Four Roses Single Barrel

Let me start with an apology. How Canadian of me. I'm sorry, I don't have the bottle in front of me, so I can't include the warehouse or barrel number at this point, but I promise I will add it. I've had enough time with this one to make some decent tasting notes. I even posted a more detailed (and charming?) review over on my blog.

• Nose (undiluted): floral vanilla, toffee, menthol, oak
• Palate: medium body, spicy arrival, more vanilla and toffee, orange peels, black pepper, with rye and hearty herb spiciness. I want to say there are hints of rosemary, odd as that may sound.
• Finish: medium-long, spicy rye pepperiness, lingering oakiness with that herbal note in the background.

Adding water toned down the bite a little and pushed the menthol and herbal notes a bit further into the background. Trigger warning, this next part may offend some purists. I made a few Old Fashioned cocktails with this bourbon and it really shone. A weaker bourbon or rye can disappear in an Old Fashioned, but not this one. I was very impressed.

This bottle has been open for a while - I purchased it at the LCBO. Warehouse No. NN, Barrel No. 81-1F.

The colour is a soft copper. On the nose we get humidor, tannic oak, menthol and overripe plums. Caramel apple. Marmalade. Quite a bit of vanilla, but the oak is very tight, quite woody. Maltier with water. Enticing but rather closed, especially for a bottle that has been open for a couple of months.

On the palate the humidor has turned into dry cigar tobacco. Quite a bit of toffee and vanilla, with pine sap, mint, black cherry, thick oak and leather. More cherries with water, and more tobacco, too - an improvement. Very rich and satisfying.

The finish is tight oak, with more herbs, leather and a hint of cloves. The last FR Single Barrel I reviewed was from Warehouse No. KE and Barrel No. 6-5D. And I gave it the exact same score - I guess so far my Single Barrels are pretty consistent...

This was a bottle from warehouse PN, Barrel No. 344D. So I first had this in the Groucho Club in London following a Small Batch and defintely preferred the bolder flavour profile of the Single Barrel.

Colour is darker, a kind of clear chestnut brown.

Nose is very rye forward. Lots of soft mint, spearmint, dill, because of the OBSV mashbill which is 35% rye, and then it's lots of soft mellow sweetness, brown sugars, soft subtle spices. Sutle wood, like sandal wood and young oak wood. Bold yet harmonizing aromas.

Taste is minty, spearmint, spices, brown sugars, little dill, stem ginger. Slightly astringency from the wood. Sweet, spicy and minty.

On the finish there's the spearmint and baking spices and a little hotness from the alcohol. Nice and lingering.

Masterful whisky. Bold yet soft and smooth.

I read a lot about Four Roses and I was expecting a profil I really like. Well, thanks to all of you who already reviewed this Bourbon, because you've been right on and I love this gem. This a review of the regular 50% OBSV Single Barrel., warehouse KE, barrel 6-3I

The nose is very complex and very balanced. You have the cinnamon, the muscade, some cotton candy, some vanilla and light cherries. A very nice floral note that I can't quite call rosewater because some mint and a hint of pine dialogue with this floral note. You also have a nice blond caramel combined to a great tobacco note and the previous spices. Wow! All those smells are telling me a story: I am in the middle of a Barber shop in the '50, I see a young boy eating some cotton candy while waiting for his father on a chair. There is two chair, at the first the barber apply some shaving cream with some clean and lightly floral smell while on the other, an obvious smoker of cigar is now receiving a vigourous massage first with an antiseptic lotion who smells of pine and then with a regular aftershave not quite heavy enough to be with musk but with the more pleasing smell for women, at least that what the barber says, of cinnamon and muscade and he add, as a last argument, that it even mixed itself well with the cedar smell of the wool pant that his client wear today but keep in his cedar closet usually.

On the palate, all the flavors are strongers, especially the floral notes.But again the balance is great. The only thing added is a peppery note and more sweetness.

The finish let the spices recessed progresively and leave you with the caramel and the vegetal notes with the pine hint being a bit more assertive. Maybe a little short.

