A Tasting Experience: All 10 Four Roses Recipes Compared
This is a tasting experience that I have been looking forward to doing for a long time! I was determined to collect a single barrel of all 10 recipes and try and keep them mostly full until I had all of them so that I could try them all side by side without any of them oxidizing too much versus others. This was going to be a LOOONG hunt as I had only ever found 2/10 of (plus the common OBSV). Then Four Roses went and made this amazing 10 recipe tasting experience gift set! This was a game changer! I immediately informed my wife that this would be a great gift for me, and a few months later, I had this in my possession. Only now...how in the hell was I going to make it through ten 2oz pours side by side to do this comparison justice?
But first, here's a little information about this set. This set was offered for a limited time through the Four Roses distillery and select retailers. However, it appears like as of the time of this posting, it is now readily available online from multiple retailers from $130-$150 plus shipping. Now, with the true single barrel bottles you find in the wild, they are all different ages and proofs. And not all barrels are created equal - you could find an absolutely banger OBSO bottle and the next one you find from a different barrel could be a disappointment. This set, however, is really designed for someone trying to objectively compare all 10 recipes. In this set, all the samples are batched so that you get the best representation of what each recipe is, and all the samples in this set are in the goldilocks zone of proof for me, at 104 proof. Additionally, all the batches for each recipe use barrels around 6-8 years old. Furthermore, on the back of the box is a QR code that takes you to the Four Roses website and has a series of videos of Master Distiller Brent Elliott leading you through the tasting and providing information on what expressions each recipe is used in and tasting notes for each.
Mash Bill: 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the V yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Burnished, thin, fast legs at first, followed by a nice ring of beads that condense and turn into fat slow legs.
Nose: Rye spice, vanilla, apricot, a light caramelized sugar.
Palate: Sweet on the front end but backed up closely by rye spice. A light vanilla and oak note round out the palate. It has a soft mouthfeel and coats the palate well.
Finish: A short finish with notes of sweet oak, rye spice, and mint that lingers, accompanied by a very light hug focused in the center of the chest.
Rating: 6.3/10
Overall: This recipe is the standard single barrel that can be found most everywhere. This is a very straight forward bourbon. It’s fairly “traditional” bourbon, but makes an excellent sipper when you’re not really wanting to dive into tasting notes. I think nominally I would rate something like this in the 5.5-5.9 range, however, this is at 104 proof and it drinks like it’s 90. For that, I bump it up above 6.
Mash Bill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the V yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Burnished copper, fat legs that are very slow. This looks very oily.
Nose: Fairly astringent nose with a robust amount of caramel, some hay, and a light rye spice.
Palate: Caramelized sugar and a light apple cider note. A mixture of hay and rye spice help balance this sip. There’s a very light oak note that fades into the finish. This has a thin mouthfeel and doesn’t coat the palate all that well (despite how oily this looks).
Finish: Palate is left tingling with a cooling sensation, almost minty. There’s a very sweet, young oak profile that lingers the longest, accompanied by a medium length hug.
Rating: 4.8/10
Overall: With the added sweetness due to the higher corn and lower rye mash bill, I expected this one to be a bit sweeter and brighter than OBSV. However, it was not. There’s a definite caramelly sweetness with this, but it’s not as bright as OBSV. Strangely, that makes the sweetness not pop quite as much as OBSV to me. This was also more astringent than OBSV and quite a bit more monotone. In general, this is not something that I would prefer to reach for if I had a full bottle of it in the bar.
After reviewing all the other E mash bill recipes, I realize this one is an outlier in that its much lower than the other E mash bill reviews. Since this was batched and not a single barrel, it's hard to use the excuse it's a bad barrel. And since my comments and rating are a compilation of trying it on two different days, it's hard to say my palate was just off. So, I say all that to recognize a 4.8 is an outlier amongst my other E recipe ratings, but, without more to try, it is what it is.
Mash Bill: 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the F yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Deep copper, thin, fast legs followed by beads that coalesce and create slooowwww legs.
Nose: Rich chocolate, musty oak, and a hint of rye spice. I don’t get the chocolate note in a lot of the whiskey that I normally drink, which makes this pretty unique for me, and creates a lot of intrigue.
Palate: A combination of thin mints and rich cherries. There’s a hearty amount of barrel char, and a hint of rye spice and hay on the backend. This feels very thin on that palate.
Finish: This is a long, minty finish with a warm oak note. A slight chocolate cherry sweetness lingers as well with a hint of cinnamon spice. There’s a delayed but very light hug that wraps this one out.
