Average score from 7 reviews and 34 ratings 75
I first had this whiskey in Spain and it was great as a beer chaser and is still one of my preferred bog standard bourbons.
Colour is very light clear amber.
Nose is classic Four Roses profile. Red fruit, cranberry, strawberry, mint, herb and dill from the rye, brown sugar, stem ginger, spice.
Taste is quite muted but the spice, brown sugar, red berries, stem ginger and that herb and mint.
nose: vanilla, tannic, glue, fairly sweet with a bit of dark fruit
taste: moderately sweet, apple, banana, vanilla, earth
finish: a bit sharp yet slightly watery, light fruit with a bit of lingering fruit. slightly harsh
summary: honestly, this is one of the first, cheaper whiskys that I've ever sipped on. not completely unattractive and potentially a good buy once I figure out my palate a bit more. 750mL picked up at Wilbur's Fort Collins for $20.99.
nose: vanilla, earthy, classic bourbon sweetness. but also a strong glue and chemical note. can't expect to much for a young spirit like this.
taste: again some earthiness combined with some vanilla and raspberry notes. some citrus notes with green banana.
finish: quite short ending but the american oak note persists quite long giving a vegetable and woody taste to the palate, again hints of green banana.
summary: ordinary supermarket bourbon, but at least in my opinion the best one compared to jim beam and jack daniels. the young age still gives a metallic note with quite strong evidence of glue and alcohol. but all in all in this case you get what you've paid for. okay for an occasional sip or perhaps to use for mixing.
Like with most bottles of spirit the taste becomes more gentle and rounder with time. After a couple of months on my shelf this bourbon revealed itself as absolutely enjoyable for non pretentious occasions.
After a hectic (but wonderful) Christmas Day with my crazy family, I now have some quiet time on my own to taste this bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel. I originally opened it around the July 4 holiday for my office but am only getting to the tasting notes now (so consider that this has oxidized for almost 6 months).
Four Roses Single Barrel is the highest of the standard Four Roses offerings (not including the Limited Editions or those available only in Japan). Of course, those with different barrel numbers will taste slightly different from each other. This bottle is from barrel # 12-3Q from warehouse # NS and was purchased from the LCBO in Ontario (in case you want to try to find this particular one).
The colour is deep gold with yellow highlights. On the nose we have caramel, vanilla, chocolate and vanilla fudge, oak, wet rubber, mint and a hint of dark fruit (cherries and raisins). Extremely complex. With water, more spices and herbs come out.
In the mouth, it is spicier than on the nose: cinnamon, cloves and pepper. A hint of maple syrup, but only just, with darker fruits like dates. Quite oaky. Powerful and robust. Water tames the oak a little.
The finish is long, deep, spicy, and mouthdrying. A complex and powerful bourbon, only slightly marred by a little too much oak. With no age statement, it's impossible to know how long this has aged (also, it has oxidized for some months).
A fine way to start Boxing Day, without being trampled by mobs of shoppers!
@talexander, consider keeping it around for awhile and seeing what happens to it with some air. Big Sis had a bottle of the standard Four Roses 'Single Barrel' mashbill which left me completely cold, and in an "Is THAT all there is?" frame of mind, for about a year or more. Then it blossomed and tasted/tastes great!
...Yeah, yeah...I know,...there is more chance of the earth being destroyed by a meteorite than for a bottle of bourbon lasting a year in your house.
Maybe the large air column in your bottle has already largely brought it out into a good space.
I used to be extremely skeptical of Four Roses products. Not any more...Especially after trying the annual Limited Editions, @dbk's 2009 Mariage, and the exquisite private barrels from Binny's and The Party Source.
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The Yellow Label bottling is the entry-level bourbon under the Four Roses name. It is far and away considered the ugly duckling of the Four Roses line, but I think this attribution is unfair. The Yellow Label is a blend of all ten Four Roses recipes, comprised of two mash bills (one with 20% rye, the other 35%) and five yeast strains (delicate fruitiness, robust fruitiness, spicy, floral, and herbal).
On the nose, it is spicy, bready, and floral. It has cherries, marzipan, cinnamon, and sawdust. It is slightly hot, and certainly less refined than the other staple offerings (the Small Batch and the Single Barrel).
The palate has a bit of “zing” to it. It is lightly nutty and yeasty, with some mild astringency to boot. It is fairly thin, but not unpleasantly so.
Though the Yellow Label release is generally intended for mixing, I think it makes a perfectly acceptable sipping whiskey. It is nothing magical, but it is nonetheless quite drinkable.
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Neat. Widely spaced, long legs. Serious sweet orange and big butter in the nose. Taste is a little hot, quite tannic and woody. Sharp and hot. Not the biggest fan. Probably should be enjoyed on the rocks or perhaps in a mixed drink.
The Four Roses Bourbon brand has only recently been introduced to the Belgian UK market and I had the pleasure of having one last night before dinner.
This is a Kentucky Bourbon. I had the original Four Roses offering, which is aged for for five to six years and is light bodied.
The nose is very much like Wild Turkey 8 year old, with wood, burnt sugar and honey. Very sweet nose indeed.
On the palate, it releases fresh fruits, spice and oak characteristics.
The finish is medium, with ginger nuts and drying oak.
Good, but no cigar.
The old Four Roses was simply pathetic. Fit only for bourbon connosrs who financed their purchases 25 cents at a time on the kindness of strangers. Last October, I toured the historic and picturesque distillery. At the tasting session, I found the regular Four Roses (yellow label) had moved into the quite acceptable category while the small batch and single barrel varieties greatly exceeded all expectations. Competition in the bourbon trade has caused everybody to improve their game. It's getting hard to find a really bad drink out there!
I've had bad Four Roses experiences over several years time, and most of it was in that category for me until recently. I had a couple of decent sips in the last year or two, and last night at the Baltimore Beer Bourbon and Barbeque extravaganza all three of their products Yellow Label, Small Batch, and Single Barrel tasted quite good to me. It is very hard for me to consider buying a bottle of anything, though, when I have had fairly recent really bad experiences of it. I'd almost need a sample from a bottle off of the same shelf.
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