Better Late Than Never: Four Roses 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch

It's harder and harder to get these bottles, so thanks to My Annoying Opinions for sending me a sample of the 2016 edition of the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch was released last fall and sold out pretty much immediately.

The 2016 Small Batch Limited edition was a blend of 12 year old OESO, 12 year old OBSV and 16 year old OESK

Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2016, 55.6% abv ($1 Bajillion)

The nose is nice with bourbon caramel notes. The palate comes on sweet, then picks up woody notes and develops a chewy mouthfeel. It feels hot for its strength. The finish is dry with peppery notes and then a very slight mint. Water makes it soapy so I'd stay away from the faucet.

This is a very nice bourbon, in the traditional "old bourbon" style with a lot of oak showing through. Taking it side by side with the 2015, they are pretty similar. The 2015 may have had more complex flavors but the 2016 is more balanced between the oak and sweeetness. Still, none of them stand up to the amazing bottlings of 2012 and 2013. Those are the bottlings that made the Small Batch Limited Edition a cult must-have bourbon, but the more years pass, the more they seem like an aberration.  The more recent releases have certainly been very good, but not amazing.

Also see MAO's annoying opinion on this bourbon.

Why Doesn't Four Roses Follow the Labeling Rules?

Four Roses is one of the most beloved distilleries among whiskey fans, and the annual Limited Edition Small Batch is probably their most prized release, but they have consistently ignored labeling rules for that release.

Last week, Four Roses cleared a label for this year's Limited Edition Small Batch. The label states that the bourbon is composed of a blend of four of their bourbons: 12 year old OBSF, 13 year old OESV, 15 year old OBSK and 23 year old OBSV. The problem is that they don't state the percentage of each bourbon in the blend.

Under TTB regulations, the age statement for a whiskey should be the age of the youngest whiskey in the blend. The TTB guidelines allow that a whiskey that is a blend of different aged components can list those components, but in doing so, it must also include the percentage of each component in the blend.

Most whiskey geeks like having more information and are happy to know the components of the Four Roses Small Batch, so what's the problem?  Well, take this year's label for example. The big news here is that it includes a 23 year old bourbon. That's the oldest bourbon I've ever seen in any Four Roses bottle which is pretty exciting, but since we don't know the percentages, there could literally be a thimble full of 23 year old in the entire vatting. The purpose of the percentage requirement is to prevent companies from advertising the use of more aged whiskey without disclosing exactly how much old whiskey is in the mix.

Pursuant to the rules, Four Roses should either publish the percentage of each bourbon that went into the Small Batch or call it a 12 year old whiskey.

Four Roses Super Premium

Four Roses Super Premium aka Four Roses Platinum, is a Japan only export. It seems fairly popular among US whiskey fans, but it's hard to know if that's just because it's unavailable here. You know, the whiskey is always greener on the other side of the ocean, or something like that.

Four Roses Super Premium, 43% abv

The nose is rich caramel and toffee, very Four Roses. The palate is spicy with mint, clove and preserved orange rind. The finish is peppery with menthol.

This is a good, straightforward Four Roses.  Nothing I would fly to Japan for, but something I would gladly drink if I happened to be there.

Four Roses 2015 Small Batch

The Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is increasingly hard to find but is often one of the best bourbon releases of the year. Last fall's release was a combination of the following four Four Roses bourbons: 16 year old OBSK, 15 and 14 year old OESK, and 11 year old OBSV (the B recipes have a higher rye content than the Es).

Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2015, 54.3% ($100)

The nose has deep rich caramel with some orange rind and lots of oak. The palate opens with huge caramel, then oak, followed by some tannic notes. The finish picks up anise, rye and some medicinal notes.  There is some astringency on the late palate, but it fades with air. 

This is a very nice, well balanced bourbon. It has a degree of complexity that was lacking in the 2014 Four Roses Small Batch, though I wouldn't say it rises to the level of the stellar releases of 2012 and 2013. Still, it's very good and worth buying if you can find it at a decent price (which I know is a challenge).

Four Roses Single Barrel Limited Edition 2014

Earlier this year, Four Roses announced that it was discontinuing its annual limited edition single barrel release.  That means the 2014 will be the last regular release of the limited single barrel (they noted that they might still do special releases - I guess those would be limited limited editions).  For now, they will still be doing single barrel releases for retailers, so don't panic too much.  Still, I thought it would be fun to try the last release and was lucky enough to have a friend who could send me a sample.  The 2014 Four Roses Single Barrel Limited Edition is 11 years old and from their OESF recipe (lower rye and F yeast).

