Four Roses Single Barrel Collection, 2026

I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR team for providing this review sample with no strings attached

IMAGE: Four sample bottles of Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon recipes OBSK, OESQ, OBSV, and OESF lined up on a deck railing outdoors on a sunny morning.

In 1995, Four Roses launched Four Roses Single Barrel, OBSV, to much rejoicing from the masses (actually, as I was a freshman in college at the time, I have no idea if there was much rejoicing or just a collective shrug from the masses, but stick with me here). After 20 years of whining and complaining from people like me, they finally started to let us taste the other nine bourbons that they make, in single barrel form, by releasing the first installment of the Four Roses Single Barrel Collection. Now, these bourbons had been available as Private Barrel Picks for a long time, but those were at a higher proof and a higher price.

But until last year, they had never sold them in a package that was accessible to the average Joe or Jane—one unwilling to spend high prices and go on unicorn hunts to the stores that carried the ones they were looking for. Enter the Four Roses Single Barrel Collection. An annually rotating collection of three red-labeled recipes that are proofed and priced the same as the standard brown-labeled Four Roses Single Barrel. I was extremely excited to see last year’s release and even more excited to see it coming back again this year.

And if this sounds like I am a biased and enthusiastic fanboy for this product, I am. I’ve been a Four Roses fanboy since I was first getting into whiskey oh so many years ago. In fact, I can easily say that in 2025, I spent more money and bought more bottles of the 2025 collection than I did on all other bourbons combined. I must have purchased at least six or seven of each from my local corner liquor store. Maybe more. As long as it was on the shelf, it was my go-to pour. And I liked them all, so I’m referring to them interchangeably in this. And yes, I’m even more excited for this year.

You see, I’ve always been a huge fan of the Q yeast releases. I was chatting with Master Distiller Brent Elliott one time and mentioned that fact. He noted that I am one of the few who tell him that. I also love the F and the other yeasts too, but something about that floral Q just hits right with me. The herbal F is usually a close second, and the fruit and spice of the rest are right up there too. I just love Four Roses all around.

I was happy to see an F release last year, but I’m even more excited that this year’s release features both an F and a Q release. The 2026 releases are as follows: OESQ, which features the Q yeast and a mash bill of 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley; OESF, which features the F yeast and the same mash bill; and OBSK, which features the spicy K yeast and the higher-rye mash bill of 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley. They also sent a “control” sample of the standard OBSV Single Barrel. It features the fruity V yeast and the same high-rye mash bill as the OBSK. These are all bottled at 100 proof and were aged between seven and nine years. The suggested retail price is $49.99 per 750 mL bottle.

So let’s dig in..

Four Roses Single Barrel Collection, 2026

Purchase Info: These samples were sent to me at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price for each bottle is $49.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: Each recipe is aged 7 to 9 years and bottled at 50% ABV.

OBSK:

Nose: Juicy fruit gum, cinnamon candies, stone fruits, and mint.

Mouth: Cinnamon, oak, stone fruits, and mint.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Lingering notes of fruit, mint, cinnamon, and toffee.

OESF:

Nose: Fresh garden herbs, strong caramel, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon.

Mouth: Herbal, with notes of caramel, oak, vanilla, and cinnamon supporting it.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium length. Very herbal, with notes of cinnamon, black pepper, and oak.

OESQ:

Nose: Floral vanilla, brown sugar, and a hint of baking spices. Basically, this smells like a delicious fresh-baked sugar cookie.

