Four Roses Single Barrel
Bourbons Do Not Disappoint
0 794
Review by @MaltActivist
- Nose23
- Taste24
- Finish23
- Balance24
- Overall94
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- Brand: Four Roses
- Type: American
- ABV: 50%
It's been a while since I put a good old fashioned bourbon on the tasting block. Five months to be exact. No real reason other than getting swept up in my single malt purchases and ignoring this spirit from the West.
For some reason I always get grief from my whisky club about my love for American whisky. Not that they're snobs or anything. It's just that I organized a bourbon tasting one night and, let's say, things got out of hand.
The following morning was a barrage of half coherent phone calls blaming my generous pours and the Devil that was inside this damned spirit for their complete lack of motor skills.
Sure guys. Blame the bourbons.
I've had my eye on Four Roses for a while but just didn't get around to picking one up for the bar. Good thing I did. I'm quite proud of my growing bourbon collection and the Four Roses makes for a worthy addition.
My sample is from Barrel# 69-6W from warehouse ME bottled at a perfect 50% ABV.
Nose: Howy pardner! So many aromas all working together in near perfect harmony. Maple syrup. Chocolate fudge brownies. Overripe oranges. Espresso coffee beans. Black licorice. Burnt caramel. Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Oak. The longer you nose the more aromas you get. In the interest of space I had to stop.
Palate: Brilliant delivery. Controlled at 50% which I think works beautifully. Oaky at first before getting sweeter mid-palate. Honey. Molasses. Cherries. Dark plums. Chocolate caramel. Black peppercorns. Cinnamon.
Finish: Satisfyingly long. Touch bitter with vanilla and black peppers.
As a recent practice I've been drinking the actually whisky while writing my review. For some reason this review has taken twice as long. You figure out why.
Find where to buy Four Roses whisky
Great review, @MaltActivist. Four Roses has done a great job with quality in recent years. They do frustrate the hell out of me, though, by not listing which of their 10 different bourbons they are selling on the labels of their standard single barrels. Those 10 Four Roses bourbons are really quite a bit different from one another and I like some much better than others. The private barrels often list the formula information. OE = 20% rye formula; OB = 35% rye formula,...and the five yeast strains K,F,O,Q,and V.
Four Roses mixes and matches these different bourbons in their other products: Yellow Label = all 10 formulae; Small Batch = 4 of the 10 (I believe); Mariage = 2 of the 10 blended together; an annual Limited Edition could be one or more of the formulae.