Four Roses 2022 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon

August 25, 2022 Eric Burke

I’d like to thank the folks at Four Roses for providing this review sample to me with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A sample bottle of the 2022 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch. Copy includes: Barrel Strength, 109 proof. OESF - 14 Years, OESV - 14 Years, OESK - 15 Years, OBSV - 20 years.

It is that time of year again. That time when we feature all of the upcoming limited edition bourbons that companies are hoping you will love. We showcased Yellowstone’s 2022 limited on Tuesday and tonight we turn our attention to one that used to be the highlight of the bourbon year for me.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is a yearly limited edition release showcasing the creative side of Four Roses. Throughout each Spring and Summer, Master Distiller Brent Elliott and his team start gathering the bourbons that may eventually make their way into the Fall’s concoction. After extensive experimentation and testing, they develop numerous blends and then eventually whittle it down to one. And they do a good job. Every year it is one to keep an eye out for.

This year the blend includes bourbons ranging from 14 to 20 years old. It features four of their bourbon recipes: a 14-year-old OESF, a 14-year-old OESV, a 15-year-old OESK, and a 20-year-old OBSV. The F yeast has me pretty excited. While Q yeast is my favorite, F is a close second. If I see a Q or an F yeast used in a Single Barrel Pick while out shopping, it always comes home with me.

The suggested retail price is $179.99 per bottle. It’ll roll out to retailers in September, but if you are feeling lucky and will be able to make it to Kentucky to pick it up between September 17 and October 16, they will be having a lottery drawing to purchase a bottle at the distillery gift shop. Visit the Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition website between August 22 and August 28 to enter.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2022

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $179.99.

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $12.00

Details: 54.5% ABV. Features a 14-year-old OESF, a 14-year-old OESV, a 15-year-old OESK, and a 20-year-old OBSV.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, oak, cinnamon, strawberry Starburst candy.

Mouth: Cinnamon, leather, caramel, oak, and Juicy Fruit Gum.

Finish: Warm and long. Notes of leather, cinnamon, and oak.

Thoughts: This is pretty tasty. There is a split decision in this house as to whether we would actually spend the asking price, though. My wife is on the yes side. I'm in the no camp.

This is really good. I'm just not sure that it is $180 good. That said, very little is. And, harsh as it sounds, those I've tried that we decided might be worth $180 are better than this. I'd buy this in a heartbeat at the $130-ish price tag it used to have. But I had a hard time paying last year’s $150 price. And there is just no way I can bring myself to pay the $180 this year. And I say all of this as a devout Four Roses Fanboy.

It saddens me to be priced out of the market for one of my favorite bourbons, but this is the first year that I can unequivocally say that, to me, this is not worth the asking price. That said, if money is no object, this is very good bourbon, and you should pick it up, drink it and enjoy the heck out of it. If you have a budget, as I do, then you’ll need to decide if you want to use part of it on a bottle that prices at $12 per pour should you happen to win your local lottery.

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9th Annual BourbonGuy.com Bottom-Shelf Bourbon Brackets: 2022 Championship Rounds

March 31, 2022 Eric Burke

IMAGE: 1.75 L bottles of Evan Williams 1783, Winchester, Banker's Club, McFarlane's Reserve, Old Crow, Four Roses, Colonel Lee & Evan Williams Bottled in Bond. Winchester, McFarlane's Reserve, Old Crow & Colonel Lee have large Xs over them.

Welcome back, folks! We come now to the end of the 2022 contest. Eight bourbons entered the arena. Four have fallen by the wayside. There have been some delicious treats and there have been some real stinkers. Let’s see how it all ends and see if we’ve learned anything along the way. First, we have the Round Two matchups.

Division 1: Arctic Mama (Evan Williams Bottled in Bond) vs Giant Charmer (Four Roses)

Thoughts: Giant Charmer has a nicer nose. Nothing wrong with Arctic Mama, but Giant Charmer is fruity and creamy which I really like in a bourbon. Arctic Mama is spicy on the mouth with notes of caramel and vanilla. Giant Charmer is spicy on the mouth with notes of mint and fruit. Arctic Mama has a nicer finish, showing lots of baking spice. Arctic Mama (Evan Williams Bottled in Bond) advances on the strength of that lovely finish.

