First Taste: Four Roses New Single Barrel Collection

As it should, Four Roses talks a lot about its 10 distinct recipes—a combination of two mash bills and five yeast strains—used to make a wide array of bourbons.

Historically, there have been just three ways to taste all 10 of those recipes on their own:

1. On a Four Roses Private Selection pick, which is a tough ticket to get.
2. By locating and buying 10 Private Selection picks representing each recipe, which is no mean feat.
3. By finding a Four Roses Ten Recipe Tasting Experience, which may be more difficult than locating 10 single barrel bottles, plus, all its samples are proofed to 104 (52% ABV).

The good news is Four Roses is increasing access to its range of recipes with the launch of its Single Barrel Collection. This adds three new 100 proof Single Barrels, aged 7 to 9 years, to to go alongside its flagship (for 20 years running, I might add) OBSV Single Barrel. These are, along with the distillery’s tasting notes:

• OESK: mash bill E (20% rye, 75% corn) with yeast strain K, imparting baking spices, mellow oak, tea leaves, and caramel.
• OESO: mash bill E (20% rye, 75% corn) with yeast strain O, imparting rich red fruit, vanilla, brown sugar, and delicate oak.
• OBSF: mash bill B (35% rye, 60% corn) with yeast strain F, imparting herbal notes, bright rye, apple, vanilla, clove, and cocoa.
• OBSV: mash bill B (35% rye, 60% corn) with yeast strain V, imparting rye spice, apricot, pear, cinnamon, and toasted oak. This is the aforementioned OG FR SB launched 20 years ago.

Since Four Roses sent whiskey writers four-bottle sets containing 100 mls of each, I thought nosing and tasting all would be interesting since I’ve not had the new trio at 100 proof. Since I’ve participated in several Private Selections and have tasted all 10 recipes at cask strength, it’s fair to note my bias toward that fantastic experience.

I didn’t want my opinion of any recipe skewed toward a previous preference, so my wife poured all four samples in a blind format.

On #1, the nose served up confectioner's sugar, blooming roses, a little bit of grape jelly, chamomile and golden apple. On the palate was bright oak, oatmeal cookie, toasted bread, bruléed banana and cinnamon. The finish is long, tingling, accented with red hots candy and drinks noticeably above its 100 proof.

On #2, the nose is initially light with cereal grain (think Cheerios), cinnamon toast, white pepper, peeled pineapple, cherry tarte and Krispy Kreme donut. On the palate it’s soft and rich with chocolate undertones and bold barrel notes of baking spice and cinnamon. I left it alone for a bit and returned to find richer tropical fruit notes, spring flowers and a slightly honeyed finish.

On #3, the nose brings milk chocolate, vanilla taffy, a little leather, golden apple, magnolia bloom, and that classic Four Roses Juicy Fruit gum note accented with a little nail polish. On the palate comes oak and cedar, fresh orange, caramel, and baking spice: a very basic but textbook-correct bourbon.

On #4, the nose delivers light oak, wet oak, some wood ash, dark fruit, lemon Danish, fresh orange, ruby port and some tropical fruit. On the palate comes deep sweetness—Juicy Fruit gum here, too—pleasant oak and warming cinnamon. This whiskey is all manners, perfectly balanced. A later taste brought forth subtleties like golden apple, golden raisin and toasted bread.

It's not hard to see the similarities in these whiskies, but make no mistake, they're wonderfully unique.

My personal rankings

Despite the nose on #2 being nigh hypnotizing, my favorite overall was #4, made from the OBSV recipe. For years my favorite recipe has been the OBSQ (a high-rye recipe with herbal yeast notes), but recently OBSV has unseated it. Not only has Bourbon & Banter picked three OBSV barrels over the years, the Kentucky Bourbon Festival crew I pick with chose that recipe in 2024.

 In case you want to know the other samples, they were: #1 was OESO, #2 was OESK, and #3 was OBSF.

 I ranked them OBSV first, OESK second, OESO third, and OBSF fourth.

 Some broader observations …

These 100 proof versions affirm my Private Selection experience: Four Roses is at its absolute best at cask strength (I’ve picked barrels with proofs ranging from 105 to 122). At barrel proof is where you experience the endless aromas created by FR’s five yeast strains, not to mention all those whiskeys’ complexities and nuances gained while resting 10 to 12 years in wood.

So, of course, at 100 proof, these are expected to be comparably muted to cask strength versions, but fear not, there’s still plenty of flavor, aroma and complexity to excite the senses. And at $49, they’re also about half the price of a cask strength release.

Lastly, the deep copper color of these bourbons all but screams, “I’m 7 to 9 years old and one heck of a bargain at $49.” It’s a good visual reminder of the high-quality product in the glass and the fact that Four Roses simply never disappoints.