Conclusion. My first reaction to the nose was "This bourbon has a lot of rye" , then with my research, I found that this mashbill contains 35% of rye. My second reaction was simply to nose it and nose it again. I love Bourbons with big floral notes, that is why I was expecting to love this Bourbon. So those who are looking for more heavy and woody Bourbon will not like this one as much as I do, not that it is not big enough, not that it is not woody enough; simply that it is not aggressive but prefer to presents itself like a quiet force of a good nature, sure of itself and being able to take the control of the place only by its presence.

bottle TS 69 2B On opening bottle there is a strong floral violet scent with sweet honey and vanilla After ten minutes in glass no alcohol note present but cherry,vanilla and mild citrus and spice develop. My wife thinks I have gone mad as I can sit smelling this for up to an hour without taking a drink. Taste, sweet on entry mid palate citrus and cherry carry through from nose and spices start to settle over top balancing the sweet with pepper and cloves. Long finish without any alcohol burn with spices giving the warmth. The smell of flowers still present 5 minutes after the last sip.

I am sure this will not be for everyone but I love this bourbon, little experience with tasting and first review but hope to progress as my limited scope expands.

pours light brown with notes of vanilla and gasoline on the nose. Lots of vanilla on the tongue which I'm guessing is from the influence of the barrel. Not exactly smooth going down and I can't exactly say I'm getting a lot of other flavors or sensations from this other than nose hair singeing.

This is my go-to bourbon. It's great in just about every way. It's not complex, but what it excels in its simplicity.

Nose: Sweet and creamy. Very soft with simple vanilla and toffee aromas.

Taste: Full and soft in the mouth. Immediately tastes of custard and vanilla. Very mellow and mature oak flavors come forward in the finish.

Still very new to tasting productively. Trying to challenge myself to really report just what I taste and not be swayed by other reviewers/thoughts. So this may be way off. Who knows.

Nose: Immediately notice the cinnamon follwed by extremely sweet, syrupy vanilla, which is indeed the overpowering nose throughout. Some dark cherries as well. Some amount of alcohol vapor as well.

Taste: This whiskey is interesting because I swear every taste is different. On one sip I had a ton of licorice and it tasted on the whole very sour. On another, the transition from the vanilla in the nose led smoothly into something sweet and creamy, perhaps just more vanilla taste. On still a third, it tasted of table pepper and spices that I don't quite know the name of yet in my own palate lexicon. I don't know what to make of this and I'm excited to see what other people make out of the taste on this one.

Finish: Long and warm. Very comforting. Some toffee. Burnt ends.

Overall super enjoyable but mercurial. Every sip is a surprise.

Every once in a while you taste a whisky that really hits it out of the park. I'm not a huge bourbon guy, but this might be one of my favourite whiskies ever. Also, it is one of those rare drams where it is all about the finish. Sure, it smells nice, and tastes nicer, but about a minute after you swallow, that's where the fun starts. The flavours! Cinnamon! Beeswax! Apple! Toasted oak! Absolutely perfect. And it just goes on and on.

A definite repeat buy.

This is a fantastic whisk(e)y that I really wish I bought sooner. I have a weird thing with Four Roses I find the small batch to be way too spicy but the Single Barrel takes that spicy notes and makes it more buttery and fruity while it keeps the exciting spices we want.

From Warehouse U5, Barrel 42-2C.

Nose: Cherries, Spices, Buttered Peaches, Cinnamon, Nutmeg.

Palate: Cherries, Spices, Chocolate from left field, strong cinnamon and sugared peaches with nutmeg.

Finish: Clean, with the buttery flavors I love to find in bourbons. With a fruit jam note.

It's been a while since I put a good old fashioned bourbon on the tasting block. Five months to be exact. No real reason other than getting swept up in my single malt purchases and ignoring this spirit from the West.

For some reason I always get grief from my whisky club about my love for American whisky. Not that they're snobs or anything. It's just that I organized a bourbon tasting one night and, let's say, things got out of hand.

The following morning was a barrage of half coherent phone calls blaming my generous pours and the Devil that was inside this damned spirit for their complete lack of motor skills.

Sure guys. Blame the bourbons.

I've had my eye on Four Roses for a while but just didn't get around to picking one up for the bar. Good thing I did. I'm quite proud of my growing bourbon collection and the Four Roses makes for a worthy addition.

My sample is from Barrel# 69-6W from warehouse ME bottled at a perfect 50% ABV.

Nose: Howy pardner! So many aromas all working together in near perfect harmony. Maple syrup. Chocolate fudge brownies. Overripe oranges. Espresso coffee beans. Black licorice. Burnt caramel. Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Oak. The longer you nose the more aromas you get. In the interest of space I had to stop.