Division 2: Fire Pirate (Banker's Club) vs. Quark Juggler (Evan Williams 1783)

Thoughts: The nose on Fire Pirate initially presented more grain notes and Quark Juggler initially presented more spice, but after a moment they both settled in and became very similar. Fire Pirate has a thinner mouthfeel and shows more grains notes. Quark Juggler is spicier and sweeter with a nicer mouthfeel and finish. Quark Juggler (Evan Williams 1783) advances to the Championship. Nothing wrong with Fire Pirate though. Nothing at all.

Championship Round: Quark Juggler (Evan Williams 1783) vs. Arctic Mama (Evan Williams Bottled in Bond)

The noses are very similar with Quark Juggler being slightly mintier while Arctic Mama is slightly fruitier. Arctic Mama is fruity and spicy on the mouth. Quark Juggler shows a lot of baking spice and some mint on the mouth. Arctic Mama wins a squeaker. It is a very well-rounded bourbon whereas Quark Juggler seems more focused on the spice. Both are very tasty and either would be an easy winner against other competition.

Congrats to Arctic Mama! Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is the 2022 Bottom-Shelf Champion!

IMAGE: Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is the 2022 Bottom Shelf Champion!

Lessons Learned:

This was an interesting contest for me. When I decided to set myself the restriction to only include bourbons that were sold by the handle and only for less than $35, I eliminated a lot of the usual candidates. There was nothing from Buffalo Trace, Sazerac did have one entry in Colonel Lee, but it certainly isn’t one of their best offerings. Beam only offered Old Crow in the price/format needed for this contest. All their Jim Beam branded offerings were too pricy in this market. Same with Wild Turkey. Usually I’d be able to at least get the 81 proof release, but it was not in stock at the stores that carry it at a low enough price.

All that left me scrambling to fill four slots. I was in the process of rethinking this crazy plan—which I really only implemented because I found a handle of the new 1783 on sale for $29.99 and I wanted all the bottles the same size so the photos would look better—when I wandered into Total Wine and decided that I could probably take a look at a few items that I really could only find there. So I ended up with four contestants that I’d never before included in the contest and three that I’d never even tasted before. That kind of thing is fun for me. At least before the first sips.

So what did I learn about each of these?

With Evan Williams Bottled in Bond and Evan Williams 1783 meeting in the Championship, they prove once again that if you are looking for inexpensive bourbon, grab a Heaven Hill product. You have the best odds of getting something really tasty for not a lot of money with them.

Four Roses finally got out of the first round on their fourth try. I really like their “Beige Label” standard bourbon, but when you put it head to head with other products in the price range they are hampered by their signature mellowness. On it’s own? Delicious. But put it against a Bonded bourbon and it just can’t compete. You better believe that I’m still going to finish the handle though.

McFarlane’s Reserve lost in the only upset. And that was a huge surprise for me. For the price, I expected more. I honestly don’t understand the description that it got from my buddy Fred Minnick. In a completely blind tasting, I thought it was the worst thing in the contest. It pains me to dump a $35 handle, but there is now way this is going back in my mouth. I even liked the TerrePURE entry better.

And speaking of the TerrePURE entry, let’s skip ahead to Winchester. This was one that I hesitated on including. It claims to be a straight bourbon, but much like the conversation around flavored bourbons and their status as even being a bourbon, does the TerrePURE process constitute “flavoring” (thus disqualifying it as even being a bourbon, much less a straight bourbon)? But then, I figured I was overthinking things. If they got it approved as straight bourbon, and they want to compete with straight bourbons, then who am I to let keep them out of a silly little contest on a small whiskey blog? To the surprise of no one in this house, when the winners of each contest were revealed, Winchester didn’t make it out of the first round. It was just too unpleasant, minty and…weird.

