Four Rose Barrel Strength (Roc Elite Lightning in a Bottle OBSQ 10 yr 8 m)

The nose is full of oak, marshmallow, vanilla, brown sugar, rye spice and fresh bread. This has it all, it comes off as an absolute powerhouse, giving you everything you could possibly want from Four Roses. You want to keep taking it in, almost forgetting that eventually you need to take a sip. It is absolutely remarkable, but it is time to take a sip. The palate is rich, chewy and full-bodied, igniting the mouth with buttery charred oak, marshmallow, rye spice, caramel and a bit of pepper. There is so much going on but in a good way. These barrel strength offerings from Four Roses always pack a punch when it comes to flavor. But there's strength is in how well balanced the flavors are. In this one is remarkable in how balanced it is. You get all of the oaky, creamy and spicy notes that you would expect, but bounced to perfection. It doesn't change much as it breathes, with each sip you get a great level of consistency. The finish is long and slightly chewy, leaving the mouth tingling from pepper, rye spice and oak, well you can definitely chew on it and bring out some of the creamier notes. But almost like it's instinct, with each sip you just let it be and let the flavors come to you. This one was pretty special, pretty remarkable. This one will be missed, but on the plus side you know that you can always count on Four Roses to deliver.