Rating: 6.9/10
Overall: I love the chocolate notes that I get with this one (and I’m not even a big chocolate lover)! There’s a nice mild spice that carries through the entire sip, but completely balance in every phase by subtle rich sweetness. This is a very nice expression. HOWEVER…I’m not big into mint, which kinda skews my rating down on this one. This is very good though, boarderline great, and lose the mint and I could see myself calling this excellent!
Mash Bill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the F yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Chestnut, thick, fast legs followed by thick beads that turn into very slow legs.
Nose: What a fun nose with notes of peppermint, sweet milk chocolate, and honey.
Palate: Thin mints dipped in honey. It’s like a mix of peppermint bark and chocolate drizzled peanut brittle having a party in my mouth. It’s unique! The mouth feel is semi-viscous and kinda airy even…it’s hard to describe really.
Finish: This is a medium length finish. A minty, cooling sensation lingers on the palate reinforced by tannic, drying oak notes. There’s a mild hug that takes a little while to show up (5-10 seconds after the swallow) and then lingers around for another 15 seconds or so.
Rating: 8.0/10
Overall: For those that have followed some of my previous reviews, you know I’m not a big fan of minty notes. So giving this an 8.0 really means something (and if it wasn’t for the mint, I could see this getting close to a 9.0 or higher! This is just an awesome experience! The combination of notes on the nose develops nicely into more a more defined set of flavors on the palate, and then fades away to similar but different notes on the palate. This is just a really fantastic sip that is complex, unique, and has a lot common threads throughout the sip.
Mash Bill: 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the K yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Tawny, with fat, slow legs - looking very oily.
Nose: This nose is warming with a balanced mix of baking spices and caramelized brown sugar. It’s almost reminiscent of a fall dessert with notes of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and brown sugar with a light earthy background of nuttiness (pecan?) and a hint of oak. Second and third whiffs I’m also picking up on a faint cherry note, and once I picked up on it, I can’t lose it.
Palate: Big rye spice! I’m picking up a faint, but very distinct, chocolate note and a little stewed red fruit. The mouthfeel is hard to actually nail down, but it’s mostly a little harsh in the way a rye whiskey might be with the tingly feeling from the spice and a little cooling sensation like you get from spearmint.
Finish: This has a medium to long finish. It has a pretty big hug that almost takes my breath away the first couple of sips. The rye spice on the palate definitely rolls into the finish and some notes of charred oak start to show up.
Rating: 5.8/10
Overall: BIG spice notes. There’s a lot of rye spice in this recipe. The K yeast strain definitely brings out the rye spice of this high rye mash bill. There’s a lot of deep warming notes that go well with the spice such as burnt brown sugar, stewed dark fruit, charred oak, etc. I was a bit taken aback by how overwhelming the spiciness of this one was and how powerful the hug was. This was a little disappointing for me because the nose was fantastic. For 104 proof, the level of spiciness and the finish made me think this was a way higher proof (like 30 points higher). That brings the rating down a bit for me. I enjoy a good barrel proof whiskey that drinks like a lower proof, but the opposite isn’t something I enjoy.
Mash Bill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the K yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Deep copper, almost amber in color, medium, fast legs. It’s much thinner looking that most of the other recipes.
Nose: This is bright with a good balance between sweetness and baking spices. The sweetness is much brighter than OBSK, think more honey, almost candy corn like. The spice is still prominent though, and it overall makes me think of a gingersnap cookie. I really like the nose of this recipe!
Palate: The mouthfeel is a little thin, but…buttery at the same time…I get that this is somewhat contradictory, but there is a thin feel but it coats the palate and leaves a film almost like melted butter does…just roll with it… ONWARD! The flavors are focused mostly on the front half of the palate (sweetness dominates). This is significantly brighter than OBSK. There’s a distinct corn sweetness that is accompanied by a good balance of baking spices. I also pick up a little crème brulé.
Finish: The palate really fades nicely into a the finish with a wonderful mix of baking spice, caramel, and oak. This is slightly dry during the finish, sorta tannic. There’s a a very minor hug in the top of the chest and a slight tingle in the top of the throat. Wonderful finish!
Rating: 8.8/10
Overall: The first 1 oz sample I had of this I jotted down an 8.8 for it. I feel like I’m a fair grader though, and 8s, certainly boarderline 9s, should be pretty rare. So, I felt pretty certain this rating would come down when I tried the last 1 oz of it a couple weeks later. But alas, it was still just as good as the first time around! This recipe is major component of four roses small batch, and that makes complete sense to me because this is so approachable! There’s a lot of uniqueness to it though, and that’s what really pulled me in. There are three specific things I think there could be room for improvement with this recipe (and they’re pretty minor):
Mash Bill: 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the O yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Reddish copper, with medium, slow legs, looks a little syrupy.
