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 14th 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.
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