Palate: Brilliant delivery. Controlled at 50% which I think works beautifully. Oaky at first before getting sweeter mid-palate. Honey. Molasses. Cherries. Dark plums. Chocolate caramel. Black peppercorns. Cinnamon.

Finish: Satisfyingly long. Touch bitter with vanilla and black peppers.

As a recent practice I've been drinking the actually whisky while writing my review. For some reason this review has taken twice as long. You figure out why.

Nice smooth nose. Great Palate. Very sweet with cherry notes. Even better finish - medium length. The thing I like most about this bourbon is 1. It's very unique in comparison to all bourbons, but not too abstract. 2. It's different going from the nose to palate to the finish. It's obvious to pick out different notes in those 3 areas. I love that about a whisky. Some call it complexity and others call it.. who knows. But anyway. I'd say for $40 it's one of the best I've tried.

The second best Bourbon I have ever tried. The first being from a small Brooklyn, NY distillery Called Cacao Prieto and their single barrel called Widow Jane. But if you can find FR Single barrell then you are in for a treat... great nose, Full sweet corn and oaky flavor and even at 50% she is smooth as silk.. a nice burn...not overbearing.

nose: cinnamon, maple, caramel, apple, earth, wood. far cleaner than the standard four roses release

flavor: tobacco, toffee, light char, caramel, oak, a bit herbal

finish: smooth with a fairly lasting charred wood note.

overall: honestly, this is the first whisky I've tried at 50% abv and I'm a bit surprised how smooth and flavorful it is. warehouse: ME. barrel: 6-2S. 750 mL picked up for $44.99.

Maybe shouldn't have i tasted 4RSB side by side with my beloved Blanton's original, but neither the nose, nor the taste gave to me those richness of aroma and gentle spicy kick Blanton's so elegantly delivers. 4R is a good and gentle dram, but soft, very soft, too soft. It lacks duality,complexity or is that me ? I tell to myself that i should have saved my money for another Blanton's expression (straight from the barrel is in my wish list) And one of these days, i'll taste this Gold Edition that is waiting in my cabinet, just to have the opportunity to say: "Wow" once again...

gift sample (#78-3A), 16 years old

Nose: Great, classy, and showing good age. Creamy rye and mint dominate, and just in perfectly balanced quantities. Fine sandalwood and slightly dry maple (wood). Coconut and slight alcohol. Toast, honey, and oatmeal hide in the background. Water brings out a bit more of the wood and softens the other aromas, but it's all pretty much there. Maybe a touch more grainy/oatmealy.

Palate: Rather vivid, surprisingly, for 54.7%. Honey and light and creamy at first. Mint and something a bit like bubblegum. Rye grain and a really good dose of soft, bitter wood. It's all in check and good stuff.

Finish: Mint, oatmeal, maple syrup, and lots of lingering wood. Really doesn't need water, which just brought out more wood on the finish. Comes to a very fine point at the end. B+

I swear that, at points, this thing seemed absolutely 'wheat'ish. Maybe because it was light and more on honey/coconut/caramel at times.

Nose: Vanilla, juicy fruit, floral, hint of wood.

Taste: Honey sweetness, a bit of citrus, fades into floral. Very mellow, but sweet, easy drinking bourbon. Feminine, but not girly. Delicate.

Finish is pretty short. Slight floral fades into vanilla and just a touch of oak. I find the finish juicy, not dry.

So tonight after a long day at work, hell after a long week at work I got home and decided to try yet another whisky from my awesome whisky calender from Master of Malt.

This time I've decided to jump across the pound back to the good ol' US of A!

Bourbon!

Maybe it's in response to all the people I hear each week that say Americans can't make whiskey, maybe it's because I'm tired of hearing about people pouring bourbon into coke, I just don't know why, but when I got home tonight, I looked at several imperial stouts in the fridge, a couple Belgian strong ales, a few Scotch blends and a lot of single malts and the Four Roses just called out to me.

Now this surprised me, quite a bit, because the last time I'd had Four Roses, while it wasn't bad, my brother in law and myself both found it too syrupy, too sweet, almost sickly so.

But this one was sitting at cask strength, and was the Single Barrel from 2012 and like I said, I knew that I needed to crack it open it tonight.

So I crack open the sample bottle and pour it into my glencairn where it pours a very sexy dark golden color, with long thick thick legs that almost hang onto the side of the glass, ever so slowly going down the glass sides.