Four Roses Single Barrel Ltd Edition 2014, OESF, 11 yo, 54.5% ($100)

The nose is floral and perfumy. The palate comes on very sweet the shows some wood spice.  Water rounds it out nicely. There's a nice sweet finish on the nose but not too much on the palate.

This is good bourbon as nearly all Four Roses is, but it doesn't jump out at me as particularly special.  There's plenty of equally good or better Four Roses I've had from retailer barrels.


Thanks to Dan Zimmerman for the sample. 

Worth the Chase? Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2014

I've come to hate the fall whiskey season.  I just can't bear the lotteries and craziness, the flippers and gougers, the speculators and the folks who couldn't name the last bourbon they drank but know they must have a bottle of Pappy.  I was lucky to taste my share of Pappy and BTAC when it was easy to get, and I feel bad for the folks who are newer to the hobby, legitimately love whiskey, but have to put up with all this shit just to try a bourbon they have heard so much about.

So I don't chase whiskey anymore. I just don't have the stomach or the will to do it...with one exception.  For at least the last two years, the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch has been the highlight of the fall whiskey season.  Unlike Pappy (well, some Pappy) and BTAC, it's a different blend of whiskeys each year, and each year so far, it's been pretty great.  So I make an exception for it and try to chase down a bottle every fall.

This year's Small Batch is a mixture of 13 year old OBSV, 12 year old OESV, 11 year old OBSF and 9 year old OBSK (E is the lower rye mashbill, B is the higher rye; V, F and K are yeast strains). The oldest whiskey is quite a bit younger than past years, so we'll see how it stacks up.

Four Roses Ltd. Edition Small Batch 2014, 55.9% ($100)

The nose is bursting with caramel and wood notes.  The palate starts with a nice spicy notes, then develops some acid notes which trail off with it. The finish brings back some of the wood from the nose.   This one needs some elements.  Air and water work well with it, bringing out more caramel on the palate as well as some chocolate and mint.  Even more water reveals some pineapple notes.

This is a nice bourbon, but it's not in the same league as its two most recent predecessors. It lacks the complexity and layers of flavor we saw in the 2012 and 2013 Small Batches.  It's certainly worth picking up if you happen to see it, but it's not worth an extensive chase.

Dusty Thursday: Four Roses - The Bad Old Days

Given the love heaped on Four Roses these days, it's easy to forget that it's only been a big name in quality bourbon for about a decade, at least in the U.S.  Prior to 2002, it was owned by the now defunct Seagram's Company.  It had been popular in the post-prohibition years, but around the 1960s, Seagram's decided that it would concentrate on the export market.  The only thing Four Roses made for the US was crappy blends.  All of that changed in 2002, when Kirin, the Japanese beer company, purchased the distillery and let the roses bloom.

Today, I'm going back to the bad old days and tasting a circa 1978 Four Roses Light Whiskey.  Light whiskey is a whiskey distilled to more than 160 proof, a higher distillation proof than is permitted for most American whiskey, such as bourbon or rye, for which 160 proof is the maximum.  Light whiskey can only be stored in used or new uncharred oak.  This is a blended light whiskey, which means it is mixed with straight whiskey, but the straight whiskey must be less than 20% of the total composition.  Light whiskey lies somewhere between bourbon and vodka on the spirits spectrum, though unlike regular "blended whiskey," it does not contain any neutral spirits (which are spirits that must be distilled at above 190 proof).


Four Roses Light Whiskey, A Blend, 43% abv

The nose has an ever so slight vanilla note.  The palate is...awful.  It tastes mostly of alcohol.  It's like a lightly sweetened vodka, with honey and maybe a touch of wood.  There is not much whiskey character at all.  This stuff really has no redeeming value.

Whenever you hear someone (like, say, me) mourning the old days when bourbon had a special taste that you can't find anymore and things were cheap and plentiful, remind them (or me) that not everything was better back then.  Exhibit A is Four Roses, a whiskey that went from terrible to amazing in a few short years.


Thanks to Matt P. for the picture and sample.

Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2013

One of the most anticipated new releases of the year, the annual Four Roses Small Batch release has become almost Pappy like in its elusiveness.  Last year's edition was, by far, my favorite bourbon of the year.  The Small Batch is always a blend of different Four Roses bourbons; this year's is composed of 18 year old OBSV, 13 year old OBSK and 13 year old OESK, the same recipes in last year's edition but slightly older.

Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2013, 51.6% abv ($90)

The nose is rich and oaky with caramel and a touch of rye.  The palate is pretty dense.  It starts with sweet notes but quickly moves to rye, leather and oak and trails off with medicinal notes.  The finish is medicinal/menthol which fades into a nice spicy tobacco note.  As with most of these Small Batch releases, there's a lot going on here; it's a great, complex bourbon.

I still have a bottle of the 2012 Four Roses Small Batch so I tasted them head to head and found them to be very different.  The 2012 is sweeter and maybe more balanced in that the sweetness provides a nice counterpoint to the spice notes, but the 2013 is bolder.  After a few tastings, I can't decide which I like better, so I'll call it a draw, the really good kind of draw.

 

Where can I find Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon?

It's that time of year again.  With fall comes the browning of the leaves, the cooling of the air (well, eventually, we hope), and the Google searches for Pappy Van Winkle.  "Where can I buy Pappy?" is a question I see pop up a lot on Google searches leading to my blog this time of year.  As a public service, I'm going to answer this question for all of the Googlers out there.  This post isn't for my regular readers who know this stuff already, but I will ask them to help out. 

So, you read an article about how Pappy Van Winkle is the best bourbon ever and you think it would make the perfect holiday gift for your spouse/significant other/boss/client.  Here's the deal: Pappy Van Winkle is the most sought after bourbon in history.  Bourbon fans will go to great lengths to hunt it down.  Liquor stores often have hundreds of people on the wait list for two or three bottles and some poor slobs are willing to pay double, triple and, yes, nearly 10 times the retail price for the stuff.

So let's deal with the reality.  If you got to this post, because you Googled "Where can I find Pappy Van Winkle?", you aren't going to find it.  I'm not going to find it.  All but a few tireless or very lucky souls aren't going to find it.  That doesn't have to mean you're out of luck though.  Pappy is great bourbon, but there are plenty of other great bourbons out there that you can find; so if you can't find Pappy (and you won't), consider the following:

• W.L. Weller 12 year old.  This is essentially the same stuff as much of the Van Winkle bourbons.  It's made by Buffalo Trace, the same distillery that distills all but the oldest Van Winkles, and it's made from the same recipe that they use to make the Van Winkle bourbons.  Buy this and tell that boyfriend that this is essentially Pappy 12.  It's a great bourbon; it won't cost you an arm and a leg ($20 to $25), and you'll be able to feel superior with this bit of insider knowledge.
•  Four Roses Single Barrel Hand Picked Editions.  Four Roses is probably the most consistently excellent bourbon distillery around today.  These guys pump out great bourbon like it's nothing.  The regular single barrel is good, but retailers hand pick single barrels of particular recipes that range from decent to mind blowingly good.  Binny's currently has eight different hand picked bottles for $55 a piece, a fraction of what Pappy would cost you for juice that's just as good if not better.  To put it in musical terms, Pappy may be as popular as The Knack in 1980 but Four Roses is the Velvet Underground in the early '70s, the life changing band that only those in the know are listening to (check out that rock analogy - eat your heart out David Driscoll!)
•  High West Rendezvous Rye.  This one's not a bourbon, but a rye, bourbon's spicy cousin. This excellent whiskey is composed of rye whiskeys from Kentucky and Indiana, masterfully blended by David Perkins from High West in Utah.  At $50, it's one of the best whiskey deals around for a fabulous, spicy whiskey.

One thing I have going for me on my blog is an army (okay, a division) of talented readers who know their stuff.  Readers, what would you recommend as a relatively easy to find substitute for Pappy this holiday season?

Mind Your Batches & Barrels

Last week, I reviewed the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof which comes in two releases.  The first release was fantastic.  The second was very good.  The only way to distinguish them is their batch numbers.

Similarly, I recently gave a very positive review to this year's Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrel.  The one I found on my local shelf was Barrel 3-3J, which I loved.  Later, though, I tried 3-3I and found it to have a very different character.  Whereas 3-3J was spicy and complex, 3-3I was minty and medicinal, tasting blind, I actually guessed it was an MGP bourbon.  I thought 3-3J was exceptional while 3-3I was average.

