Four Roses OBSK, OESF, and OESQ Single Barrel Bourbon Reviews

 

One of the most iconic American distilleries is Four Roses Bourbon. It has two Kentucky locations: the bottling and warehouse operation in Coxs Creek and the main campus in Lawrenceburg.

The facts of its beginnings are murky. According to the distillery, it was founded by Paul Jones, Jr. in 1888, but had been producing whiskey since the 1960s. Another theory is that Rufus Matthewson Rose, a druggist, created it in 1867 as the R. M. Rose Co. Distillery in Vinings, Georgia. The name Four Roses represented Rufus, his brother Origen, and the sons of Rufus and Origen. Whichever story is true, the Lawrenceburg distillery was established in 1910 as Old Prentice Distillery, owned by J.T.S. Brown.

In 1922, The Paul Jones Company acquired Frankfort Distilling Company and a license to sell Four Roses as medicinal whiskey during Prohibition. In 1943, Frankfort Distilling Company was purchased by Seagram for the sole purpose of the Four Roses name. Despite Four Roses being the best-selling Bourbon at the time, Seagram halted sales in the United States, and it became an export-only whiskey, where it enjoyed a massive following in Europe and Japan.

That’s when Jim Rutledge came to the scene. Many of us recognize Jim as the previous Four Roses Master Distiller. He started with Seagram and, in 1975, was transferred to its New York City headquarters. In 1992, he requested to be relocated back to his home in Lawrenceburg, and three years later, Jim replaced Ova Haney as Master Distiller. His goal was to bring Four Roses back to the United States market.

Then, in 2002, the Kirin Brewing Company, Ltd. purchased Four Roses from Seagram and greenlighted its return to American store shelves. Six years later, Al Young, the former pretty much everything at Four Roses, became its national brand ambassador. Jim Rutledge handed the reins to Brent Elliott in 2015, who is the current Master Distiller. And, earlier this year, E. & J. Gallo Winery purchased Four Roses from Kirin for $775 million.

Four Roses produces 10 distinctly different Bourbons, called recipes. Most of them blended as Four Roses Yellow Label, Four Roses Small Batch, and, most recently, Four Roses Small Batch Select.

Each recipe has a four-digit code. Two of the four digits are always O _ S _. The blanks are what matter. 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

If you take the five yeast strains and two mashes, you get ten combinations. Make sense?

Four Roses has also offered a retail version of its Single Barrel Bourbon for many years. It was always the OBSV recipe. The other nine were available only as private barrel picks. Incidentally, in 2013, I participated in my first barrel pick; we chose OBSO.

We will explore three single-barrel variants: OBSK, OESF, and OESQ. Four Roses was kind enough to send me samples of each in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

Each single barrel is aged between seven and nine years, packaged at 50% ABV (100°), and has a suggested retail price of $49.99 for 750ml. They’re also non-chill filtered.

Before I #DrinkCurious, you should know that I sipped each one neat from a fresh Glencairn glass and allowed at least 15 minutes from pouring to nosing for each.

2026 OBSK Single Barrel

• Whiskey Type: Straight Bourbon
• Distiller: Four Roses
• Age: 7-9 years
• Mashbill: 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley
• Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels
• Alcohol Content: 50% ABV (100°)
• Price per 750mL: $49.99
• Non-chill filtered

Appearance: OBSK possessed a golden brown color and formed a thin rim with lightning-fast, medium-width, tightly packed tears.

Nose: While I was waiting for this Bourbon to acclimate, the air in my whiskey library was filled with cherries and oak. When I brought the glass beneath my nose and inhaled, I encountered notes of cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, and vanilla. I took the aroma into my mouth and tasted chocolate and rye spice.

Palate: OBSK’s texture was creamy and carried a punch of allspice. My second sip revealed dark chocolate, nutmeg, and rye spice on the front of my palate. The middle offered barrel char, ginger, and cinnamon, while the back included allspice, oak, and cocoa powder.