Nose: Cherry and rye spice dominate. There’s a light sweet vanilla note as well, almost like a vanilla frosting or maybe even a butter cream frosting. Smells like a dessert pour!
Palate: Cherry pie with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, a light baking spice fading into more of a rye spice on the backend. There’s also a light oakiness that pairs well with the mouthfeel as it’s a little tannic and drying on the palate.
Finish: This is a short to medium finish. The spice and oak notes on the palate fade into the finish, becoming more of a dominate rye spice and tannic oak. A faint cherry compote note rolls into the finish as well.
Rating: 8.2/10
Overall: So tasty! I’m a sucker for those red fruit notes and vanilla. Paired with a mellow rye spice, this has a lot of depth. I would say it doesn’t have a lot of complexity, though. The nose, palate, and finish are really all about the same, just derivatives of each other. However, for what it is it’s executed perfectly! The cherry note kinda evolves from just fresh cherries/cherry juice to cherry pie filling, to stewed cherries/cherry compote at the end. The rye spice isn’t overpowering and is the yin to the yang of the red fruit sweetness, and the vanilla helps blend the two together seamlessly. It’s just an excellent sipper, and I imagine this would be stellar with a cigar! While I really enjoyed it and this is right up my ally as far as tasting notes go, I’ve pulled the score down due to a lack of complexity (which again, I admit this might be a little unfair because it is executed perfectly…but I do like some complexity too) and because I really wish the finish was a bit longer (because this is so tasty).
Mash Bill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the O yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: A honeyed tawny color. This dram beads sooo sloooww on the side of the glass and the finally you start seeing those fat SLOOOOWWW legs start to form. SHE THICC!
Nose: Stewed red fruits, honey, and a slight woody or nutty note.
Palate: A soft and thin mouthfeel but coats the palate very well. This has a robust blend of stewed dark fruits like cherry, plum, and even some fig. There’s a good bit of caramelized sugar and definite tannic oak. There’s a bit of astringentness on the backend of the sip that leaves a tingling sensation fading into the finish.
Finish: Sweet red fruit and tannic oak linger the longest. There’s a hint of honey that returns from the nose as well. There’s a very delayed and light hug that comes in a good 10 seconds after the swallow and lingers for a good 30+ seconds warming the entire chest.
Rating: 8.9/10
Overall: This has a lot more complexity that the OBSO was lacking. It’s brighter, it has some more variables contributing to the sweetness detected, it has more oak notes, and the mouthfeel is more complex. It also has a much longer finish which I appreciate. The astringentness on the palate is a little off-putting, but it’s really only at the backend of the palate and the front end of the finish and then disappears by the time the hug starts. I also kinda wish the red fruit notes I’m getting were a little more well defined, but now I’m just getting nit-picky.
This was an amazing pour! During the first 1oz sample I jotted down “about a 9.0.” After the second 1oz pour of it, I do think it falls just short of the “incredible” range. That said, it really is boarder line, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for it and will not hesitate to pick up a single barrel OESO in the future (*wink wink* this is probably the rarest Four Roses recipe to find in a single barrel – I accept the fact I will probably never try this again).
Mash Bill: 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the Q yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Sherry colored with thin, slow legs at first. It beads beautifully on the side of the glass and the beads coalesce to make a thick, syrupy legs.
Nose: A very bright nose with notes of delicate fruit sweetness like peach and berries. Some more secondary notes include a nice base of brown sugar and a light spice in the background.
Palate: I immediately pick up on a light fruit assortment of peach, pears, and berries glazed with a slightly burnt caramelized sugar. There is a noticeable tannic oak note that also brings a dryness on the palate. There is a faint rye spice that fades into the finish.
Finish: A shortish finish of white sugar coated fruit with a slight rye spice and peppercorn. There’s really not much of a hug at all. This just kinda disappears.
Rating: 5.2/10
Overall: There’s a ton of complexity with the nose, a little less on the palate, and the finish is fairly flat. This is pretty bright throughout the sip and has a common thread of delicate fruit from start to finish. It’s just lacking on the finish and could use a more fullness and balance on the palate. Brent Elliott (Four Roses Master Distiller) mentioned in his video about this recipe that it’s really not used in Four Roses Bourbon for anything other than the floral notes that it brings to the nose. This makes total sense after tasting this, because it really doesn’t do much for the palate and finish – the party is on the nose exclusively with this one.
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the Q yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Tawny copper. This is very viscous looking!