Most big American single barrel releases have multiple barrels released.  In some cases, as with Four Roses, it's easy to track because they list a barrel number right on the bottle.  In others, like Knob Creek Single Barrel or EH Taylor Single Barrel, there is no indication anywhere what barrel the whiskey came from, so you have no idea if too bottles are the same or different.

Similarly, many whiskeys are produced in batches.  You have no way to tell the difference unless the label includes a batch number or, as with the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, the whiskey is at cask strength, which means that each batch will have a different proof.  While the producers will claim that they are selecting barrels or batches with consistent flavor notes for these releases, the tastings clearly show that there is a difference, sometimes a big one.

And here's the rub: most reviewers only review one bottle of these whiskeys.  For the big guns, they get sent only one sample by the distilleries, and the little guys like me are only going to buy one bottle.  But the bottle I rate may not be the one that shows up on your shelf.  That's why it's very important to note, where possible, the batch and bottle number being reviewed.  I also do my best to try multiple batches, but it's not always possible, so do your best to mind your batches and barrels.

Four Roses 2013 Limited Edition Single Barrel

Four Roses does two special releases each year, a single barrel in the spring and a small batch in the fall.  This year's single barrel is 13 years old and from the OBSK recipe, which uses the higher rye mashbill of 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% barley.  As it is a cask stength, single barrel release, each barrel has a different proof.

Four Roses 2013 Limited Edition Single Barrel, Barrel 3-3J, 60% abv ($90)

The nose has everything, candy, oak, rye spice, the whole package.  The palate has honey with plenty of rye spice, coffee, chocolate.  The spice grows through the palate and the finish is rye and barrel.  It's pretty hot, so water is a good idea, and brings out some deeper spicy notes, tobacco and brown sugar.  This is a nice, complex bourbon. 

While many American premium bourbons seem to be declining in recent years, Four Roses just gets better and better.  This bourbon is definitely one of the better Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrels that I've had.  Whatever they're doing, they're doing it right.

Spoiler Alert: Fall Whiskeys Revealed

Fall is the big whiskey season when all the special release whiskeys come out, but because of the TTB label approval process, we get a preview of them in spring and summer.  Here are some of what awaits us this fall (other than Zachory Boone):

• Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch.  Last years Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon was one of the best bourbons of the year.  This year's will be composed of 18 year old OBSV, 13 year old OBSK and 13 year old OESK, the same recipes in last year's edition but at different ages.
• Woodford Reserve Master's Collection.  It looks like this year's Woodford Master's Collection will be a repeat of the Woodford Rye Whiskey experiment of two years ago, except with barley malt.  There will be a single malt whiskey aged in used barrels in the Scotch style and a straight malt with corn as a secondary grain aged in new charred oak in the American style.
• Masterson's.  35 Maple, the bottler of Masterson's Rye will be importing a 12 year old straight wheat whiskey and a ten year old straight barley whiskey from Canada.
• Redbreast 21.  A 21 year old version of Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.

Stay tuned for more new releases as I find them.

Little Bourbon on the Prairie: High West American Prairie Reserve

David Perkins' High West Distillery has cooked up all kinds of interesting whiskies: numerous ryes, blends of bourbon and rye, and even a blend of bourbon, rye and peated scotch. While they had used bourbon in some of their blends, they had not released a bourbon, until now.

American Prairie Reserve is labeled a "blend of straight bourbons" which indicates that it includes straight bourbons distilled in more than one state. In this case, it's a combination of a six year old bourbon from LDI in Indiana with a mashbill of 75% Corn, 20% rye, 5% barley malt and a ten year old Four Roses bourbon from Kentucky with a 60% Corn, 35% rye, and 5% barley malt mashbill (i.e. Four Roses mashbill B).


High West American Prairie Reserve, Batch 3, 46% abv. ($43)

The nose has lots of wood along with some strong, spicy rye characteristics. There is plenty of rye spice on the palate, then some sweetness with some wood on the background that leads into a sweet and spicy finish.

This is a very drinkable whiskey with a good balance between sweet and spicy. It tastes like a high rye bourbon, which is interesting given that it uses the high rye mashbill from Four Roses but a lower rye recipe from LDI. Of course, we don't know what the proportions are of each whiskey. In any case, it's good stuff.

Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2012

Many lovers of Four Roses bourbon concentrate on their single barrel offerings, each of which highlights one of the distillery's famed ten recipes (made up of five yeasts and two different mashbills). While it's fun to sample the different recipes, Four Roses also blends them for their other bottlings. The Four Roses Small Batch is a blend of four different bourbons. Each year, Four Roses also releases a Limited Edition Small Batch, a marriage of four bourbons bottled at barrel strength.