I learned nothing from Old Crow. The last time I included it in the contest, I stated that I would never buy it again…I should have stuck with that philosophy because I’m probably dumping this bottle too. When I said: “if you had never had bourbon, had it described for you by someone who didn't like it, and then tried to make a bourbon using only their description as a guide, you would make this bourbon” I think I was being generous.

As long as we are on the topic of bottles to be dumped, let’s look at Colonel Lee. I like bourbons from Barton. I like all of their flagships. Very Old Barton and 1792 are very tasty bourbons. But Colonel Lee is just bad. Not as bad as Mc Farlane’s Reserve or Old Crow, but not much better either. At least Colonel Lee tastes like bourbon, bad bourbon, but still bourbon. It might taste like the bourbon you take multiple rounds of shots of just before bar close, but that is still bourbon. Old Crow merely resembled bourbon and McFarlane’s Reserve tasted like buttered raisins…that’s not a bourbon flavor.

So now the final, and the most surprising, contestant: Banker’s Club Bourbon. Banker’s Club is a line of spirits sold by Laird’s (the AppleJack people). It has gin, vodka, bourbon, etc in the line. Think of it like a Seagram’s, Mr. Boston, or Fleischmann’s line. Some of everything, none of it high-end enough to be worthy of its own brand name. Banker’s Club was the least expensive entry in the contest. In fact, it is the least expensive entry in the nine years we have been doing this contest. You’d have to round up to make one cent per milliliter. That’s a very inexpensive bourbon. And it’s decent. Not like, drink- it-neat-in-a-Glencairn decent. But certainly throw-it-in-a-whiskey-sour or use-it-with-coke decent. Heck I won’t be dumping the bottle. I’ll probably mix it with higher proof and more flavorful bourbons to make them last longer. I’m super impressed with this one.

Overall this was a fun contest. It ended up right about where I would have guessed and I got a few surprises along the way. And heck I even like trying bad bourbon once in a while. It’s fun to know what not to buy too. Though, with three of dumpable bourbons in the mix this time around, I’m thinking that I’ll be happy to switch to tasting the top-shelf Barton and Heaven Hill samples that have been stacking up while the contest has been running.

Once again congrats to Heaven Hill and their Arctic Mama, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond!

Bottom Shelf Brackets 2022: Round 1: Four Roses versus Old Crow

March 22, 2022 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Handles of Old Crow and Four Roses sitting in the afternoon sun.

Tonight we feature a match-up of bourbons that have competed before. In fact, Four Roses Bourbon has been in three of the previous eight competitions. And fun fact, neither of these bourbons have ever made it out of the first round. So no matter what happens we will see someone get their first win.

First up is our number two seed for Division One. Coming in at 80° proof, the former blended whiskey but now fan-favorite bourbon, and competing under the name Giant Charmer, please welcome: Four Roses!

And its opponent is the former favorite of generals and presidents. Even though this one has fallen on hard times, please welcome: Old Crow!

Reminder, all of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Giant Charmer (Four Roses)

Purchase Info: $29.99 for a 1.75-liter bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.86

Details: 40% ABV.

Nose: Vanilla, mint, and caramel.

Mouth: A little thin on the mouth. Notes of vanilla, caramel, mint, and after a moment, cinnamon.

Finish: On the gentle side. Notes of cinnamon linger.

Thoughts: This isn't bad. Wouldn't be my first choice but I wouldn't turn it down if offered.

Barrel Shakes (Old Crow)

Purchase Info: $21.99 for a 1.75-liter bottle, Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.63

Details: 40% ABV. Aged “for a full 3 years.”

Nose: Buttered popcorn and yeast bread.

Mouth: This is weird. Brown sugar, cinnamon, and an oddly chemical oak note.

Finish: Longer than I'd like. Oddly bitter.

Thoughts: If you had never had bourbon, had it described for you by someone who didn't like it, and then tried to make a bourbon using only their description as a guide, you would make this bourbon.

Winner: Giant Charmer and it isn't even close. Four Roses gets their first win on their fourth try. They will be advancing to round 2.