Nose: Delicate with light fruits like apricot and raspberry. There is a nice caramelized oak in the background. There is a very faint cherry note that I’m picking up as well, along with a faint herbal, bitter note (tea leaves maybe?).
Palate: Lots of delicate sweetness just like in OBSQ. I get notes of honey, pear, peach, and rose petal – it’s a bright bouquet of sweetness on the palate. There’s faint caramelized sugar and tannic oak note in the background. I also pickup something that’s a little bitter on the backend and maybe a little grassy even. This has significantly more depth and complexity than the OBSQ. This has a wonderful velvety mouthfeel that easily coats the palate.
Finish: It’s a light, medium length finish. The sweetness lingers the longest, but it’s transitioned from that delicate fruit sweetness to a little more just sugar-like. It blends seamlessly with some oak and a light spice. The faint rye spice outlasts all other notes. Again, there’s nearly zero hug, maybe a slight warming feeling in the back of the throat, but that’s about it.
Rating: 9.0/10
Overall: OESQ is probably the single most unique whiskey I’ve ever tasted. It’s quite complex. It has flavor development throughout the sip, particularly in the sweetness. With the Q yeast strain having a focus on “floral” notes, the most appropriate analogy I can give it would be the life cycle of a flower: the nose starts with a light delicate sweetness that is a bud just opening, it blooms beautifully in the palate into a bright bouquet of light sweetness with a very distinct notes, and in the finish the flower starts to wilt and die as the sweetness starts to fade into a singular sugary/honey note. However, the sweetness doesn’t dominate the experience. There are some tannic oak notes, bitter tea leaves, and even a little rye spice to really round this sip out and give it some contrast.
I struggled on the rating for this because I gave OESO an 8.9, and what I was tasting in OESO just speaks to my very soul. However, this is significantly more complex and unique than OESO. And while it’s not notes that I would typically gravitate towards, that's probably just a lack of familiarity with them. Because the increased complexity, full flavor, and balance (and the fact there’s nothing that is off putting to me) I have to give this recipe a rating just a tad higher than OESO, which puts this one in the incredible range, and the highest rated recipe out of all 10 Four Roses recipes for me.
I'm an engineer by degree, and I still manage design engineers day to day. So, I like numbers and finding trends. Here's my takeaways from this tasting experience:
This is a really well thought out set and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subtle differences of bourbon or whiskey! The biggest thing I took away from this experience is you REALLY get to know what you like. The subtle changes between each recipe, and trying them vertically and horizontally, really helps you hone in on what subtle changes in mash bill or yeast strains can do to tasting notes as well as being able to properly identify those tasting notes. This is an awesome set from Four Roses that I would recommend for the newest hobbyist to learn from to the the most grizzled bourbon aficionado to be humbled by.
Tasting Methodology
So, how do I make it through ten 2oz pours and properly compare all recipes side by side without being completely drunk by the end and thinking the last few just taste fantastic? I stewed on this for a while and here's what I came up with.
Over the course of 5 days I would try a 1oz pour of each mash bill for one yeast strain each day. That would be something like:
- Day 1: 1oz of OBSV, 1oz of OESV
- Day 2: 1oz of OBSF, 1oz of OESF
- Day 3: 1oz of OBSK, 1oz of OESK
- Day 4: 1oz of OBSO, 1oz of OESO
- Day 5: 1oz of OBSQ, 1oz of OESQ
When I would do each of these 1oz tasting, I would watch the video from Brent Elliot to see what info he had about the recipe and tasting notes to look for, and I would jot down some tasting notes for each and give an initial rating.
Then, on two additional days, I would do the remaining 1oz pour for each yeast strain of 1 mash bill on one day. This would look something like:
- Day 6: 1oz of each OBSV, OBSF, OBSK, OBSO, OBSQ
- Day 7: 1oz of each OESV, OESF, OESK, OESO, OESQ
While I was sipping each 1oz pour during this I would review my tasting notes I previously jotted down and refine them or make additions that I didn't pick up the first time. I would then review my ratings for each when I was done with the entire set of 5 samples on each day and make any adjustments.
I recognize that trying to disseminate tasting notes for 5 different samples in one day probably isn't a real great comparison because, for me at least, trying to pick out notes for more than 3 different pours in a row really makes it difficult as my palate starts getting worn out and it gets harder to pick out subtle differences. But, this is why I made initial tasting notes only comparing two samples side by side. Additionally, on the Day 6 and 7 when I compared 5 recipes, I did these over the weekend and was able to spread out all 5 each day over 4 or 5 hours and allow my palate a little break between a few. I also did not eat anything between when I tried the first sample and the fifth sample to prevent any changes to my palate.