Mouth: Cinnamon spice, floral vanilla, mint, and oak.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of sugar cookie (floral vanilla, a hint of cinnamon, and brown sugar) and wintergreen.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face that denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: I'm going to guess that the folks at Four Roses were searching for the barrels that fulfilled the stereotype for each of these recipes, because what is the point of showing the differences off, if the barrel is just going to take over and obscure them? In this case, OESQ sample was very floral and the Q yeast is the floral one. Same with the herbal F and the sample of OESF: very herbal. Same with K and the spiciness. I love that. It's extremely fun to taste these side-by-side, and I hope each of you has that opportunity. If not, if I had to rank them, I'd say:

  1. OESQ

  2. OESF

  3. OBSK

  4. OBSV (the standard single barrel release)

My wife on the other hand had her ranking as:

  1. OBSK

  2. OESQ

  3. OBSV (the standard single barrel release)

  4. OESF

I'm usually a big fan of F and Q, whereas she is more of a K, O, and V girl, just so you know our biases. But all are very good, and I'm guessing that for a second year in a row I'll be spending more on these releases than all other bourbon combined. They are both delicious and relatively affordable when compared to the rest of today’s bourbon market. I really like these and cannot wait for them to hit shelves.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Oakspire Bourbon Barrel Ale from New Belgium Brewing and Four Roses

I’d like to thank Four Roses, New Belgium Brewing, and their PR teams for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Four-pack of New Belgium Oakspire Bourbon Barrel Ale, a special release collaboration with Four Roses, sitting on a wooden deck rail with green trees and a sunny backyard in the background.

I may have adopted Minnesota as my home, but my formative years were spent in Wisconsin. Home of beer, cheese, and those who consume lots of both. And let me tell you, boy, did I. Before I moved away twenty years ago, beer was the only alcohol I consumed. Occasionally, a glass of wine, but beer was my drink of choice. But then I moved, and a funny thing happened. Since, at the time, you could only buy beer in a liquor store—and liquor stores were forced to be closed on Sundays (well, if you didn’t want 3.2 beer)—I was forced to branch out. And branch out I did. There’s a straight line between Minnesota's lack of Sunday sales pre-2017 and the birth of this site.

However, even though I drank a lot less beer overall, I still really enjoyed trying new ones. If I hadn’t had it before, I wanted it. Though I’ve greatly tapered off in recent years, I still have over 1,500 unique beers checked into my Untappd profile—just over 100 new beers per year on average. Not too shabby.

Anyway, all of that was to explain why there’s a beer review on a bourbon blog. Mostly, because I like beer. And since Four Roses was nice enough to offer a sample of their recent collaboration with New Belgium, there was no way I could say no. One of my favorite bourbon makers and a brewery that I enjoy a lot of beer from. It seemed like it was made just for me. That is, if I liked barrel-aged beers… but we’ll get to that later. Here’s what the press release has to say about the process behind this beer:

  • Four Roses collects charred oak chips from inside their bourbon barrels, which contain caramelized wood sugars that add notes of brown sugar, vanilla, and toffee, and add color to the whiskey while it ages.

  • A barrel maker in Minnesota toasts a custom blend of oak spirals which are then soaked in Four Roses’ bourbon.

  • New Belgium's master brewing engineers spent months figuring out exactly how to construct a series of custom, stainless-steel vessels to hold the charred oak and wood spirals to infuse the beer.

  • New Belgium's high-rye base ale is circulated through these vessels during maturation, imparting the beautiful flavor notes from the charred oak and bourbon-soaked spirals.

Ok, lets pour a cold one and see how this tastes.

Oakspire Bourbon Barrel Ale

Purchase Info: This sample was provided at no cost for review purposes. It is available at my local liquor store for $13.99 for a six-pack.

Nose: Very biscuity with caramel and a faint hint of pine.

Mouth: Caramel, malty, biscuity, nutty, and you can certainly taste the bourbon and barrel influences.

IMAGE: A hand drawn smiley face which denotes that I like the product.

Thoughts: Ok, so first thing to get on the table: I don’t usually like barrel-aged beers. I find them too sweet. I like a bitter beer with only enough sweetness to balance it out a bit. My go-to pour these days is still a hazy IPA. I like that tropical flavor. That, or a sour. I love a good sour beer. They’re very refreshing. But the good news is that my wife really enjoys barrel-aged beers. So, in a break from tradition, I decided to ask her to give her thoughts:

I like it. While it’s still sweet and boozy, what I particularly enjoy about this one is that it isn’t nearly as sweet or boozy as other barrel-aged beers I’ve had. It’s got a hint of bourbon, but you can still taste the beer. Sometimes they get overwhelmed by the barrel.

