2019 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Review

Patrick "Pops" Garrett -

BOTTLE DETAILS

  • DISTILLER: Four Roses Distillery
  • MASH BILL: A blend of four different Four Roses recipes:
  • OESV - 11 years
  • OESV - 15 years
  • OESK - 15 years
  • OBSV - 21 years
  • AGE: A blend of 11, 15 and 21 year bourbons
  • YEAR: 2019
  • PROOF: 112.6 Proof (56.3% ABV)
  • MSRP: $140.00
  • BUY ONLINE: Launching during Bourbon Heritage Month, the special bottling will first be available in limited quantities at the Four Roses Distillery and Warehouse & Bottling Facility Visitor Centers on Saturday, September 21 beginning at 9 a.m. The Limited Edition Small Batch will roll out to additional retailers in the weeks following.

POPS' REVIEW OF THE 2019 FOUR ROSES LIMITED EDITION SMALL BATCH BOURBON

NOSE: Butter Cream | Vanilla | Baking Spices | Juicy Fruit | Oak

TASTE: Buttery Vanilla Cream |  Berries | Baking & Oak Spices

FINISH: Long finish with rich baking spices, cream and a touch of oak tannins. Fantastic surging burn on the finish (Kentucky hug).

SHARE WITH: Keep this one for your friends that appreciate a fine bourbon as much as you do. This one needs to be sipped and enjoyed slowly so make sure only pour it for someone you don't mind hanging out with for a while.

WORTH THE PRICE: Yes, most definitely. In these days of overpriced limited edition releases, it's good to know that Four Roses can be counted on to put something out that is delicious and priced reasonably for the market.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: This is an absolute bottle purchase if you're lucky enough to find one at retail. Act fast, and call in all your favors.

OVERALL: What a nose! the butter cream with vanilla front notes are amazing on their own. Add in the baking spices and juicy fruit and my nose starts telling my feet to dance. It's really that good. It's not too complex like some bourbons with layer upon layer of aromas that requires intense study to get everything out of it. Instead, it's straight forward with a rich combination of aromas that come together perfectly to create nuanced yet indulgent experience.

The aromas carry into my first taste and there are no surprises. Buttery vanilla cream brings the expected sweetness on the tip of my tongue with a quick flash of juicy berry notes. The flavors are full but they fall off a bit quicker than I wanted, transitioning into a long finish led by baking and oak spices that are a bit closer to the tannic line than I prefer. That said, the tannins are limited and fortunately don't get in the way of a strong finish that rewards you with a wonderful burn (Kentucky hug).

Overall, I'm impressed with the the 2019 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch release and would love to get my hands on a full bottle. Brent Elliott continues to impress me with his craft and I couldn't be happier with where Four Roses is headed. If you're lucky enough to be able to find one of these at retail don't pass up the opportunity to add one to your home collection.

BRAND NOTES

The 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch features a 21-year-old bourbon from the OBSV recipe, a 15-year-old OESK, a 15-year-old OESV and an 11-year-old OESV, expertly mingled to create elegant aromas of oak, honey, red raspberries and vanilla. The Bourbon is complemented by flavors of bright, sweet fruits, cinnamon, baking spices, and mellow barrel flavors leading to a rich, soft and lasting finish.

The 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch is the newest release in four Roses Distillery's series of limited-quantity special bottlings. The 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch is non-chill filtered and bottled at a 12.6 proof.

NOSE: Light raspberries, honey, vanilla and barrel notes.

PALATE: Bright fruit, cinnamon, baking spice and elegant oak.

FINISH: Long and rich.

FOUR ROSES’ 2019 LIMITED EDITION SMALL BATCH LAUNCHES IN SEPTEMBER FEATURING ‘WELL-RESTED’ BARRELS AGED 11, 15 AND 21 YEARS

Latest release in distillery’s Limited Edition series follows on the heels of 2018 World’s Best Bourbon

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (September 3, 2019) – This month, Four Roses Distillery will issue the newest release in its series of limited-quantity special bottlings – the 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch. This limited bottling follows the 2018 Limited Edition Small Batch, named World’s Best Bourbon in the most recent World Whiskies Awards.

The 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch marks the first Four Roses limited-quantity bottling to feature a 21-year-old Bourbon from the distillery’s OBSV recipe. This release will also feature a 15-year-old OESK, 15-year-old OESV and 11-year-old OESV.

“Our 10 distinct Bourbon recipes provide the ability to handcraft new and interesting expressions and with this year’s Limited Edition we found some exceptionally well-rested Bourbons in some of our higher aged barrels,” said Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott. “Combining the delicate fruit flavors and light spice from our V and K strains resulted in a uniquely nuanced whiskey.”

Four Roses is the only Bourbon distillery that combines two mashbills with five proprietary yeast strains to produce 10 distinct Bourbon recipes, each with its own unique characteristics. In the beginning stages of handcrafting a limited edition Small Batch bottling, Master Distiller Brent Elliott creates countless test batches from hand-selected barrels in an effort to mingle the best offering.

Non-chill filtered and bottled at a 112.6 proof, the 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch offers elegant aromas of oak, honey, red raspberries and vanilla. The Bourbon is complemented by flavors of bright, sweet fruits, cinnamon, baking spices, and mellow barrel flavors leading to a rich, soft and lasting finish.

Launching during Bourbon Heritage Month, the special bottling will first be available in limited quantities at the Four Roses Distillery and Warehouse & Bottling Facility Visitor Centers on Saturday, September 21 beginning at 9 a.m. The Limited Edition Small Batch will roll out to additional retailers in the weeks following.

This special release also follows the culmination of the company’s $55 million expansion project in April 2019.The expansion project began in 2015 and is doubling production capacity to accommodate growing demand.

Four Roses will distribute approximately 13,440 hand-numbered bottles of the 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon that will be sold in the United States with a suggested retail price of $140.

Disclaimer: Four Roses provided Bourbon & Banter with a sample of their product for this review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.