Now that you know how I tried to remain objective in comparing all 10 recipes, lets get to the reviews!
The Four Roses Tasting Experience
OBSV
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the V yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Burnished, thin, fast legs at first, followed by a nice ring of beads that condense and turn into fat slow legs.
Nose: Rye spice, vanilla, apricot, a light caramelized sugar.
Palate: Sweet on the front end but backed up closely by rye spice. A light vanilla and oak note round out the palate. It has a soft mouthfeel and coats the palate well.
Finish: A short finish with notes of sweet oak, rye spice, and mint that lingers, accompanied by a very light hug focused in the center of the chest.
Rating: 6.3/10
Overall: This recipe is the standard single barrel that can be found most everywhere. This is a very straight forward bourbon. It’s fairly “traditional” bourbon, but makes an excellent sipper when you’re not really wanting to dive into tasting notes. I think nominally I would rate something like this in the 5.5-5.9 range, however, this is at 104 proof and it drinks like it’s 90. For that, I bump it up above 6.
OESV
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the V yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Burnished copper, fat legs that are very slow. This looks very oily.
Nose: Fairly astringent nose with a robust amount of caramel, some hay, and a light rye spice.
Palate: Caramelized sugar and a light apple cider note. A mixture of hay and rye spice help balance this sip. There’s a very light oak note that fades into the finish. This has a thin mouthfeel and doesn’t coat the palate all that well (despite how oily this looks).
Finish: Palate is left tingling with a cooling sensation, almost minty. There’s a very sweet, young oak profile that lingers the longest, accompanied by a medium length hug.
Rating: 4.8/10
Overall: With the added sweetness due to the higher corn and lower rye mash bill, I expected this one to be a bit sweeter and brighter than OBSV. However, it was not. There’s a definite caramelly sweetness with this, but it’s not as bright as OBSV. Strangely, that makes the sweetness not pop quite as much as OBSV to me. This was also more astringent than OBSV and quite a bit more monotone. In general, this is not something that I would prefer to reach for if I had a full bottle of it in the bar.
After reviewing all the other E mash bill recipes, I realize this one is an outlier in that its much lower than the other E mash bill reviews. Since this was batched and not a single barrel, it's hard to use the excuse it's a bad barrel. And since my comments and rating are a compilation of trying it on two different days, it's hard to say my palate was just off. So, I say all that to recognize a 4.8 is an outlier amongst my other E recipe ratings, but, without more to try, it is what it is.
OBSF
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the F yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Deep copper, thin, fast legs followed by beads that coalesce and create slooowwww legs.
Nose: Rich chocolate, musty oak, and a hint of rye spice. I don’t get the chocolate note in a lot of the whiskey that I normally drink, which makes this pretty unique for me, and creates a lot of intrigue.
Palate: A combination of thin mints and rich cherries. There’s a hearty amount of barrel char, and a hint of rye spice and hay on the backend. This feels very thin on that palate.
Finish: This is a long, minty finish with a warm oak note. A slight chocolate cherry sweetness lingers as well with a hint of cinnamon spice. There’s a delayed but very light hug that wraps this one out.
Rating: 6.9/10
Overall: I love the chocolate notes that I get with this one (and I’m not even a big chocolate lover)! There’s a nice mild spice that carries through the entire sip, but completely balance in every phase by subtle rich sweetness. This is a very nice expression. HOWEVER…I’m not big into mint, which kinda skews my rating down on this one. This is very good though, boarderline great, and lose the mint and I could see myself calling this excellent!
OESF
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the F yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Chestnut, thick, fast legs followed by thick beads that turn into very slow legs.
Nose: What a fun nose with notes of peppermint, sweet milk chocolate, and honey.
Palate: Thin mints dipped in honey. It’s like a mix of peppermint bark and chocolate drizzled peanut brittle having a party in my mouth. It’s unique! The mouth feel is semi-viscous and kinda airy even…it’s hard to describe really.
Finish: This is a medium length finish. A minty, cooling sensation lingers on the palate reinforced by tannic, drying oak notes. There’s a mild hug that takes a little while to show up (5-10 seconds after the swallow) and then lingers around for another 15 seconds or so.
Rating: 8.0/10
Overall: For those that have followed some of my previous reviews, you know I’m not a big fan of minty notes. So giving this an 8.0 really means something (and if it wasn’t for the mint, I could see this getting close to a 9.0 or higher! This is just an awesome experience! The combination of notes on the nose develops nicely into more a more defined set of flavors on the palate, and then fades away to similar but different notes on the palate. This is just a really fantastic sip that is complex, unique, and has a lot common threads throughout the sip.
