Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon (2020)

It was great. And then it opened up and lost some of its luster similar to 2018. It was exceptional out the gate. Big bummer for me.

Nice mellow taste. Smooth with a touch of heat.

Nose: It is taffy apple! No better way to put it, and it excites me. Green apple, caramel, and some nuts. There is a slight raisin note but this is taffy apple for bourbon lovers! Palate: green apple, spices like nutmeg, and allspice really pop. They give way to creamy caramel. The mouthfeel is amazing. If there is a flaw it might be some ethanol, but quickly tamped down with a few drops to release ripe yellow raisins. Finish: The finish reveals some older whiskey and thus comes the balance. I have found the oak! It is drying, but still has that nice ,full, buttery body and crispiness! Overall- 2019 is a tad better imho, but this is well worth the price for admission! Where 2019 is more layered, 2020 is in your face as to its intentions I can see why some think it as singular, but simple is what a great bourbon really sometimes is- it is fatty, sweet, spicy, fruity, has a kick- ticks all of the boxes. It IS what bourbon should set out to be. 2019 was a bit more complex and staged the recipes within. If you had patience, you could sip the some of its parts. 2020 IS the some of its parts!

This is what bourbon should taste like. A+++

So I grabbed this yesterday for 170 + I had to spend 1k at the store for the right. Thankfully a store I spend money at so I just grabbed a four gate batch 1 and got this to go with it. Win win? Well lets see. Nose - rich sweetness and yet thin? Classic four roses well aged notes, well aged of course for 2020 where 10 years is well aged, not 2000 where 15-18 was normal. The more I dig in I get OLD whisky but burnt and over charred oak, but wonderful butter sweet and brown sugar and baking spices and all that wonderful four roses good notes. The nose is very nice and good but kinda to be honest the oak is old but the sweetness is young and that is fine on the nose. Actually, I get young and old here...it's weird, a part of me before I read the age statements thought this didn't have anything over 15 years, but there is that over oaked note. Taste - So the flavor is that of a nice four roses where I get spice and brown sugar BIG TIME! But the more I dig the more I get over oaked notes like an EC18 mixed in with rich rich four roses. There's a wonderful sweetness up front but it's not really topping a sam houston 14 year in terms of apples and cinnamon. So yeah I find this as a wonderful four roses pick or something, the problem is this is the 170 dollar LE where they blend it with 12+ year old bourbons. This is 12-19 year old boubon and my only "old" note is over oaked EC18....that sucks! I did a blind today with this in it with the 2019, a 10 year single cask, and an old carter batch 5 (I'm on record as not a fan). Anyway I had this 3rd behind the single barrel at 10 years and 3 months. This is really nice but it's not up to their standards. So I'm between a 2.75 and a 3.0. I gave the 2019 a 4.25, So maybe this is a 3.25. Yeah I'm upping my gut score because the complexity here is crazy but guys....this is over oaked on one of the barrels and it isn't helping. They missed the mark but didn't miss as this is still wonderful stuff that for 100 bucks I'd grab 2 of.

Floral Nose Vanilla, cinnamon, and cherry

Stellar. Closest thing to perfect that a whiskey can get.

Pretty solid. Distiller review nails it