and it doesn't hang around long enough to develop.
Where the Reviews Land
The critical reception is unusually wide for a twenty-five dollar bottle. Whisky Advocate scored it 92 and named it one of the Top 20 Whiskies of 2023, calling it a bottle that punches above its price. Paste landed at 7.5 out of 10, The Whiskey Wash at 7, Drinkhacker at a C+, and one reviewer went as low as a C−, calling the texture syrupy. The 15-rating Distiller pool sits at 3.73. Our sample-weighted score of 3.7 sits right in the middle of that spread, and both weighting methods we ran — with and without the sentiment-mapped prose reviews — land between 3.6 and 3.7.
The disagreements cluster on two things: body and spice. Roughly five sources call it creamy or syrupy, three call it watery or light. Similarly, Whisky Advocate and Paste both report big peppery spice while Drinkhacker found it muted. That spread is what you would expect from a young whiskey where batch variation still shows.
Our Verdict
Buy it as a value proof play. Ninety-nine proof for twenty-five dollars, with a real herbal rye character rather than a sweetened bourbon impression, is a good deal — and it earns its place in a home bar as a mixing rye that can also be sipped without apology. What it will not do is stand up to a properly aged bottle. If you want depth at this tier, spend the extra few dollars on Rittenhouse. If you want proof, character and change from thirty dollars, this is one of the better answers on the shelf. It also fits neatly into our best rye whiskeys for cocktails shortlist.
Community Tasting Notes
Top Reported Flavors
Rating Distribution
🎁 Whiskey Review Rewards
$10 Gift Voucher — Every Review
Write a real tasting review and we'll send you a $10 digital gift voucher for barware and whiskey accessories on the store. Your honest notes help fellow rye lovers discover new favorites.
"At RyeCentral, we never pay for positive reviews — honest, unbiased opinions matter."
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 99 proof for around $25 — rare value at this tier
- Distinctly herbal and minty; reads as real rye, not sweetened bourbon
- Named to Whisky Advocate's Top 20 Whiskies of 2023
- Mash bill and proof are published by the brand
Cons
- Two-year age statement shows as young, sawdusty oak
- 51% rye is low for the category — spice is softer than the label implies
- Reviewers split sharply on body: creamy for some, watery for others
- Distillery and grain sourcing are not disclosed
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ Is Ezra Brooks 99 Rye the same as the old Ezra Brooks Rye?
❓ Who distills Ezra Brooks 99 Rye?
❓ How old is Ezra Brooks 99 Rye?
❓ Is Ezra Brooks 99 Rye good for cocktails?
❓ How much does Ezra Brooks 99 Rye cost?
Quality You Can Trust
RyeCentral Lab
Tasted it? Get ranked for it.
Every review earns Lab points — climb the ladder from All Rye to Rye Legend. Your first review earns 100 points and $10 store credit — five stars or one.