OBSK
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the K yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Tawny, with fat, slow legs - looking very oily.
Nose: This nose is warming with a balanced mix of baking spices and caramelized brown sugar. It’s almost reminiscent of a fall dessert with notes of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and brown sugar with a light earthy background of nuttiness (pecan?) and a hint of oak. Second and third whiffs I’m also picking up on a faint cherry note, and once I picked up on it, I can’t lose it.
Palate: Big rye spice! I’m picking up a faint, but very distinct, chocolate note and a little stewed red fruit. The mouthfeel is hard to actually nail down, but it’s mostly a little harsh in the way a rye whiskey might be with the tingly feeling from the spice and a little cooling sensation like you get from spearmint.
Finish: This has a medium to long finish. It has a pretty big hug that almost takes my breath away the first couple of sips. The rye spice on the palate definitely rolls into the finish and some notes of charred oak start to show up.
Rating: 5.8/10
Overall: BIG spice notes. There’s a lot of rye spice in this recipe. The K yeast strain definitely brings out the rye spice of this high rye mash bill. There’s a lot of deep warming notes that go well with the spice such as burnt brown sugar, stewed dark fruit, charred oak, etc. I was a bit taken aback by how overwhelming the spiciness of this one was and how powerful the hug was. This was a little disappointing for me because the nose was fantastic. For 104 proof, the level of spiciness and the finish made me think this was a way higher proof (like 30 points higher). That brings the rating down a bit for me. I enjoy a good barrel proof whiskey that drinks like a lower proof, but the opposite isn’t something I enjoy.
OESK
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the K yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Deep copper, almost amber in color, medium, fast legs. It’s much thinner looking that most of the other recipes.
Nose: This is bright with a good balance between sweetness and baking spices. The sweetness is much brighter than OBSK, think more honey, almost candy corn like. The spice is still prominent though, and it overall makes me think of a gingersnap cookie. I really like the nose of this recipe!
Palate: The mouthfeel is a little thin, but…buttery at the same time…I get that this is somewhat contradictory, but there is a thin feel but it coats the palate and leaves a film almost like melted butter does…just roll with it… ONWARD! The flavors are focused mostly on the front half of the palate (sweetness dominates). This is significantly brighter than OBSK. There’s a distinct corn sweetness that is accompanied by a good balance of baking spices. I also pick up a little crème brulé.
Finish: The palate really fades nicely into a the finish with a wonderful mix of baking spice, caramel, and oak. This is slightly dry during the finish, sorta tannic. There’s a a very minor hug in the top of the chest and a slight tingle in the top of the throat. Wonderful finish!
Rating: 8.8/10
Overall: The first 1 oz sample I had of this I jotted down an 8.8 for it. I feel like I’m a fair grader though, and 8s, certainly boarderline 9s, should be pretty rare. So, I felt pretty certain this rating would come down when I tried the last 1 oz of it a couple weeks later. But alas, it was still just as good as the first time around! This recipe is major component of four roses small batch, and that makes complete sense to me because this is so approachable! There’s a lot of uniqueness to it though, and that’s what really pulled me in. There are three specific things I think there could be room for improvement with this recipe (and they’re pretty minor):
- a little longer finish
- a little better mouthfeel
- a little more barrel character
OBSO
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the O yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Reddish copper, with medium, slow legs, looks a little syrupy.
Nose: Cherry and rye spice dominate. There’s a light sweet vanilla note as well, almost like a vanilla frosting or maybe even a butter cream frosting. Smells like a dessert pour!
Palate: Cherry pie with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, a light baking spice fading into more of a rye spice on the backend. There’s also a light oakiness that pairs well with the mouthfeel as it’s a little tannic and drying on the palate.
Finish: This is a short to medium finish. The spice and oak notes on the palate fade into the finish, becoming more of a dominate rye spice and tannic oak. A faint cherry compote note rolls into the finish as well.
Rating: 8.2/10
Overall: So tasty! I’m a sucker for those red fruit notes and vanilla. Paired with a mellow rye spice, this has a lot of depth. I would say it doesn’t have a lot of complexity, though. The nose, palate, and finish are really all about the same, just derivatives of each other. However, for what it is it’s executed perfectly! The cherry note kinda evolves from just fresh cherries/cherry juice to cherry pie filling, to stewed cherries/cherry compote at the end. The rye spice isn’t overpowering and is the yin to the yang of the red fruit sweetness, and the vanilla helps blend the two together seamlessly. It’s just an excellent sipper, and I imagine this would be stellar with a cigar! While I really enjoyed it and this is right up my ally as far as tasting notes go, I’ve pulled the score down due to a lack of complexity (which again, I admit this might be a little unfair because it is executed perfectly…but I do like some complexity too) and because I really wish the finish was a bit longer (because this is so tasty).
