Four Roses 2024 Small Batch Limited Edition Bourbon Review & Tasting Notes

 

Each September, in conjunction with Bourbon Heritage Month, Four Roses Distillery releases its Small Batch Limited Edition Bourbon. It is a truly one-and-done whiskey, meaning that next year, it will be completely different. Over the last 10+ years, I’ve been lucky enough to have had several of the Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition releases. Some are better than others, and not all are glitter and rainbows.

 

“Each year, we strive to bring a new and exciting experience to your glass by blending variations of our distinct recipes to create something you’ve never tasted before from Four Roses. This year, the recipes we hand-selected have created something truly vibrant, bright and unique, while still maintaining a nice delicate spice at the end.” - Brent Elliott, Four Roses Master Distiller

 

So, what’s that recipe thing Brent mentioned? If you’re unfamiliar with Four Roses, it makes ten different Bourbon recipes. Each recipe has a four-digit code.  Two of the four digits are always O _ S  _. The blanks are what matters. There is a 35% high-rye mash labeled B and a 20% low-rye mash labeled E. Then, the last digit tells you about the yeast:

 

• V = Delicate
• K = Baking Spice
• O = Rich Fruit
• Q = Floral Essence
• F = Herbal Notes

 

This year’s release blends a 12-year-old Bourbon from the OBSV recipe, a 15-year-old OESK, a 16-year-old OESF, and a 20-year-old OBSV. It is non-chill filtered and packaged at 54.1% ABV (108.2°). It will be available at the distillery’s Cox’s Creek and Lawrenceburg facilities on September 14^th and then go out to liquor stores nationwide. There are 16,680 – 750ml bottles in total.

 

There is one thing I don’t want to say, and I, unfortunately, must. Scoring a bottle of Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition at a liquor store is akin to winning Powerball. Seeing this on a store shelf will most likely force you to change your shorts. It is one of the most sought-after, highly-allocated Bourbons out there. The last time I saw one available to buy was in 2017.

That brings us to the price of a bottle. The MSRP is $220.00. Expect to pay more than that if you see it on a shelf. If you are dabbling in the black market (some people refer to that as secondary, but let’s just call it what it is), you can place multiples on that MSRP for what you’ll have to shell out.

 

By now, you’re probably muttering, Can’t he just shut up and get to the tasting notes? That’s fair. But before I #DrinkCurious, I must thank Four Roses for providing me with a sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

Appearance: I poured this into my Glencairn glass to explore neat. It possessed a deep, dark orange-amber color that made no secret of its age. A medium rim discharged thick, wavy tears.

 

Nose: The first thing I smelled was brown sugar. Beneath it were cherries, apricots, vanilla, toffee, cocoa powder, and nutmeg. There was also the slightest hint of cinnamon. I inhaled the vapor into my mouth and tasted French vanilla.

 

Palate: The 2024 Limited Edition had a thin yet creamy texture. On the front of my palate were cherries, plums, and lime zest flavors. The middle offered bold vanilla, milk chocolate, and sweet tobacco. The back was spicy with cloves, black pepper, and ancient oak.

 

Finish: The finish featured plenty of cloves and black pepper, along with sweet tobacco, toffee, oak, herbal tea, and vanilla. I timed it at 2:37 and thought that was the end of it. Suddenly, it roared back for another 26 seconds before fading once again, bringing the total to 3:03, which is exceedingly long.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Herein lies a problem. I can’t give this my standard rating because I do not know what you will pay for one. Thus, the value rating is not considered.

 

What I can tell you is this is a multi-layered yet well-balanced Bourbon. The buttery, candied, aromatic, earthy, spicy, fruity, and woody notes were well-represented. It tastes great. It drinks well below its stated proof; I would have guessed between 95° and 100° if I didn’t know better.

 

The 2024 release is at the better end of the previous Small Batch Limited Editions I’ve sipped on. Is it the best? I believe it is challenging to beat the 2013 expression, but this one is easily in the top five of the ones I’ve tried. That means it takes my Bottle rating. Cheers!

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.