Four Roses Private Selection Single Barrel Barrel Strength Bourbon

OBSK. Total Wine selection. Aged 9 years 5 months. Nose is robust and spicy with white pepper, rye spice, oak, and barrel char. Some additional notes of French toast, pear, and butter. Ethanol is controlled. Palate offers caramel flan, toasted oak, herbal tea leaf, tobacco, orange zest, more rye, peppermint, dill, and jasmine. Flavors are bold, but also has so much sizzle and sparkle as to be distracting; sort of a bourbon equivalent of Pop Rocks candy. Lacking in richness, depth, and most importantly, balance. Extremely long finish is tight and snappy with baking spices in the form of black and pink pepper corn, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and clove. Drinks more like a rye than a bourbon. Mouthfeel is full-bodied and sufficiently oily, but the high spice level does have a fatiguing effect on the tongue after a while. Man…I LIKE whiskies with a kick and still found this to be a bit challenging. I feel spice is best used like a scalpel and what we have here is a sledgehammer. Maybe this recipe just isn’t for me as I usually love 4R barrel strength releases, but this will be the lowest rating so far. At $119.99, I think you can guess it’s not a rebuy for me.

“Momma’s” pick OESV aged 10yrs 6 months, 57.2% ABV Nose is full of vanilla and stone fruit (peach, plum, cherry) along with red delicious apple, blackberry, and just a touch of oak. Ethanol is basically non-existent, which is crazy given the proof. That said, the overall nose is a little tight/muted. Palate gets things moving in the right direction with the same notes as the nose but dialed up several notches. Fruit cocktail drizzled with vanilla icing along with chocolate fudge, flan, and a little butterscotch. It’s not the most complex, but very well integrated. Finish is long and lingering with Red Hots candy, white pepper, leather, and a definite oak presence suddenly appearing. Quite the contrast from the palate. Heat is there, but restrained. Mouthfeel is full bodied and extremely creamy which is a real highlight that greatly elevates the overall experience. Loved the lack of ethanol and velvety mouthfeel and while the palate and finish were also very good, it does suffer from a slight lack of complexity. That said, I am splitting hairs here as this is an excellent whiskey. I paid $119 and would do so again for any bottles of this expression.

OBSF // 11y 3mo // 60.9% Fresh crack first pour Nose: Started off surprisingly light with slight hints of vanilla, caramel, and mint. After letting it breathe for about 15minutes, all of those notes remain in the background and a rye spice steps up to center stage (which makes sense as it’s 4R’s high-rye mashbill). Letting it breathe even longer unleashes an alluring aroma of fruits mixed in with everything else. Every time I go in for another whiff, I pick up on something new. Highly complex, and highly satisfying. Palate: If you’ve ever had Little Book Ch. 6, it has a mint/herbal note extremely similar to that; followed by rye spice and a slight burn. As you sip the burn mellows to zero, but that herbal and rye spice still remain. It is incredibly smooth with a nice Kentucky Hug. Finish: Medium to long, your tongue tingles for a few minutes but the taste leaves before the tingle. All-in-all, I’m personally not super impressed. Maybe I’ll like it more after it has time to breathe, or maybe this just isn’t my recipe. Either way, I can’t say this lives up to the legendary hype these bottles frequently command.

OBSQ recipe, 56.9% ABV, aged 10 yr 9 mo. Aroma is pungent with vanilla, oak, fresh cut grass, earthy cellar, honey, allspice, mint, citrus, and apple chips. Ethanol is decently low. Palate is sweeter than the nose would indicate with caramel, plum, molasses, barrel char, vanilla, cinnamon, and apricot. Flavors are rich. Finish turns slightly funky with white pepper, tobacco, fresh leather, clove, nutmeg, tarragon, sandalwood, and musty/dusty rick house. Mouthfeel is an absolute delight; thick, smooth, and creamy. Long lasting pepper note after everything else fades away. Bold and unique. While not my absolute favorite recipe I have sampled, it is still a top shelf whiskey with great complexity and zero flaws. I paid $129 and at that price it’s buy all day every day for these releases. While not as economical as say an ECPB, this still offers solid bang for your buck in today’s market.

OESF Bevmo and GoPuff selection. 11yrs, 7 months. 60.5% ABV Aroma is full of goodness; sweet corn, gooey caramel, nutmeg, white pepper, and leafy oak. The only problem is that the ethanol is singeing the hell out of my nostrils. Crying shame. Palate has a bit of everything; fruit, sweet, nut, and spice. Vanilla/caramel, plum, black cherry, pistachio, cinnamon, allspice, and oak tannins. Flavors pack a punch. Long finish takes a turn toward the spicy with pepper, clove, oak, and rye. Chocolate covered black cherry note after everything else fades, which I enjoyed. Mouthfeel is full-bodied and oily. I enjoy Four Roses Barrel Proof expressions, and this is no exception. A complex and interesting whiskey. A few small flaws but overall very on-brand. I believe i paid $119 for this and would do so again.

The bourbon greets you with a sweet, fruity aroma that might lead you to expect a similar taste. However, the initial lightness on the palate quickly gives way to a more complex profile. It starts with a distinct earthiness, reminiscent of a garden in bloom, with the delicate scent of rose petals gradually emerging. The experience culminates in a clean finish, characterized by the fresh, verdant notes of young oak.