OESO
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the O yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: A honeyed tawny color. This dram beads sooo sloooww on the side of the glass and the finally you start seeing those fat SLOOOOWWW legs start to form. SHE THICC!
Nose: Stewed red fruits, honey, and a slight woody or nutty note.
Palate: A soft and thin mouthfeel but coats the palate very well. This has a robust blend of stewed dark fruits like cherry, plum, and even some fig. There’s a good bit of caramelized sugar and definite tannic oak. There’s a bit of astringentness on the backend of the sip that leaves a tingling sensation fading into the finish.
Finish: Sweet red fruit and tannic oak linger the longest. There’s a hint of honey that returns from the nose as well. There’s a very delayed and light hug that comes in a good 10 seconds after the swallow and lingers for a good 30+ seconds warming the entire chest.
Rating: 8.9/10
Overall: This has a lot more complexity that the OBSO was lacking. It’s brighter, it has some more variables contributing to the sweetness detected, it has more oak notes, and the mouthfeel is more complex. It also has a much longer finish which I appreciate. The astringentness on the palate is a little off-putting, but it’s really only at the backend of the palate and the front end of the finish and then disappears by the time the hug starts. I also kinda wish the red fruit notes I’m getting were a little more well defined, but now I’m just getting nit-picky.
This was an amazing pour! During the first 1oz sample I jotted down “about a 9.0.” After the second 1oz pour of it, I do think it falls just short of the “incredible” range. That said, it really is boarder line, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for it and will not hesitate to pick up a single barrel OESO in the future (*wink wink* this is probably the rarest Four Roses recipe to find in a single barrel – I accept the fact I will probably never try this again).
OBSQ
Age: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the high rye mash bill with the Q yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Sherry colored with thin, slow legs at first. It beads beautifully on the side of the glass and the beads coalesce to make a thick, syrupy legs.
Nose: A very bright nose with notes of delicate fruit sweetness like peach and berries. Some more secondary notes include a nice base of brown sugar and a light spice in the background.
Palate: I immediately pick up on a light fruit assortment of peach, pears, and berries glazed with a slightly burnt caramelized sugar. There is a noticeable tannic oak note that also brings a dryness on the palate. There is a faint rye spice that fades into the finish.
Finish: A shortish finish of white sugar coated fruit with a slight rye spice and peppercorn. There’s really not much of a hug at all. This just kinda disappears.
Rating: 5.2/10
Overall: There’s a ton of complexity with the nose, a little less on the palate, and the finish is fairly flat. This is pretty bright throughout the sip and has a common thread of delicate fruit from start to finish. It’s just lacking on the finish and could use a more fullness and balance on the palate. Brent Elliott (Four Roses Master Distiller) mentioned in his video about this recipe that it’s really not used in Four Roses Bourbon for anything other than the floral notes that it brings to the nose. This makes total sense after tasting this, because it really doesn’t do much for the palate and finish – the party is on the nose exclusively with this one.
OESQ
Mash Bill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barleyAge: NAS, but all samples were pulled from the single barrel program (but each recipe is batched) and have roughly the same age (6-8 years)
Proof: 104
This is the low rye mash bill with the Q yeast strain. Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
Appearance: Tawny copper. This is very viscous looking!
Nose: Delicate with light fruits like apricot and raspberry. There is a nice caramelized oak in the background. There is a very faint cherry note that I’m picking up as well, along with a faint herbal, bitter note (tea leaves maybe?).
Palate: Lots of delicate sweetness just like in OBSQ. I get notes of honey, pear, peach, and rose petal – it’s a bright bouquet of sweetness on the palate. There’s faint caramelized sugar and tannic oak note in the background. I also pickup something that’s a little bitter on the backend and maybe a little grassy even. This has significantly more depth and complexity than the OBSQ. This has a wonderful velvety mouthfeel that easily coats the palate.
Finish: It’s a light, medium length finish. The sweetness lingers the longest, but it’s transitioned from that delicate fruit sweetness to a little more just sugar-like. It blends seamlessly with some oak and a light spice. The faint rye spice outlasts all other notes. Again, there’s nearly zero hug, maybe a slight warming feeling in the back of the throat, but that’s about it.
