I’ve reviewed every Four Roses Bourbon I’ve been able to get my hands on since I started writing reviews 6 months ago. Here they are in all their glory! If you are particularly curious about this year’s (2015) Small Batch Limited Edition, you can find that, here. It was probably the best Bourbon I’ve ever had (so far.) So, good luck, 2014, no pressure.
The four small batches blended together to create this Bourbon are 9 year OBSK, 13 year OBSV,12 year OESV, and 11 year OBSF.
Company: Kirin
Distillery: Four Roses Distillery
Location: Near Lawrenceburg, KY
Mash bill: A blend of four select recipes, up top.
Age: 9-13 year blend
ABV: 55.9% (111.8 proof)
Released: 2014, limited
Price: ~$99
Color: Golden blonde with red highlights.
Nose: Cherry, vanilla, lots of oak, brown sugar, apricot, caramel. Smells pretty amazing.
Taste: My first taste was a lot of oaky vanilla, it has a pretty good rye spice kick to it, and a little bit of bitter fruit and earthiness. I get a lot of sweet caramel at the the end, it tastes very similar to a spicy honey. Or a caramel/butterscotch candy. The spiciness is coming from the “K” yeast, the fruit is from the “V” yeast, the herbal quality is from “F”.
Finish: Long, warm, almost hot finish down your throat. Leaves quite a bit of heat in your throat and mouth, but leaves your mouth with an almost sticky sweet taste to it.
Overall: This has some heat but is very sweet. It’s also very spicy, I wish there was a bit more fruitiness to help with the overall balance. I think the balance is just off enough to confuse my senses, it’s a really good Bourbon though, just not fair that I tried it this year after enjoying the 2015 so much. I wish it was balanced a little better… overall though, it’s pretty good. I’ll definitely be on the look out for this expression year to year.
I’m basically a Four Roses groupie at this point, keep your eyes peeled for more reviews as I find more things to review by them!!!
Special thanks to @fletcher_whiskeydog for the sample and header pic. You rock!
Rating: 4/5.