This year's Limited Edition Small Batch is a blend of the following four bourbons:
17 year old OBSV, 11 year old OBSV, 12 year old OBSK and 12 year old OESK. This vatting combines three different ages, two different yeasts (V and K) and both of the mashbills: the B mashbill is 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% malted barley. and the E mashbill is 75% corn, 20% rye and 5% malted barley.


Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2012, 55.7% abv ($87)

The nose on this is really wonderful with all kinds of things going on. A first whiff reveals fresh cherries, followed by a nice dose of briny rye spice, tobacco and wood notes. The palate carries the same complexity. The briny rye spice is there but also a sort of light perfume note that intensifies the tobacco from the nose. The tobacco and rye spice really stand out on the finish which is quite lengthy and delicious. Water brings out some anise notes and some acid that add to the picture.

This is really fantastic stuff. It's packed with flavor and has a complexity that shows new dimensions with every sip. This may be the best new bourbon I've had all year. It's certainly competitive with the annual offerings from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and Pappy Van Winkle, but unlike those, there appears to be some Four Roses Small Batch Limited still on the shelves. If you see it, grab it.

Four Roses Single Barrel Gift Shop Exclusives

It bugs me as much as the next guy when people review impossible to get whiskeys that I will never have a chance to try. That being said, when I get my hands on something really unique, I feel an obligation to share my thoughts, if not the liquid (though I try to do plenty of that as well).

Four Roses is a fabulous distillery, and their single-recipe, single barrels are well known. Almost all of these are nine to ten years old, and up until recently, there hasn't been any older Four Roses available. Within the last year, they have released extra aged single barrel bottlings which are only available at the distillery gift shop. I managed to get my hands on samples of the 16 and 17 year old gift shop bottlings, both of which use the OBSV recipe, which is the higher rye mashbill of 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley. I believe they sell for around $60 or $70 at the gift shop.


Four Roses Single Barrel 16 year old OBSV, Barrel 78-3A, Warehouse QS, 54.7% abv

There's a huge rye kick on the nose which melts into a vanilla extract. The palate is surprisingly fruity. I get pineapple and then a hint of rye which fades into the finish, but the more I drink, the more those rye notes emerge, like when you eat a chili mango paleta and it mostly tastes like mango but then the chili creeps up on you. There are even some of the vague sandalwood notes that I detect in those old Pennsylvania ryes. The finish has a light chocolate note. The more I drink this one, the more I like it. Even though this is six years older than the usual Four Roses Single Barrel, it doesn't have much in the way of wood.


Four Roses Single Barrel 17 year old OBSV, Barrel 78-30, Warehouse QS, 55.3% abv

The nose has a much more subtle rye influence than the 16 year old, but it's still there and grows as you continue to nose it. The first thing I get on the palate is a nice rye spice followed by more distinctive baking spices with clove and allspice, along with some chocolate; these spices fade nicely into the finish. This is a strong, spicy number.

Despite their similar recipe and age, these two bourbons are actually very different. The 16 has more diversity on the palate with those fruity notes, while the 17 has a much stronger rye flavor. Overall, these are both very good, but I'd give the edge to the 17; of course, I'm a sucker for a strong rye character.

The Three Most Underrated Distilleries

In the world of whiskey, there are some distilleries that are constantly on everyone's tongues and others that fly under the radar. Some deserve the praise heaped upon them, but others seem to have inflated reputations. Meanwhile, some of those that fly under the radar deserve more recognition.

This week, I will look at the three most underrated and three most overrated distilleries. In using these terms, I am referring to their perception in the whiskey geek community, not the population at large, which makes it a harder task. For instance, Jack Daniel's is clearly overrated by the population at large, but not by the whiskey lovers.

We'll start on a positive note, with the three most underrated distilleries (in no particular order).


Glengoyne. Lovers of sherried malts tend to gravitate toward Macallan, Glenfarclas and, lately, GlenDronach. All the while, Glengoyne puts out sherried malt every bit as rich as those heavy hitters, with a complex balance of sherry and wood and layers of flavor with unsherried versions are a delectable fruit salad. Unfortunately, the best of these, like the 1987 single cask, tend to be limited to the overseas market. Still, it seems that, recently, when I sip a new malt that really wows me, it's often a Glengoyne.

