I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR partners for sending this sample over with no strings attached.
It’s that time of year again. September. Bourbon Heritage Month. The time of limited annual releases. And for my money, the one that I have purchased the most over the years has been the annual release of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch.
My love affair with this bourbon release started way back with the 2009 release. Of course, back then, they weren’t selling nearly as well as today. I found it in 2011 at a store tasting where it was on sale for less than $80. Of course, that love affair really took off the next year when we found out that my wife had ovarian cancer.
The day after she got the news, I went to all the stores where I remembered seeing it on the shelf. I told my story of how it was my wife’s favorite and that she was starting chemo and we wanted to put one away for her for when she got better. I don’t remember how many stores I went to. At least a couple, since I remember one not having it but offering me that year’s Pappy instead. But I finally got it, and we put it away. Nice story, right? That wasn’t what made me a Four Roses fanboy, though.
As she was going through chemo, I was sitting next to her. We were both scrolling Twitter on our phones (Twitter was a much smaller, and nicer, place back in 2012). All of a sudden, I heard my wife say something to the effect of “oh, that’s so nice” before tearing up a little. She’d tweeted earlier that she wasn’t looking forward to chemo that day, and the social media person at Four Roses had just sent a reply from the brand’s account that said a bit of encouragement along the lines of “we’re pulling for you, you got this.” It really did help her feel a little less alone that day. From that day on, Four Roses was a mainstay in the BourbonGuy household.
We joined the Mellow Moments Club. We attended the release party for the Limited Edition Small Batch every year until we stopped going to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival around the time of the pandemic. We are fans. And not just because of great bourbon, but because there are good people producing it, one of whom decided one day, a long time ago, to share a little encouragement during a hard time. It didn’t take long, however, to find a milestone worthy of pulling out that old 2009 bottle. A few months later we got her test results back and they showed no evidence of cancer. At which time, we pulled it back out and raised a toast with it. She has been clear ever since. And so I always have a hard time looking at this release objectively.
Even if I can’t find a bottle to purchase myself anymore. Thankfully, I am lucky enough to get a taste each year in order to write this post.
So now that you know my biases, let’s get into this year’s edition. As always, the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is made from multiple bourbons from Four Roses’ library of ten bourbon recipes. This year’s batch is made from a 14-year-old OBSK, a 14-year-old OESK, a 15-year-old OESV, and a 23-year-old OESK. It is bottled at 109.2 proof, with about 16,800 bottles being made available. The suggested retail price is $249 per 750 mL bottle. It will be available for purchase starting October 10, 2026.
Let’s dig in.
Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2026
Purchase Info: This sample was sent to me at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $249 for a 750 mL bottle starting October 10, 2026.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $16.60
Nose: Cola, stone fruit, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, and oak.
Mouth: Cola and stone fruit lead off, much like the nose. After that comes cinnamon spice, cherry, caramel, and oak.
Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Notes of stone fruit, almond, cinnamon, and oak.
Thoughts: Very nice mouthfeel. Thick and rich. Lovely spice. Big fan of the peach/apricot stone fruit notes throughout. It has a nice sweetness to balance the spice. I’m really digging this one. If I had the opportunity to buy it at MSRP, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I might even stand in line, though, as I am not a line person (at all), that part is less likely. But this is really good. I think I might be in love.
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