Sweeeeet.

Lovely little nose on this, very typical bourbon nose, but still lovely. There's something so nice about taking a whisky, nosing it, and going that's a nose of the homeland.

Coconut, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Honey, Vanilla, faint hints of cherries and cocoa.

Loving it! Just the thing that I needed tonight to get me in the mood.

What a lovely taste!

Spicy, but sweet, a strong oak presence, quite a bit of vanilla and coconut.

It's very easy drinking, especially for almost 55% ABV, very sweet though, but not sickly so.

A nice long finish with cherries and vanilla that lingers a good long time. Lovely. Just lovely.

Now for the sad part, I've yet to see a cask strength Four Rose for sale in Australia, and the 50% ABV version that is standard over here, yeah that one I've seen go for $120-$145 AUS, when you can find it, and it's very difficult to know which batch of that Four Roses your drinking.

That sadly makes me suspect a bottle of the cask strength will hit at least $150 AUS, just guessing, or more and once you start reaching those prices, especially $200 plus, you might as well start staring at a Stagg.

It's a pity, because I'd like to own a bottle of this. I can think of a few friends who'd get a kick out it.

Que cera cera, sadly what will be, will be.

If you get a chance to try this batch, this strength, do so, you won't regret it.

Four Roses provides a wealth of information about their bourbon, something that I greatly appreciate. This particular batch is from Warehouse RS, and is barrel 80-1U. It uses recipe OBSV, which is a 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley recipe using yeast strain V.

Appearance: slightly amber-tinted gold. Appears very thick and oily when the glass is tilted or swirled.

Nose: Delicately fruity with some sweet maple and a strong dose of fresh honey. Clear notes of nutmeg are laced with cinnamon, cocoa, gentle oak and dry cedar. Rye is definitely present but despite this it's very mellow, a trend that would continue throughout the experience.

Palate: Creamy and full-bodied but surprisingly delicate. Rich honey and honeycomb, cinnamon, and red fruit (predominantly plum and redcurrant with touches of raspberry) laid over undercurrents of oak, dusty rye, nutmeg, and dark cocoa. A faint floral touch as well, perhaps honeysuckle or rose petals; it's hard to tell exactly as it's quite in the background.

Finish: Long, smooth, and again quite delicate. Oak, cinnamon, and lush red plum linger from the palate while orange, maple, and a whisper of spearmint appear as well.

Overall impressions: Great nose, a fabulously coating and rich mouthfeel, and surprisingly refined, intricate and subtle flavors make this one a very interesting bourbon. I especially liked the interplay between the richness of the mouthfeel, sticky honey and deep cocoa notes with the lively, bright, tart fruit, floral and nutmeg notes. A bit lacking in intensity perhaps but it's clear that this is by design rather than accident; the mellowness and delicacy of the whiskey are qualities to be praised rather than scorned, because they've been done exceedingly well.

Several months ago I'd made an epic journey to the International Beer Shop here in Perth to pick up a bottle of Stranahans Colorado Single Malt Whisky.

If you're curious as to why this journey was epic you can look at my previous review and see how that journey played out.

While there I saw that they had quite a few whiskies that I wanted, but one that stood out.

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon.

This is a whiskey that I've never tried before (Four Roses, not bourbon, I have bourbon lots) and I'd heard nothing, but good things about it.

I was especially keen seeing as it had just picked up a major award in the 2012 Whisky Bible.

Whisky Bible Awards 2012: No Age Statement Single Barrel Bourbon of the Year award to be exact.

Now the problem with single barrel whiskies is that there is NEVER a guarantee that you'll be getting a bottle from the award winning barrel unless you have all those details and can put your hand on a bottle from that batch.

Now the cool and bad thing about single barrels is you can get some whiskies that are no less then phenomenal. I have several bottles that are from barrels like that. Bad thing about it is that those barrels tend to produce just a few hundred bottles and that once it's gone, it's gone, never to be repeated.

I had a VERY strong suspicion that this is NOT the bottle that won the award, but I didn't care. I was eager to try this distillery!

Now this bottle is from Warehouse #135, barrel number 38-3Q.

So away to home I went with my new bottles, but I'd already decided before hand that both of these bottles would be off limits or special occasion bottles for at least several months.

About a month ago my brother and sister in law bought my wife and myself a brand new 50 inch plasma screen TV.