IMAGE: A graphical representation of who won tonight's bracket.

9th Annual BourbonGuy.com Bottom-Shelf Brackets: The Handles (Without Handles) Edition

March 15, 2022 Eric Burke

Arctic Mama versus Sonic Berry? Quark Juggler versus Horse Jacket? Hamburger Arcade?

Eric, have you lost your damn fool mind? What kind of nonsense are you spewing?

Well, I thought that this year I’d give you a peek behind the curtain as to how we do these brackets every year. We used to do an entire convoluted routine so that we could both have a blind tasting. It involved people leaving the room. Pieces of paper. Cyphers. It was very confusing, and if you made a mistake (or just needed more whiskey to help you make a decision) there was no way to recreate what happened.

But nowadays, we have an ever so simple process. I seed the whiskey in the bracket. Then I pour 200 mL bottles of each of the contestant whiskeys and label them with a nonsense name. Finally, I make a separate bracket with the nonsense names and give that and the 200 mL bottles to my wife. After that, she takes care of everything. She has no idea what is in each bottle due to the nonsense name. She pours and keeps track of the winners while we do our tastings. And all I need to do is taste and write. It’s a pretty slick system.

And it means that everything is a true surprise. When we finished the final tasting and revealed who won each round, there were real surprises. It was more fun for us than when we knew who was in each tasting but didn’t know which glass was which whiskey.

So who are the participants and how did they get chosen? Well, every year I try to put in limitations that will force me to choose a new set of participants. Well, mostly new, anyway. This year I limited myself to only whiskeys that are available in handles (1.75 L bottles for those unaware of the term). Now trends in packaging have made it so that the term “handle” is not really appropriate anymore. I can’t think of a single “handle” that actually has a handle on it these days. A grip maybe, but not a handle. And many don’t even have that. But in any case, I like the shorthand of not needing to say 1.75-liter bottle.

Here are the rules that governed who was chosen. These are based on the same rules that I’ve used for most of the prior eight editions of this contest.

It has to be Straight Bourbon Whiskey. No blends or whatever. And if it is straight and doesn’t say it? Too bad. If the words Straight Bourbon Whiskey don’t appear on the label you are not qualified. A man needs standards after all.
My usual rules state that bottles need to be $15 or under for a 750 mL bottle or under $20 for a liter bottle. Following the math, that means handles need to be under $35.
Participants were seeded based on age and then proof. If you are over four years old, you don’t need to put the age on the label. Under that and you are required to say how old it is. If you stated the age and didn’t need you, you would get a nod. If you did it because you were required to, then someone else got the nod over you. After that, higher proof means a higher seed.
These were tasted completely blind. Until the final tasting was completed, neither my wife nor I had any clue what was in each bottle.

And now that we know how they got here, let’s meet the contestants under their real names. The number one overall seed is Arctic Mama otherwise known as Heaven Hill’s Evan Williams Bottled in Bond. As the highest proof entrant in the four-year-old or older age range, it gets the first seed. It starts out going against Sonic Berry aka Colonel Lee. An old brand that is now listed as being bottled by Barton Brands. It was chosen by a coin flip as one of three bottles that were three years old and 80° proof. The number two seed is the Giant Charmer, Four Roses who will be facing off against Beam Suntory’s Old Crow, aka Barrel Shakes.

Across the way in Division Two, we have Quark Juggler or Evan Williams 1783 in the number one spot facing off against Total Wine’s TerrePURE brand Winchester otherwise known as Horse Jacket. Finally, we have the most expensive entry, a bottling from IJW Whiskey, coming in one penny under the rules at $34.99 in Hamburger Arcade or McFarlane’s Reserve going up against the least expensive entry in Laird’s Banker’s Club Bourbon (Fire Pirate) which I bought for under $20 for the handle.

A lot of new faces this time. Only three have been here before in the form they are now. Evan Williams 1783 has competed previously but has undergone a proof bump and reformulation since then. This one was a lot of fun. Who you got? Any upsets that you see on the horizon? Let us know down in the comments.