There you have it. Wife approved. And I have to agree, I also like this more than other barrel-aged beers I’ve had. Especially ice-cold. Once it warms up, it gets a bit too sweet for me. I don’t have the biggest sweet tooth, though.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2025

I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR team for sending this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A sample bottle of Four Roses 2025 Limited Edition Small Batch bourbon sits on a wooden deck rail, surrounded by lush greenery in the background. Label lists four 13–19 year recipes.

It’s that time of year again when we look forward to bourbon that most of us will never taste. It’s the annual Autumn Release Season, when Kentucky distilleries put out products designed to get people talking about their brand. Though many of us have salivated at the thought of trying these releases, everyone involved knows they’re primarily marketing tools. You hear glowing reviews from folks like me, can’t find a bottle, and maybe you’ll pick up one of the brand’s standard offerings instead.

Honestly, I’m sure that’s still the rationale. But more and more, I’m hearing people scoff at the price rather than salivate over the opportunity. For example, I bought my first two bottles of the 2009 edition of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch in 2011 for $80 each. They sat on shelves that long. In fact, the first bottle I picked up was at a bourbon tasting hosted by a local distributor trying to clear out the inventory so they could make room for that year’s release.

In the years since—and noting that $80 was the retail price in my area, which tends to be higher than MSRP due to local taxes—the price of the release has jumped an eye-popping 311%. If it had only kept pace with inflation, that $80 would be $117.35 today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator. At $249 per bottle, I can see why people are scoffing. In fact, I got this comment on last year’s review that sums up what I’ve been hearing perfectly (edited slightly for clarity):

I last purchased Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition in 2014 for $75.00. It became harder to find, and once the price exceeded 125? I tapped out. I would enter the yearly Mellow Moments Club raffles mostly for fun, and if I happened to get picked? Good excuse for a quick trip to KY LOL!! These days, the prices are so out of whack (Four Roses certainly wasn’t losing money in ‘14 @75 bucks !!), I refuse to be gouged, and that’s what these prices are. This is no longer a cool release geared toward enthusiasts, but instead a pure profit and marketing gimmick aimed at flippers. I, too, am a Four Roses fanboy, but these days I’ll stick to the standard shelf releases (all excellent IMO) while the hoards swarm to Single Barrel Barrel Proof (an absurd $100 these days when Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is $75-$80) and the Limited Edition. I lament no longer seeking Single Barrel Barrel Proof as 10.5 years old is my personal sweet spot, and several recipes are all time favorites. I sincerely hope that at some point, many of these sit on shelves and rot as consumers wake up, and perhaps producers will restore sanity to at least the Single Barrel Barrel Proof pricing. Even with inflation, the Single Barrel Barrel Proof price should not exceed the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof price level in the current inflationary market. The gouging is simply unacceptable to this long-time Four Roses consumer.

In an era of distillery closings, bankruptcies, and industry layoffs, continuing to price your core customers out of the market doesn’t seem like the best strategy. And I know that if the folks actually making the whiskey had their say, they’d want everyone who wanted a bottle to get one. That’s one reason why this year’s release includes over 16,500 bottles for the U.S. market alone. In fact, Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott addressed this during the media call Q&A. Here’s a transcription of his answer—with bracketed text showing my best guess of some garbled audio:

I don't really ever hear criticism, but maybe [there’s] a negative outlook for the future of the category. I try to stay positive. I mean, we're still, as a brand, we're growing out of [a category that’s] facing a lot of challenges. And whether those are, you know, is it cyclical? Is it economic? Is it [a] post-COVID wake-up call because that sort of artificially inflated everything? Is it all that? Is it a little bit of all these things? I don't know. But obviously, it's a more challenging environment than it was even three years ago. So I just tell everyone, don't worry. You know, we're not going anywhere. We're still going to be [here]. We're actually probably more energized and offering more unique expressions than ever before. So, you know, speaking from Four Rose's perspective, nothing but positivity, you know, no worries here.