I've always wanted a big screen TV, but this was beyond awesome!

That night we cracked the Stranahans.

The following weekend my brother and sister in law came over, bringing with them a bottle of Glenmorangie 10 yr old that he'd gotten for his birthday.

I decided that we should also crack open the Four Roses.

We brought out the glencairns and brought down the bottle of Four Roses and as soon as we cracked the seal we could smell honey.

Pouring a lovely amber color this whiskey honey came off it in waves.

Upon closer nosing we started getting coconut, cherries, spices and oak.

It's quite a sweet nose that makes you start to salivate as soon as you smell it.

However when we decide to take a drink it's quite syrupy.

No bad flavors. Quite yummy, with the coconut and honey coming through strongest and the cherries and spices following through. The oak has a definite presence, but it is quite lovely and gives the whisky a nice backbone. At the end of the palate is just a hint of cocoa.

There's a nice long finish with the spices and oak singing out and once more those hints of cocoa make themselves known.

Quite a nice whisky, however it's a little bit too syrupy for my liking.

Running at around $100 to $125 bucks it's not a bad bourbon, especially at the highest ABV, but I'm not quite sure that I'd buy another bottle of it, unless I could guarantee I was getting the award winner.

It's not impossible to find, but I haven't seen it in any bottle shops over here so you will have to look around.

At half the price of a George T Stagg, Thomas H Handy Sazerac or William L. Weller, I do believe I'd rather save my money and buy one of the big boys.

When my wife and I toured the distillery, we were pleasantly surprised to find the Four Roses regular bottling (yellow label) quite nice. Surprised because the once popular and high quality bourbon entered a long period of decay after Seagram’s bought the brand and converted it into a blended whiskey. All of the good stuff continued to be made but it was shipped to Japan and Europe. In 2001, Four Roses was bought by Kirin, the big Japanese brewing company. They were wise enough to make the real Four Roses available in the States again. But wait, there’s more. In addition to the yellow label, there are now small batch and a single barrel version of Four Roses as the distillery hustles to keep up with the competition. We found the latter two significantly better than “quite nice.” I understand that Four Roses is now the top selling single barrel bourbon in Kentucky. That’s an impressive recovery considering that the Requiem Mass was approaching the final benediction. Preparing for this tasting, I poured an ounce or so of Four Roses (Barrel 431K) into a Glencairn glass. Then I left immediately to take a phone call. When I returned, it had opened up so that I could smell the Four Roses from the door ten feet away. In the glass, FRSB is a pleasant strawberry blonde color with legs that go all the way up. The nose picks up some vanilla and caramel with hints of both spice and fruit. I didn’t detect anything floral (and am avoiding quips about roses) but there may be something vegetal like freshly cut grass in early autumn. Later, on the palette, I decided the vegetal was drier--more like a wheat field or a corn field right after the harvester has passed through. In the mouth, the bourbon was full and viscous and chewy at first but after a few sips it seemed less so. At the back of the palette, I was reminded of Earl Grey tea--rather tannic and dry like black tea and the citrus spice of bergamot. The layers of flavor included something akin to crème brulee: The faintest bit of nutmeg in custard and a sugar crust melted by flame. I thought the flavors were nicely balanced with nothing that stands up and smacks you in the face. There is corn, of course, but muted and held in check. I found the finish long and satisfying. Running my tongue over the roof of my mouth unleashed succeeding waves of flavor for several minutes. There was warmth but nothing even approaching a harsh burn at 50% ABV or 100 proof. (When I checked the label, I found that I had been mistaken in thinking it was 90 proof.) But speaking of burn, April has been a cruel month here in northern Ohio. It is Easter weekend as I write and we are still using the fireplace to ward off the cold and damp. It is our custom, before dinner, to pour a nice drink and sit by the fire for an hour or so. Frankly, it is difficult to be scientifically objective. How do you separate the pleasures of the drink from those connected with the crackle of an oak and hickory fire? Is that whiff of charred oak from the bourbon or the fire? The same bourbon tastes different at sunset in January on the Gulf Coast, on our shaded yard swing in June, or on a log beside a campfire after a long day fishing in Wyoming. I find it impossible to separate the setting from the impression made by the bourbon. And I don’t want to. In any of those locations, though, I would be more than glad to waltz again with a strawberry blonde as refined and elegant as Four Roses Single Barrel.