Kris picked this bottle up when he was in Indianapolis for a friend’s wedding. He got into an awesome Bourbon conversation with Ray, the owner of Rural Inn where they talked for like an hour about awesome Bourbon while his friends patiently waited.

The link to all of my other Four Roses reviews can be found here. My original Four Roses Single barrel review is here.

Company: Kirin

Distillery: Four Roses Distillery

Location: Near Lawrenceburg, KY

Mash bill: OESK, “E” means, 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley.

Age: 9 years, 11 months

ABV: 54.7% (109.4 proof)

Released: Private barrel selection

Price: $55

Color: Golden Blonde with red highlights.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, oak, brown sugar, slight bitter smell but mostly sweet.

Taste: Heavy caramel and vanilla, pretty heavy, little burnt sugar favor (in a good way), creamy.

Finish: Packs a fairly heavy punch with some spicy heat all over, but doesn’t linger.

Overall: The other private barrel selection we have is OSBV, this one is very different, this one has the low rye mash bill with the full bodied yeast. Crazy the difference, the other one has the high rye recipe with the delicate yeast. The yeast makes a huuuuge difference. I would have thought the rye would, but this one is way bigger in flavor and body. That’s doesn’t necessarily mean I like it better, it’s just so different.

If you want a full bodied single barrel Four Roses Bourbon make sure it has the “K” yeast. This one is also higher proof which adds to the heavy flavors, really good. Warms the soul. Nice pick, Ray!

Rating: 4/5