Finish: Allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, char, and cocoa powder seemed to be glued to my tongue. It was fairly level in intensity, with a 1:12 run, making for a medium-to-long duration.

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: OBSK fits its baking-spice profile to almost an extreme. It was spicy and bold, offering little sweetness compared to the aroma. It is a spice lover’s dream come true without being overly hot. The 100° is a great choice; while Four Roses cask-strength Bourbons are typically lower proofed, a handful come in over 120°.

Four $50.00, you’re getting a Bourbon with character, depth, and will certainly grab your attention. It earns my Bottle rating.

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2026 OESF Single Barrel

• Whiskey Type: Straight Bourbon
• Distiller: Four Roses
• Age: 7-9 years
• Mashbill: 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley
• Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels
• Alcohol Content: 50% ABV (100°)
• Price per 750mL: $49.99
• Non-chill filtered

Appearance: OESF had a goldenrod hue as the whiskey produced a thin, fragile rim with thick, slow, medium-spaced tears.

Nose: As I began my sniffing journey, I discovered smells of honey, clove, raspberries, oak, and biscuits. There was a sensation of subdued mint as I took the air through my lips.

Palate: OESF possessed a thin, oily mouthfeel and a blast of clove. My second sip unveiled flavors of vanilla, milk chocolate, and marjoram on the front. The mid-palate served up notes of honeysuckle, anise, and mint, while the back starred ginger spice, rye, and oak tannins.

Finish: Marjoram, anise, and mint mingled with ginger and rye spices. Honeysuckle and milk chocolate offered a taming effect, keeping everything in check. It was relatively low-key at first, taking its time to slowly ramp to a crescendo at 0:41 before quickly falling off at 0:58.

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: The “F” yeast has always been my least favorite because I normally find herbal notes overwhelming. I am happy that this had the higher corn content of the two options.

While this wasn’t an herbal bomb, it was still a bit off-putting. Yes, the quality is there, and it is obvious that there were no shortcuts taken. OESF just isn’t my jam, and takes my Bar rating.

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2026 OESQ Single Barrel

• Whiskey Type: Straight Bourbon
• Distiller: Four Roses
• Age: 7-9 years
• Mashbill: 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley
• Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels
• Alcohol Content: 50% ABV (100°)
• Price per 750mL: $49.99
• Non-chill filtered

Appearance: The bronze-colored Bourbon produced a thick rim that jettisoned thicker, crazed, syrupy tears.

Nose: There was a combination of rose petals, honeysuckle, red currants, strawberries, oak, and caramel. The air tasted of red currants.

Palate: OESQ’s mouthfeel was thin, verging on watery. Yet it carried a strong sizzle of candied ginger as a palate shock. I took a second sip and identified sweet corn, vanilla, and toffee on the front. My mid-palate discerned notes of almonds, pecans, and honeysuckle. Then came lightly charred oak, fresh leather, and honey on the back.

Finish: Honeysuckle, pecans, sweet corn, and toffee were competing for the spotlight, while oak sat back and kicked its feet up. It was a very level, even-keeled finish, lasting 1:01.

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: The “Q” yeast has always been, at least to me, an outlier that could encompass anything at all, “floral” be damned. Some of what I’ve tasted has been good, others have been just plain weird.

There was an interesting yin-yang of sweet and floral effects on my tongue and throat. I believe the sweeter notes, particularly honeysuckle and toffee, won out. OESQ is a thinking person’s Bourbon; you’re not just going to sip and swallow; there’s almost a need to ponder and calculate the differences. That’s typical of my “Q” yeast experience.

While definitely weird, I enjoyed what was in my glass, and OESQ deserves every bit of my Bottle rating.

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Final Thoughts: Four Roses deserves its well-received reputation. I was a Jim Rutledge fan and deeply respect Brent Elliott. They’re both talented distillers.

Without a doubt, OESQ was my favorite of the three, followed by OBSK, and finally OESF. 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.