Four Roses. Four Roses definitely has a following, but it tends to exist in the shadows of the flashier Kentucky distilleries like Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill. Four Roses is short on fancy packaging and ultra-limited special releases, but it consistently produces great bourbon from the ten recipes it has at its disposal and prices them fairly.

Charbay. Despite the booming craft distillery movement in the US (my complete distillery list is still regularly updated), the American microdistillery movement has yet to produce a recognized stand-out. Charbay is sort of an oddball even among the innovative craft distillers. Marko Karakasevic produces whiskey from finished beer, which includes hops, and releases it in small quantities. Many whiskey fans may get turned off by the high prices that Charbay whiskeys go for, but there is simply nothing else like those hoppy whiskeys, and while I might grumble about the $350 price tag, Charbay makes truly unique American whiskey.

Runners Up: Other distilleries I considered underrated include Midleton (though its reputation is growing), George Dickel, Bunnahabhain, Dallas Dhu and Glenfiddich.

Did I miss any? Add them to the comments.

Later this week: The Most Overrated Distilleries (and get ready for some whiskey heresy!)

Four Roses at Two Retailers: Binny's vs. Shopper's Vineyard OBSV

These days, retailers are offering some great single barrel bourbons. Among those offered by a number of the better retailers are single recipe versions of Four Roses Single Barrel. As many of you undoubtedly know, Four Roses has ten bourbon recipes (two mashbills x five yeasts). A number of retailers have purchased a barrel of each recipe so that consumers can compare.

It's fun to compare the different recipes and I would encourage everyone to try them all, but I thought it might also be fun to compare the same recipe bottled for different retailers. In this case, the Binny's and Shopper's Vineyard editions of the OBSV, which is the recipe used in the mass market Four Roses Single Barrel. OBSV uses a mashbill of 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% barley with the "V" yeast strain.

Shopper's Vineyard Jim Rutledge Selection OBSV, Distilled 7/20/01, Bottled 10/13/11, Warehouse KE, Barrel # 8-1E, 52.8% abv ($50)

According to New Jersey retailer Shopper's Vineyard, this barrel was hand selected by Master Distiller Jim Rutledge (note, Shopper's Vineyard is pretty big on hype so take it for what it is). Unfortunately, it looks like this bottle is sold out.

On the nose I get coffee beans and rye spice. The palate is very spicy as well with lots of rye notes and a chewy mouthfeel. The finish is cooking spices - cloves, ginger, allspice. A really nice, spicy bourbon.


Binny's Four Roses Single Barrel OBSV, Distilled 10/15/00, Bottled 9/24/09, Warehouse KE, Barrel # 8-1C, 53.8% abv ($55)

Chicago superstore Binny's still has this one available. It was aged in the same warehouse as the Shopper's Vineyard bottle, though it was distilled and bottled earlier.

The nose on the Binny's bourbon is very light with caramel and toffee. The palate is candy sweet but oak takes a place at the table about mid way through and stays through the finish. It's nicely balanced and surprisingly light for its abv.


It's remarkable how different these two bottlings are. If I had tasted them knowing only they were Four Roses, I probably would have guessed that they were from different recipes. Both are good (and indeed, I don't think I've ever had a Four Roses single barrel I would characterize as less than good), but the Shopper's Vineyard bottling wins out for me because I like the pronounced spiciness.

Even within the single recipe, there clearly can be a fair amount of variety in Four Roses which means that even once you've tried all the recipes, keep sampling.

The Newest High West: Son of Bourye

I was a big fan of High West's innovative Bourye, a mix of a bourbon and two rye whiskeys. Stocks for that original recipe ran out so now High West has a similar blend it has bottled as Son of Bourye.

Son of Bourye combines a five year old Four Roses bourbon that is made from 75% corn, 20% rye and 5% barley malt and a three year old LDI rye that is 95% rye and 5% barley malt. This is a much younger affair than the original Bourye which contained the same bourbon at ten years old, the same rye at 12 years old and an additional 16 year old rye made by the Barton distillery. Son of Bourye also runs about $20 cheaper than the original.


High West Son of Bourye, Batch 2, 46% abv ($40)

Already on the nose it smells on the young side. I can pick up that strong rye that I associate with young LDI. Based on the nose, I braced myself for the heavily briny and vegetal rye palate you get with the youthful LDI ryes, but the palate is actually much more delicate. That young, bold rye is in there, no doubt, but it's balanced nicely with some sweet and slightly oaky notes. It may be that a shot of Four Roses is exactly what a three year old LDI rye needs to moderate some of its rough edges. There is a slightly diluted quality to this and I would have liked to taste a higher strength version, but it's quite drinkable.