At a time when more consumers are turning to non-alcoholic options or increasingly legal cannabis products, raising the price from $220 last year to $249 this year feels like quite a choice. But it is what it is. And though I can’t swing $250 a bottle, I know some of you can—so I’ll stop here and get to the review. Because at the end of the day, this is delicious bourbon, and I’m lucky my wife and I each got a taste. I know that’s a privilege many folks don’t have.

Before we jump into the tasting notes, let’s look at the details from the media call. This year’s release was built around two batches of 13-year-old bourbon, both using the V yeast (one OESV, one OBSV). Master Distiller Brent Elliott wanted to capture a bit of the “classic Four Roses flavor profile.” Famously, the flagship Four Roses Single Barrel uses that V yeast (and if you want to know more about that whole Four Roses yeast bit, check out last year’s review where I focused on that exclusively). The V strain typically brings notes of apricot, pear, and sweet barrel characteristics like vanilla. Building on that, the final blend also includes a 19-year-old OESV for added oak influence and a 13-year-old OBSK to bring in spice and depth. Here’s the final blend:

  • OBSV 13 year old = 38%

  • OBSK 13 year old= 17%

  • OESV 13 year old= 35%

  • OESV 19 year old= 10%

And now, after all of that, let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2025

Purchase Info: This 100 mL sample was provided at no cost by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $249 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $16.60

Details: 54.5% ABV. A blend of 38% 13-year-old OBSV, 17% 13-year-old OBSK, 35% 13-year-old OESV, and 10% 19-year-old OESV.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, stone fruit, JuicyFruit gum, herbal mint, and oak.

Mouth: Follows the nose with notes of stone fruit, herbal mint, JuicyFruit gum, cinnamon, caramel, allspice, and oak.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of clove, allspice, cinnamon, and oak.

IMAGE: a hand-drawn smiley face that denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: I’ve already covered my feelings about the price. And I’ve mentioned how tasty this is. But let’s dig a little deeper. When I think of Four Roses, I think of stone fruit and JuicyFruit gum—the flavor it had back in the '80s and '90s when I was a kid chewing it (not really sure if that has changed in the intervening years). This was built around those flavors, and it shows. Last year, I said the bourbon was good, but I wouldn’t have identified it as Four Roses by taste alone. This year? No question. It’s Four Roses through and through. It’s a really good bourbon. But if, like me, you can’t—or won’t—pay the premium, go grab a bottle of Single Barrel or Small Batch. They’ve never let me down.

And as a final word on price, Four Roses are not the only ones that are following what seems (to this consumer) to be a strange pricing strategy for the time we are living in, they all are. I fear that the industry I love will increasingly price the people who built it out of the market and that there won’t be a following group of consumers to pick up the slack so that we still get yummy bourbons into our old age. So I feel like I should mention that Four Roses is actually putting out some special releases that are more affordable. Their 100 proof Single Barrel Collection (Red Labels) is MSRP of $50 each, if you can find it and your retailer is able to sell it for that. I bought two in July while traveling in Chicago so I know they’re out there.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Four Roses Single Barrel Collection, 2025

I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR team for providing this review sample with no strings attached

IMAGE: Four Roses Single Barrel Collection display featuring bottles OBSV, OBSF, OESK, and OESO, each 100 proof, aged 7-9 years, with unique tasting notes and mash bills.

Who says bitching and moaning doesn’t get you anywhere in life? For as long as I’ve been writing for this site—hell, as long as I’ve been a fan of bourbon—I’ve been bending the ear of anyone at Four Roses who would listen about letting people try all these different recipes they keep bragging about. It’s their differentiator. It only makes sense to let people peek behind the curtain.

And in 2023, they finally listened by releasing the Ten Recipe Tasting Kit, filled with 50ml bottles of each recipe. Because yes, I’m sure it was all me—who else could it have been? Their marketing and product development teams? Pssh.

