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Four Roses Single Barrel

A Rose By Any Other Name

3 2186

@OdysseusUnboundReview by @OdysseusUnbound

1st Jun 2017

1

Four Roses Single Barrel
  • Nose
    21
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    21
  • Balance
    21
  • Overall
    86

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Let me start with an apology. How Canadian of me. I'm sorry, I don't have the bottle in front of me, so I can't include the warehouse or barrel number at this point, but I promise I will add it. I've had enough time with this one to make some decent tasting notes. I even posted a more detailed (and charming?) review over on my blog.

  • Nose (undiluted): floral vanilla, toffee, menthol, oak
  • Palate: medium body, spicy arrival, more vanilla and toffee, orange peels, black pepper, with rye and hearty herb spiciness. I want to say there are hints of rosemary, odd as that may sound.
  • Finish: medium-long, spicy rye pepperiness, lingering oakiness with that herbal note in the background.

Adding water toned down the bite a little and pushed the menthol and herbal notes a bit further into the background. Trigger warning, this next part may offend some purists. I made a few Old Fashioned cocktails with this bourbon and it really shone. A weaker bourbon or rye can disappear in an Old Fashioned, but not this one. I was very impressed.

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21 comments

@Ol_Jas
Ol_Jas commented

Who else is feeling the charm deprivation here?

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@Ol_Jas I think it's just you.

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

This is not my favourite bourbon. My bottle has grown on me though I've not been back to it for a while... too many bourbons open. What a problem to have.

I think I'd normally reach for Booker's, Stagg Jr, OGD 114 over this. On the other hand, those are not always available so it's good to have options...

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Ol_Jas I feel that my blog features a bit more of my (winning? annoying? idiotic?) personality. I'm pretty "to the point" here. Is that wrong? Sorry. stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@OdysseusUnbound, personality is always welcomed, it is attitude that gets one shown the door. I find your writing style on your blog entertaining. thumbsup_tone2 tumbler_glass

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@paddockjudge Thanks. I try to keep things in perspective. People's opinions will differ, and some things get me riled up, but only to a point. It's whisky, not war.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@OdysseusUnbound Don't be so sure it's not a war.... when the supply of sherry casks runs out because too few people drink sherry, who knows what people will do to get their hands on untainted (with sulphur) casks...

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Nozinan Lucky for me I'm not a huge fan of sherry-bomb whiskies. Not that I dislike them, but I could live without them. What worries me is the rumour that Islay will run short of peat in another 8-12 years. That's terrifying.

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@OdysseusUnbound The peat wars will likely make the sherry wars look like a skirmish.

7 years ago 3Who liked this?

@SKEPTIC
SKEPTIC commented

Peat exists in huge quantities all over the world. We'll probably never hit Peak Peat.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@SKEPTIC LOL peak peat !!! But I'm a believer in "terroir". (Yes, I realize that sounds snooty and pretentious) Even Orkney peat is different from Islay peat, I can't imagine how German peat or Italian peat or wherever peat might change a scotch's profile. That said, I'm sure there are people far more intelligent than me working on that.

7 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@OdysseusUnbound Then England should be producing the best whiskies.... They have the Yorkshire terroire

7 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Robert99
Robert99 commented

@Nozinan Peat war's is not on but your already killing me!joy

@OdysseusUnbound Four Roses is slowly becoming my favorite bourbon as I am more and more leaning toward floral bourbon. Of course I am still craving for all BTAC fireworks but I wouldn't get any of them on a daily basis, that would be too much, but I would be able to take one of two drams of Four Roses every day if my liver would allowed me to. Don't get me wrong though, FR is far from being a small bourbon, it is, to me, simply more palatable than those at 60% abv.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Ol_Jas
Ol_Jas commented

@OdysseusUnbound , I just dug up your blog version of this. Just what I was expecting—so much fun! Why don't we Connosrpudlians get all that charm? :)

Where did you hear that thing about Islay running short of peat in 8-12 years? That sounds like (dare I say it) "fake news" to me. I've always heard projections of Islay's peat-supply timelines being in the thousands of years.

That said, why wouldn't we "peak peat" someday, @SKEPTIC ? There are two possibilities: one day we'll hit "peak peat," or else our consumption of peat will perpetually increase, every year, forever.

And yes, peat from different locations is definitely different. Try Lost Spirits Leviathan to see what Canadian peat tastes like. It's gross. (Though to be fair, there might be some non-peat factors at play there too.)

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Ol_Jas I don't have that much charm to go around stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye It takes a whole lot of effort, and I'm pretty lazy and not so talented.

As far as "peak peat", I believe I read it on The Whisky Exchange's blog, but I can't remember. I hope it isn't true, as I don't want to live in a world without Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg or Caol Ila. I'd include Octomore, but I can't find any and have never tried it.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Ol_Jas I appeared to have missed the date. Colour me relieved. I normally hate April fool's jokes, but I'm glad this was "fake news".

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@nooch
nooch commented

@OdysseusUnbound you did read it in a whisky exchange blog published on...wait for it...April 1, 2015.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Ol_Jas I appeared to have missed the date. Colour me relieved. I normally hate April fool's jokes, but I'm glad this was "fake news".

7 years ago 0

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@nooch I don't know why that last comment of mine was published twice. Stupid iPhone. Nevertheless, I've never been so happy with an April Fool's prank in my life.

7 years ago 2Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

As promised, better late than never, here is the relevant information.

Warehouse no. HW Barrel no. 21-3R

7 years ago 0