Four Roses Yellow Label Bourbon

I got a fifth for $29.99 at the Mountain Run location of Kelly Liquors here in Albuquerque. It's 80 proof, which is lower than I generally like but didn't hurt the whisky in this case. There's no age statement, but since it's straight bourbon it had to age for at least two years. It's a nice golden straw color in the glass. NOSE: Bananas, butterscotch, and a faint medicinal/grass note which I didn't care for, but which didn't mar the taste. TASTE: Butterscotch, butter, brown sugar, coffee cake, and a tiny bit of oak. FINISH: There's an oak note which is there throughout, ad which lingers, making this a medium finish. And right at the beginning there's a very short but definite impression of cool spring water. Overall this isn't a very complex bourbon, especially in the nose and the finish, but it's a very good bourbon. It doesn't necessarily drink better than its price, but for what I paid, I definitely got what I paid for.

The low end offering from Four Roses, the yellow label is a pretty good value bourbon. I would even go as far as to say a great everyday dram. The nose is a bit boring, oak, heat and a bit of green apple. On the palate though it opens up. I get strawberries, touch of caramel and rye bread. It may be a touch thin, but very smooth. The finish has a nice spicy kick to it with only a little bit of burn. Again, it's a great everyday bourbon. It may not be crazy complex, but for $20 it's hard to beat the value. As a cocktail ingredient, it holds it's own. The lower proof doesnt make it ideal for some spirit forward cocktails, but those with citrus juice seem to work well. Overall though, very solid value and quite useful for the home bar.

Smooth and delicious. Get lots of honey, caramel, and fruits. Might just beat out my go-to in this price range (and in general tbh, as a frequent drink) which is Wild Turkey. Maybe a tad less complex than WT but also way smoother, and whatever it lacks in complexity (which isn’t much) is more than made up for by it’s supreme smoothness. Just tried it for the first time today but can already see it becoming my new frequent sipper, sorry WT! Overall extremely happy with this purchase and will certainly buy again and recommend. Worth noting that upon purchasing (at checkout, so did not influence my purchase), the cashier said that in her opinion, this is the best bourbon in it’s price range, and so far I’m quite apt to agree.

Don’t let the fancy wood and cork topper fool you; this isn’t deserving of much more than a plastic twist off. Nose is candied corn from a fresh-opened bag…the sugar and chemical smell lingers at the top of the glass just above the ethanol which reminds you this is young and undeveloped. Palate is relatively smooth, but that’s the nicest think I can say about it. Tastes of stale Sugar Smacks, cheap checkout aisle caramel and the runny part of creamed corn. There’s no finish to speak of and nothing to remind you that you just had a sip of whisky. I figured I’d try it, and while it is unobjectionable, it’s also unremarkable in every way.

On the nose there is a light floral honey note and the palate is just the same. The finish is quick and the mouth feel is very thin. There is no oak or spice to worry about and its not that complex. If you are a bourbon nut Id pass on this and pick up the higher proof or barrel offerings from Four Roses. This is just a typical mixer shooter type of bourbon

Slightly spicy, I personally didn’t get a whole lot of sweet. It had a peppery smell at first, but interestingly when you sip, didn’t taste much of it and this was smooth going down, not too much heat. I really like this, will keep this on hand!