Rating: 9.0/10
Overall: OESQ is probably the single most unique whiskey I’ve ever tasted. It’s quite complex. It has flavor development throughout the sip, particularly in the sweetness. With the Q yeast strain having a focus on “floral” notes, the most appropriate analogy I can give it would be the life cycle of a flower: the nose starts with a light delicate sweetness that is a bud just opening, it blooms beautifully in the palate into a bright bouquet of light sweetness with a very distinct notes, and in the finish the flower starts to wilt and die as the sweetness starts to fade into a singular sugary/honey note. However, the sweetness doesn’t dominate the experience. There are some tannic oak notes, bitter tea leaves, and even a little rye spice to really round this sip out and give it some contrast.
I struggled on the rating for this because I gave OESO an 8.9, and what I was tasting in OESO just speaks to my very soul. However, this is significantly more complex and unique than OESO. And while it’s not notes that I would typically gravitate towards, that's probably just a lack of familiarity with them. Because the increased complexity, full flavor, and balance (and the fact there’s nothing that is off putting to me) I have to give this recipe a rating just a tad higher than OESO, which puts this one in the incredible range, and the highest rated recipe out of all 10 Four Roses recipes for me.
Let's Get Nerdy With It
I'm an engineer by degree, and I still manage design engineers day to day. So, I like numbers and finding trends. Here's my takeaways from this tasting experience:
- I confirmed I generally like sweeter bourbon an whiskey. This is something I already knew about myself knowing how much I like wheated bourbons, but seeing that they low rye (higher corn) recipes average nearly 1.5 points higher than the high rye recipes really speaks to this. Also, that O yeast strain average...clearly I'm a sucker for the red fruit sweetness. 😉
- OESV is a clear outlier. There wasn't a low rye recipe that scored lower than 8 except OESV, and it was below 5! I'm not sure how to explain this. The way I set up the tasting was supposed to control anything that could skew a single rating, but clearly the OESV just wasn't jiving for me. I'd actually like to do a sample swap for OESV or if I find a bottle get one just to confirm this since it does seem strange. But for now, since I'm out, it is what it is.
- The Q yeast strain recipes are generally the most polarizing of the Four Roses recipes. I'm strangely divided here. OESQ - complete banger, instant buy. OBSQ - second worst rated of this whole tasting. At the 30,000 ft view, I like the Q strain because it's really unique though. So I'll place myself in the fan camp.
- The O yeast strain is legendary stuff. The jaminess of it just resonates with me so well! With how much higher the average for this strain is than the others, this actually was eye opening for me how much I like the red fruit notes in whiskey. I always knew I liked them, but I don't think I realized how much I liked them.
- I generally am not a fan of mint notes. However, there were a couple pours in here that had mint notes that I actually appreciated. Previously, if you would have told me something had a mint note I would have probably steered cleared. Now, I think I'm more open to it but knowing that it may still be quite subjective to the other notes that accompany the mint note.
- I never really could pick out what "tea leave" notes were like previously, but I was able to pick it out during this tasting. Not being a tea person, this wasn't a flavor that I'm familiar with. I since had a chance to taste some ground tea leaves of different types and was able to confirm this note.
- What I also appreciate from this tasting is I have a general appreciation for what each yeast strain does:
- V - light, bright, summer fruit notes
- F - herbal notes abound, be cautious of the mint, surprising amount of chocolate
- K - boosts the spice, paired with the high rye mash bill it's down right like drinking something 30 proof points higher
- O - robust, red fruit notes; Heavenly!
- Q - bright, delicate, floral notes
Conclusion
Again, such a cool tasting experience! I learned a whole lot about how subtle changes to the mash bill and yeast strain can change the flavor of a whiskey. I also learned/confirmed a lot of flavors and tasting notes that I like. This was a really fun experience that I highly recommend for a novice whiskey drinker up to the most veteran. It will teach you something you didn't know, and it will humble you at the same time. I actually look forward to perhaps doing this tasting experience again in a few years to see how my palate may have changed.
As far as single barrel bottles that I'll be looking for, you can kind of see that from above, but OBSO and OESO will be instant buys for me if I find one of them - those red fruit notes...mmmm! OESQ and OESK will also be an instant buys. I'll probably look for someone that has an OESV to try a little pour or sample of theirs to see if OESV is actually just that off with my palate or if what was in this tasting set was a fluke. Other than those though, the rest I'll probably not do anything to drastic to seek out or instantly buy. The OESF having the minty note, even though I wound up giving it a 8.0, is probably enough for me to not try and seek this one out in a single barrel form (because it could swing the negative way in a hurry knowing I generally don't like mint).
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