I thought that was the end of things. But no. Starting in early 2025, Four Roses is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their flagship Single Barrel bourbon with the introduction of the Single Barrel Collection. This new lineup features three new 100-proof bourbons—OBSF, OESK, and OESO—alongside the classic OBSV. Each bottle, aged 7-9 years, showcases Four Roses' unique recipes, blending specific mash bills and yeast strains for a distinctive flavor profile. The collection is priced at $49.99 per bottle, with new recipes rotating annually.

"We are incredibly proud of the recognition our flagship Single Barrel has received over the last 20 years, so to be introducing our new Single Barrel Collection in this anniversary year is something truly special," said Four Roses Master Distiller, Brent Elliott.

So, since they sent me a 100ml bottle of each, let’s see how they taste, shall we?

Four Roses Single Barrel Collection, 2025

Purchase Info: These samples were sent to me at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price for each bottle is $49.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: Each recipe is aged from 7-9 years old and at 50% ABV.

OBSF

Nose: Sweet and floral, with mint and oak.

Mouth: Crème brûlée, mint, cinnamon, and oak.

Finish: On the longer side of medium, with lingering notes of cinnamon, oak, and especially spearmint.

IMAGE: A smiley face because I like this, even though it is my least favorite of the four.

Thoughts: This is super minty. If you don't like spearmint, skip this one. But if, like me, you rank mint as a top five flavor, you’ll really enjoy it. I like it a lot.

Comparison to the Standard OBSV: OBSF is a mint bomb throughout—on the nose, palate, and finish—compared to OBSV.

OESK

Nose: Almond, cherry, bubblegum, yeast bread, and a touch of mint.

Mouth: Almond, cherry, caramel, vanilla, and baking spice.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth, with rich notes of caramel, vanilla, and baking spice.

IMAGE: A smile. This is my favorite of the bunch and it makes me smile.

Thoughts: I like this one. The almond and cherry notes blend beautifully with the sweet caramel, vanilla, and baking spice. Nothing dominates; it just melds into a delicious whole. My favorite of the three so far.

Comparison to OBSV: OBSV is more floral on the nose, while OESK is richer and more flavorful on the palate, with a longer finish.

OESO

Nose: Caramel and cinnamon.

Mouth: Cinnamon, caramel, and oak.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth, with lingering notes of cinnamon and mint.

IMAGE: A smiley face. Very solid and enjoyable.

Thoughts: Nice and spicy, with lots of cinnamon throughout. The touch of mint on the finish keeps you coming back for more. I like this one.

Comparison to OBSV: Very similar on the nose, but OESO is much spicier on the palate, with more cinnamon. It also has a longer and warmer finish.

Final Thoughts

The OBSF felt a little one-dimensional, with mint taking center stage and only minor support from other notes. The OESK was more well-rounded, with almond and cherry adding depth to the classic bourbon notes of caramel and vanilla. The OESO stood out for its spiciness, with cinnamon shining throughout.

If I had to rank them, it would be:

  1. OESK

  2. OESO

  3. OBSV

  4. OBSF

But your mileage may vary, not only because every palate is different, but also because these are single barrel products, and slight differences are inevitable.

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Four Roses 2024 Limited Edition Small Batch

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

Well, the Autumn Release season is finally here. When Four Roses says there's just over a month left until their annual release, you know that summer is almost over. It doesn’t matter what the calendar says or what society says. The official start of autumn is the day I get my hands on a bottle of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch.

Or at least it used to be. They got too expensive for me to even consider buying them quite a while ago. Unfortunately, I have bad news on that front. This year’s release is the most expensive yet, with a suggested retail price of $220. So, even though I’ve been tasting and covering these releases since the 2009 edition, not all of you may have my level of experience and knowledge of the product. Let’s go over that a little first.

What is the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch bourbon?