IMAGE: a visual representation of the brackets as discussed in the previous paragraph.

The Challenging Craft of Blending with Brent Elliott, Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2021

October 19, 2021 Eric Burke

Wow, sorry things have been so sporadic around here the last couple weeks. I had a COVID scare which turned out to be a bout of very severe allergies that just mimicked a severe illness. Rounds of steroids and medication later and I am finally on the mend. As such, today I will be stepping back in time to talk about a really enjoyable part of my visit to the 2021 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. I know that I gave the festival as a whole a very poor review, but this is one part that I really enjoyed. My wife and I will be talking about this event for a while.

It was a nice day for an outdoor class. The sun was out, it wasn’t too hot. It was early so the coffee hadn’t worn off yet. I was energetic and excited to get to learning. Honestly, I didn’t know anything about the class that I had signed up for. I knew that it was about blending. That was about it.

Sure, I could have looked at the schedule to see who was leading the class, but the schedule had already been wrong enough that I didn’t feel the need to bother. Whatever was going to happen would happen and I figured that when there was something to learn, I’d learn it.

When we sat down, I was happy to see the Four Roses logo on the small leather-bound notebook in front of my seat. I was even more excited to see four 100 mL bottles of Four Roses set at each place setting in the table. From left to right, they were labeled OBSO (7 year old), OBSV (7 year old), OESK (14 year old), and OESF (13 year old). All about 60% ABV. We learned later that these were the finalists for the Elliott’s Select release from a few years ago.

As the class began, Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott went over some of the background info on Four Roses itself including why they were teaching the blending class (even though they try not to use the word blending themselves). Then he explained each of the bourbons in front of us, gave us a few tips, answered a few questions and turned us loose to blend our own Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon.

Now, my wife and I each had different approaches to creating our blends. Having made plenty of fun blends at the house out of everything from Bourbon and Rye to Brandy and Tequilla, I attacked the problem the same way I always do. I tasted each of them, decided which flavor profile I wanted to feature and then started mixing. I always start with an even mix of each. Very small amounts at first, only a few milliliters of each. Then I taste that. Once I know how the even mix tastes, I’ll move on to the flavor I want to feature. I’ll add more of that one, then more of each until I get to something I like. I’ll admit, this is nothing like how the pros do it, but we only had an hour and I only had four bourbons to work with so I thought it would be efficient. Then of course you look at your notes, do your math and figure out the proportions to make the full 100 mL that we got to take home. My blend ended up sticking very close to the even mixture I started with at 21% OBSO, 21% OBSV, 21% OESK and 37% OESF. I tend to like the F and Q yeasts so it wasn’t much of a surprise to me that I included more of that one.

Of course, my wife has her own method. Like everyone else, she tasted each of them separately. And from there she decided on a couple that she really liked and wanted to work with. She started out working just with those two in order to dial in about where she wanted to go. Then once she had the framework of the flavor profile in place, she went back to the other two and little by little added more until she got the additional supporting notes where she wanted them. Her blend ended up being 37.5% OESK, 31.25% OESF, 25% OBSO and 6.25% OBSV.

This was such a fun event. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. But, these have been mingling for a month now, let’s see how they taste just for giggles.

Eric's Blend:

Details: Approximately 60% ABV. 21% each: OBSO (7-year-old), OBSV (7-year-old), and OESK (14-year-old) and 37% OESK (13-year-old).

Nose: JuicyFruit Gum, vanilla, brown sugar, and a hint of baking spice.

Mouth: Hot and spicy. Baking spice, JuicyFruit Gum, and caramel.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of caramel, red fruits, and almond.

Robin’s Blend:

Details: Approximately 60% ABV. 37.5% OESK (14-year-old), 31.25% OESK (13-year-old), 25% OBSO (7-year-old),and 6.25% OBSV (7-year-old).

Nose: Peach, cinnamon, and wintergreen.

Mouth: Stone fruits, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, caramel, and mint.