I still have some of the original Bourye, so I did a head to head comparison. As you would expect, the original Bourye, made from much older whiskeys, is more complex with more interplay going on between the rye spice and the more bourbony notes. It's a more sophisticated whiskey, but of course, it's a completely different composition, and it is significantly more expensive than its more brash young son, which is fun and drinkable in its own right.

It may not have the complexity of Bourye, but Son of Bourye is a fun and drinkable whiskey that's worth trying.

A Bitter Pill: Four Roses 2011 Single Barrel

Every year, aside from their standard single barrel offering, Four Roses releases a limited edition single barrel using one of their ten recipes. This year's is OBSQ, which is the high rye mashbill (60% corn, 35% rye, 5% barley) with the Q yeast strain. It's 12 years old and cask strength. The abv varies depending on the barrel but mine was 55.4%. It retails for around $80.

The nose is pleasant, floral and perfumy with some earthy and vegetal notes. The palate is harshly vegetal and medicinal with a strong bitterness which lasts into the finish. It is so bitter and chemically that I was initially convinced it might be tainted and got another sample.

With some time to oxidize in the glass, the bitterness on the palate subsides a bit, but it still leaves you with an overwhelmingly bitter finish with a mouthfeel like you've just taken an oral anaesthetic. Adding water brings out a soapiness.

I like some medicinal qualities in my whiskey, but this one overdoes it, and from late palate to finish, it's downright objectionable. This is a seriously flawed whiskey that I wouldn't drink again. I'm generally a fan of Four Roses and I've even had some decent bottlings from this recipe; this one is different.

Now, I should note that it seems I'm in the distinct minority in my negative opinion of this one, so I urge you to check out the always excellent (though in this case, totally wrong) Sour Mash Manifesto and Sipology for a different perspective.

Whiskey Wednesday: Ten Recipes, Four Roses

In a whiskey world where change sometimes comes slowly, few brands have made the kinds of strides that Four Roses has in recent years. Ten years ago, there was no Four Roses Bourbon available in the US; even five years ago, you couldn't by it outside of a few shops in Kentucky. Now, Four Roses has taken its place among the most innovative distilleries.

Four Roses was a very popular Bourbon around fifty years ago, but when Seagram's bought the company, they marketed the Bourbon for export only. For decades, the only Four Roses product available in the US was a cheap, blended whiskey (you can still find dusty bottles of this stuff on the shelves at certain liquor stores).

Those of us who love Four Roses have Japanese beer to thank for its resurgence. In 2002, the Kirin company purchased the distillery, and things began to change. They quickly released a trio of Bourbons to the US market: regular yellow label, small batch and single barrel, and followed those up with a specialty bottling called Mariage and a new limited edition small batch bottling coming soon, but it didn't stop there.

The thing that differentiates Four Roses from every other Bourbon distillery is the recipes. Most distilleries have, at most, three different Bourbon recipes. Four Roses has ten. Using two different mashbills and five different yeasts, Four Roses has an extremely diverse set of flavor profiles to work with. The impressively transparent distillery sets out these recipes right on its website.

Traditionally, the distillery has blended together these recipes for its various Bourbons. But now, individual retailers are selecting barrels so that they can market specific recipes of Four Roses Single Barrel. You will recognize these expressions from the use of the four letter recipe designation in the title of the Bourbon (e.g. Four Roses Single Barrel OBSQ).

Two of the retailers who have made these Bourbons most available are Binny's in Chicago ($55 each) and The Party Source in Kentucky ($50 each). Both retailers bottle the Bourbons at cask strength, and thankfully, both take on-line orders.

Given the differences in flavor between these Bourbons, I am excited to try all ten recipes. From those I've tasted, I know that they offer an enormous diversity of flavor, even within the same mashbill. The problem is that tasting all ten, at $50-$55 a pop, is expensive. I suggested to The Party Source's Jay Erisman that they bottle a series of ten mini bottles representing each of the recipes. Jay seemed to think that would be too difficult and the cost would be prohibitive, but I open the suggestion to all retailers as well as the distillery. There are many whiskey fans out there who I know would treasure a ten bottle set of every Four Roses recipe. Think about it.