Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon (2020)

This is a sad day indeed. I am having my last pour of my Four Roses 2020 limited edition. Very likely the last 2020 I'll ever enjoy, and probably the last 4R limited I can expect for a long time. Sipping it neat tonight, it's pure bourbon magic. It's absolutely the best bourbon I've ever had. It's so rich and It hits every note perfectly. Now, coming back down to earth, it's an indulgent splurge I would gladly make at retail price, but paying secondary for this bottle is ridiculous. Don't mind me though, I think a paying hundreds or even thousands for any bottle is absurd. I really, really loved this bourbon, but I can get plenty of enjoyment out of a $24 bottle of Wild Turkey 101 shared with friends.

Four Roses limited releases have always been extremely hard to locate at retail and used to sell out while Blanton’s just sat there quietly gaining dust. Now that Blanton’s is nearly impossible to locate, the odds of getting a Four Roses at the liquor store without absurd secondary prices is increasingly impossible without a good amount of luck, unicorn hunting skills or a combination of both. Thankfully I’ve made some friends here on Distiller that are very generous with unicorn bottles. This sample comes from the extremely generous @PBMichiganWolverine , who clearly knows how to navigate the liquor store better than me in unicorn hunting. The nose is incredibly rich that starts with a welcoming blast of balanced oak and rye spice followed by butterscotch hard candy then dark chocolate covered caramel pecan clusters followed by apple pie filling, maraschino cherries, and candied orange peel that transitions to spearmint, dill, pipe tobacco, leather and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich decadent mouthfeel starting with a moderate rye spice that fades but stays in the background of butterscotch gelato topped on dark chocolate bourbon caramel pecan pie followed by freshly warmed McDonald’s apple pie, sour cherries, and mandarin orange that transitions to spearmint, dill, pipe tobacco, leather and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with a moderate rye spice in the background of dark chocolate cherry cordial, slightly burnt pie crust, apple jolly rancher, candied pecans, freshly lit pipe tobacco, leather and antique polished mahogany furniture. This is incredibly rich and decadent bourbon that brings those traditional bourbon notes in a bold and powerful experience, but the high rye spices seem to detract from the experience causing a bit of dryness and spice that overpower those bold citrus, chocolate, nuts, butterscotch and polished oak for me. If you like a rich and spicy version of bourbon, this will be incredible for you, but for me the spice throws off the balance.

Nose - butterscotch, cherry, cola, vanilla, polished oak, leather, sweet tobacco, orange, baked apple, lemon, black pepper, dill, cinnamon, nutmeg, dark chocolate, coffee, musky deodorant, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, orange zest, clove, lemon, spearmint, leather, tobacco, green pepper, dark chocolate, sweet floral notes, rich oak, cherry, brown sugar, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with butterscotch, baking spice, peppery vegetal, and oak flavors. This is the third Four Roses Small Batch release I’ve tried. The standard offering was lackluster. The Select was pretty good. I’m expecting that this will be very good, or at least that’s what the $150 MSRP and $400+ secondary prices would indicate. The nose is rich, fruity, spicy, and complex. There’s a strong butterscotch aroma, backed by citrus, red fruit, and chocolate. It’s also rather herbal with some nice high rye pepper, dill, and a note that reminds me of my grandfather’s deodorant when I was a child. The palate brings the fruity sweetness, but there’s even more spicy, herbal, minty, vegetal qualities. The finish lingers nicely with spicy, oaky flavors fading slowly. This is great whiskey. It checks all the boxes for an old, high rye, Kentucky bourbon. Personally though, I have the same issues here that I did with the other Small Batch releases. The strong herbal, vegetal attributes detract from my enjoyment, although this is surely a subjective preference problem and not an issue with the quality. A huge thank you to @PBMichiganWolverine for providing the generous sample! This is a unicorn bottle that I appreciate being able to try.

I got a 1oz sample of this for 1oz of my EHTBP Batch 10. I haven't opened my 4RSmBLE yet and wanted to see how much I would enjoy this before cracking mine open. Nose: Burnt caramel, candy cherries, ethanol burn, floral, slightly nutty, this is really sweet and at the same time like sticking your nose in a boquet of flowers . I'm just out in a field of flowers right now. argh this is so good. honey. red fruits, like strawberries and maybe something a little more tart Palate: oh my god. oh yeah. I'm definitely going to keep my bottle of this. sweet, oak, molasses. definitely some of the rye spice, classic bourbon notes, but there's more complexity that I'm not picking up just yet. It's so well done with the sweetness of caramel, then the rye spice, then the other flavors I can't put my finger on quite yet Finish: oaky, not overly impressive, nutty, a nice burn, there's some sweetness, but I think the oak is preventing me from truly experiencing it. definitely some leather 90/100 - Always on my shelf. idk if it was the complexity of the palate that kept driving me back to taste this, or the finish that I am disappointed in, but I drank this faster than I meant to. This is really easy to drink and so much fun try to identify everything that's going on here. I'll definitely try adding some water when I open my bottle, but I'm not doing it with this sample. Could be fun to play with down the road. I'm a four roses fan boy, so I figured I'd like this one, but you're always a little afraid of being disappointed. I think the complexity on this makes it a big time winner. I imagine sharing this with friends who are avid whiskey drinkers and even if they aren't a huge fan of the flavors/finish, they'll appreciate the complexity this dram has. Excited to share this and maybe even add a drop of water.

Excellent all the way through. Lovely milk chocolate in the middle