Finish: Medium to long. Notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and stone fruit.

Comparison Thoughts: Both of these are delicious! My blend is spicy and brings out the "Juicy Fruit Gum" notes that I love from Four Roses. My wife's blend is very strong on peach and other stone fruits. It is sweet and fruity. It really is amazing just how different these are considering that they were made with the exact same ingredients. It just goes to show the need for a good blender in whiskey creation. It's nice to see more of them getting recognition in American Whiskey.

Whiskey News Roundup for September 30, 2021

September 30, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: The words “Whiskey News” over a photo of a whiskey glass on a smokey table.

This is the first of what is going to be an ongoing series for BourbonGuy.com. As you might imagine, I get a lot of press releases in my inbox. I thought it might be neat to periodically share some of those that I find the most interesting along with a little commentary on them. I hope you enjoy these posts. I spend way too much time reading whiskey news to not share.

Four Roses Announces Mini Bottles of Two Bourbons

NEWS: After quietly retiring their 50 mL bottles of Four Roses Single Barrel, Four Roses announced this month that they will be offering 50 mL bottles of both their Small Batch and Small Batch Select Bourbons. These bottles are available at most retailers that sell the 750 mL bottles. Locally they sell for $5.99 for the Small Batch and $7.99 for the Small Batch Select.

COMMENTARY: This is the kind of thing that I wouldn’t have usually found that interesting, except for one thing. I never was able to get a Four Roses bottle on the Whiskey Party Lights that I made. Single Barrel had a small cork. No way to hang it from the lights. According to Brent Elliott, these new minis will have screw caps that I’ll be able to drill through. What’s that? You don’t have any Whiskey Party lights? You should make some, it’s a fun and easy project.

Samuels House Now Available for Overnight Accommodations

NEWS: Rob Samuels, Managing Director of Maker’s Mark and grandson of the brand’s founder, has opened the historic Samuels home for rent. Currently operated under the name Samuels House, it was built around 1820 by Samuels family forefather John Samuels. The property remained with the family until the 1950s. Now, back in family hands, it has been renovated and opened for rent to overnight guests. According to the press release: “Although equipped with modern conveniences and luxury amenities, the house’s original detail and character have been preserved to showcase the history of the Maker’s Mark dynasty. Never before seen personal family artifacts, including the deep fryer used to create the iconic red wax tendrils and a hand-made bar with whisky spanning 150 years of Samuels family distilling, ensures a really special experience for bourbon enthusiasts.”

COMMENTARY: If I had the money, I would love to stay here while visiting Bardstown. Not sure I can swing $1250-1500 per night on a freelancer’s budget, but if you do, this seems like a fun way to spend that cash. I love old houses and, for me, the whiskey history would just be icing on the cake. And man, do those sofas look comfy.

MGP Distillery Gets a New Name

NEWS: As of September 29, 2021, the consumer brands portion of the MGP distillery will go by the name of Ross & Squibb Distillery. The new name highlights the history of the distillery location. According to the press release: “Ross” is inspired by the legacy of George Ross, who in 1847 founded the Rossville Distillery, located on what is now the Ross & Squibb Distillery campus. Considered one of Lawrenceburg’s original distilleries and one of America’s last Prohibition-era distilleries, Rossville Distillery produced some of the finest rye whiskeys in the world and was the inspiration for the Rossville Union Straight Rye Whiskey brand. “Squibb” calls back to the historic Squibb Distillery, founded in 1869 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and later purchased in 1921 by George Remus, King of the Bootleggers® and inspiration for the George Remus Straight Bourbon Whiskey brand.” Bulk production of whiskey and other spirits will continue onsite under the current name, MGPI of Indiana, LLC.