Every fall, Four Roses releases a bourbon that showcases their ten bourbon “recipes.” They have two mash bills and five yeast strains, which gives them a huge advantage when it comes to blending bourbons (don’t let them hear you call it blending, though; they’re still smarting over being forced to be a Blended Whiskey brand by corporate overlords for decades). They use all ten recipes for their main bourbon, one recipe (OBSV) for the Single Barrel, four (OBSK, OBSO, OESK, and OESO) for the Small Batch, and six (OBSV, OBSK, OBSF, OESV, OESK, OESF) for the Small Batch Select. The yearly Limited Edition Small Batch allows them to experiment with recipes and combinations not used in the main product line. In the past, releases have even used the Q yeast, one of my favorites, though not one that many people prefer. They also tend to use much older products than their mainline bourbons.

Ok, you listed a lot of codes in that last explanation. What do they mean?

The codes are a legacy of being part of the Seagram’s family before it disintegrated at the turn of the millennium. Each code corresponds to a specific combination of mash bill and yeast. Every code starts with "O," the old Seagram’s designation for the current Four Roses Distillery (they had a lot of distilleries). The second letter designates which mash bill is being used: "B" for the 35% rye mash bill or "E" for the 20% rye mash bill, the only two that Four Roses still uses. The third letter will always be "S" because it stands for “Straight Whiskey,” another legacy of Seagram’s diverse product portfolio. The final letter indicates the yeast strain: "V" for delicate fruit notes, "K" for slight spice, "O" for rich fruit notes, "Q" for floral notes (which I love), and "F" for herbal notes. Now, F and Q yeasts tend to make my favorite Four Roses bourbons. I love the herbal and fruity ones. If it tastes like JuicyFruit gum, I’m on board.

Great. So, which recipes are used in the Limited Edition Small Batch this year?

Great question. Brent Elliott used four batches of three different recipes this year: 39% of the product is a 16-year-old OESF, 31% is a 12-year-old OBSV, 23% is a 15-year-old OESK, and the final 7% is a 20-year-old OBSV. All barrels used in this batch were from the bottom three levels of Four Roses’ single-story warehouses.

This year’s release uses a 16-year-old batch of OESF, which I should love, but at that age, there’s a chance that the distillate influence has diminished. Barrels tend to take over in the double-digit ages. Master Distiller Brent Elliott backed this up during his media availability, noting that the OESF batch used "isn’t as typical of some of the ‘F’ strains." He continued that the barrel had taken over, with only echoes of the initial distillate left, and that it was included mainly for mouthfeel.

So, is it any good?

Let’s find out.

Four Roses 2024 Limited Edition Small Batch

Purchase Info: This sample was supplied to me at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $220 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $14.67

Nose: Caramel apple, milk chocolate, oak, and vanilla. Reminds me of a cross between a Milky Way candy bar and apple cider.

Mouth: Cinnamon, cocoa, oak, caramel, vanilla and hints of fruit.

Finish: Medium to long in length and warm. Notes of Cinnamon, herbal anise, and cola.

Thoughts: Let me just state off the bat that this is a good bourbon (and if you thought there was a "but" coming, here it is), but I’m relatively disappointed—not in the liquid itself, but in the liquid compared to its predecessors. For me, the great thing about Four Roses is that they have the opportunity to make bourbon that’s well outside the stereotypical bourbon flavor profile, even if their flagship product, Four Roses Single Barrel, sticks fairly close to the vanilla/caramel/spice stereotype. To me, this tastes like the barrel took over too much. Some people love that; I don’t. If you’d given me this without a label, I couldn’t have told you who made it. It could have been an extra-aged bourbon from Four Roses, Heaven Hill, Diageo, or many others. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but these used to “Wow!” me. This one doesn’t, and for almost $15 per pour, it should “Wow” everyone who tastes it. So even if I see this (I won’t; I live in a state that gets little and has even less that isn’t in a lottery), I’ll probably pass. $220 for a single bottle of whiskey is a bit too rich for my blood, even if I am a fanboy.

I need to get my hands on some of those F or Q Four Roses batches again. Preferably around ten years old. That’s my happy place. Brent, if you’re reading…hook a guy up, will ya? 😉

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.