COMMENTARY: What does this mean for the whiskey consumer? Probably not a lot. I know I’m not going to rush to update the MGP tag at the bottom of this page. I’m almost positive that in casual conversation I’ll still use the quick MGP instead of the longer Ross & Squibb. Though you may see written references to Ross & Squibb on the site if I quote from a press release for one of their products. Basically, this is a consumer-facing example of the merger of MGP and Luxco. As the Luxco portion of the combined company now handles the consumer brands that MGP brought to the merger (Remus, Rossville, etc), it only makes sense from a marketing perspective to brand everything they can to help tell their story. Does this mean we can look forward to the future announcement of an upcoming visitor experience in Lawrenceburg, IN? No word on that yet, but it wouldn’t terribly surprise me now that the distillery has a consumer-friendly name and logo.

Four Roses 2021 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon

September 2, 2021 Eric Burke

I’d like to thank the folks at Four Roses for providing this review sample to me with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Inside the Media Sample packaging for Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2021

Oh my goodness! I am so excited! I’m sitting here in my gold top and maroon shorts because BigTen Football starts tonight when the Minnesota Golden Gophers host the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ok, fans of teams that played on Saturday will say that it really started when Illinois kicked off to Nebraska sometime after 12 noon on the 28th. But, “Week 0?” come on…even the powers that be knew that it didn’t start until this week. And if those Nebraska fans watched the same debacle…err…game I did, well I’m guessing they would also like to forget that stinker of a game.

So since my beloved Golden Gophers are hosting the number 4 team in the country tonight in Ohio State, I get the added bonus of having zero pressure while watching the game. Usually, I hope for a win and worry about a loss. Tonight I know we will get blown out so I can just enjoy watching my Gophers without the pressure of hoping we win. I plan to enjoy it. Maybe I’ll even enjoy a small pour of the bourbon we are looking at tonight after the game ends. Either as consolation or as a celebration.

Yeah, I know it’ll be the former but let’s not get negative.

So what is tonight’s bourbon? Well, that would be the 2021 release of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch. This year it is made up of four of their bourbon recipes: a 16-year-old OESV, a 12-year-old OESK, a 14-year-old OBSQ, and a 16-year-old OBSV. I love that floral/herbal/fruity note that the Q yeast brings. If I see a Q or an F yeast used in a Single Barrel Pick while out shopping, it always comes home with me. It just hits the right notes with my palate. So I’m pretty excited to see this one included in the blend.

The suggested retail price is $150 per bottle. It’ll roll out to retailers in September, but if you are feeling lucky, and will be able to make it to Kentucky to pick it up in the last half of September they will be having a lottery drawing to purchase a bottle at the distillery gift shop. Visit the Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition website between August 31 and September 12 to enter.

Four Roses 2021 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $150.

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $10.00

Details: 57.2% ABV. Features a 16-year-old OESV, a 12-year-old OESK, a 14-year-old OBSQ, and a 16-year-old OBSV.

Nose: Cinnamon, JuicyFruit gum, caramel, oak, leather, and vanilla.

Mouth: Red fruits, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, leather, and tobacco.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of cinnamon candies, JuicyFruit gum, leather, and oak.

Thoughts: Shows off much more oak than any of the standard releases from Four Roses. which is either a good or bad thing depending on how much oak you like. I’m digging the fruity/floral notes that the Q yeast is bringing. It’s one of my favorites to pick up when I find it as a single-barrel pick of Four Roses. My wife loves this one. I really like it, but it’s showing just a touch too much oak for me. Don't get me wrong, it is very good. And if I happen to be chosen in a lottery to buy one, I’ll probably jump at the chance.

Random Stuff: Mini Reviews, News, and More!

November 24, 2020 Eric Burke

IMAGE: A Glass of bourbon sitting on a smoky table. The words “Random Stuff” are over the background.

Remember how I was working my way through a batch of tasting notes that I created before I was sick? Well I’ve run out and am only now beginning to trust to ol’ taster. So I thought I might do something different tonight and share some of the interesting things that have recently come across my desk.

IMAGE: The cover of The Rebirth of Bourbon: Building a Tourism Economy in Small-Town USA

The Rebirth of Bourbon: Building a Tourism Economy in Small-town, USA (Economics of Vice)

Details: Available from Amazon for $32.99 (as of this writing). 174 pages. Authors: Steve Coomes, Kim Huston, Michael Mangeot.

Thoughts: Back in October, Bardstown held a virtual edition of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. In the media kit that I was sent was a book partially written by the host of the virtual festival, Steve Coomes that just so happened to be about Bardstown and their bourbon tourism plans. It seemed like the book for me. I love Bardstown, I love bourbon and bourbon tourism, I even like the occasional book about economics.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into the book. It’s filled with great information. It’s well written. But I struggled to get through it. It’s possible that even the short page count of 174 pages was a little too much for a book about a very small town’s business plan.

That said, I’d probably still recommend this to people who, like me, love visiting Bardstown and go back year after year. Even if only so you know which changes to prepare for and which to hope for.

IMAGE: Wilderness Trail Distillery owner Shane Baker holding the Esprit de Corps award.

Wilderness Trail Owner Honored

Last week I got a press release from Wilderness Trail Distillery letting me know that Owner, Shane Baker was one of two people honored with the new “Esprit de Corps” award from the Kentucky Distillers Association. Quoting from the Press Release:

The Board’s Resolution saluted Baker “for his technical education, assistance and collaborative efforts in the production and distribution of hand sanitizer in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and for his overall support, assistance and guidance to other members of the KDA throughout his tenure with the organization.

“Mr. Baker’s outstanding service and devotion to his community and to the cause helped our beloved Commonwealth contain the early spread of the virus and protected hundreds of doctors, first responders and emergency personnel through the donation of sanitizer and the assistance to KDA members in its manufacture and coordination of resources,” the Resolution stated.

With the poop-show that 2020 has been, it’s nice to remember that there are also some bright spots out there.

Four Roses to Expand Visitor Center

It seems that expanding the distillery was not the only expansions plans that Four Roses had. Last week the news was released of a planned expansion of the Visitor Center. They’ll be using the same architectural firm that helped with the distillery expansion and the original building of the distillery campus in order to maintain the historic look of the campus. Quoting the press release:

The visitor center project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021 and will include:

New state-of-the-art bar featuring cocktails and tastings of Four Roses’ current Bourbon portfolio and exclusive product tastings;
Four new seated tasting rooms offering a space for enhanced educational experiences;
Updated retail gift shop with Four Roses’ Bourbon products and other branded merchandise for sale;
Outdoor patio space where visitors can enjoy the beautiful distillery grounds.

The visitor center will also offer interactive, educational experiences dedicated to the rich 132-year history of the Four Roses brand, including an interactive display showcasing archived Four Roses bottlings, vintage advertisements and other memorabilia.

I’ll leave you with a drawing I did during some Autumn downtime. It’s based on a photo that was taken of my wife and Wild Turkey Master Distiller Jimmy Russell at one of the first Kentucky Bourbon Festivals that we attended. The photo didn’t turn out due to a really bad phone camera, but it made for a nice reference for drawing. Jimmy Russell is one of the nicest and most interesting men I’ve talked to at a bourbon distillery. I hope that I still love what I do enough to show up for work when I am his age.

IMAGE: Line drawing of Wild Turkey Master Distiller, Jimmy Russell

Blog

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2022

Division 1: Arctic Mama (Evan Williams Bottled in Bond) vs Giant Charmer (Four Roses)

Division 2: Fire Pirate (Banker's Club) vs. Quark Juggler (Evan Williams 1783)

Championship Round: Quark Juggler (Evan Williams 1783) vs. Arctic Mama (Evan Williams Bottled in Bond)

Lessons Learned:

Giant Charmer (Four Roses)

Barrel Shakes (Old Crow)

Eric's Blend:

Robin’s Blend:

Four Roses Announces Mini Bottles of Two Bourbons

Samuels House Now Available for Overnight Accommodations

MGP Distillery Gets a New Name

Four Roses 2021 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon

The Rebirth of Bourbon: Building a Tourism Economy in Small-town, USA (Economics of Vice)

Wilderness Trail Owner Honored

Four Roses to Expand Visitor Center