Four Roses Private Selection Single Barrel Barrel Strength Bourbon (OESK)

Lots of vanilla and spice then smooth finish

Super smooth and balanced with a nice warmth. Excellent. Notes: pour in a flight at the Bluegrass Tavern, Lexington KY, Jul ‘21

Caramel on the nose. Brown sugar & dessert taste. Peanut butter? Medium and smooth finish.

This one is McScrooge pick. Nose is sweet with some dusty wood notes. Lots of honey sweetness and baking spices. Surprised there is not as much oak in the taste. Nice medium finish with some pepper bite left on my tongue.

OESK (10 yr 3 mo 115.6 proof) vs OBSK (9 yr 10 mo 110 proof) matchup being recorded here. Never had either before this. OESK nose: light and corny. Some caramel as well. Looks like classic bourbon notes. OBSK nose: spicy initially. Little more rye on this nose. OESK palate: rich. Coats the mouth immediately. Very spicy, very bold. Some caramel on the second go too. OBSK palate: a lot more caramel on the first go. Spice is definitely there but not as punchy as the OESK. Orangy and zesty too on the last few sips. OESK finish: very long and spicy. OBSK finish: pretty long and spicy finish but not quite as long as the OESK finish. Overall: not too bad but not my favorite of the recipes so far. Both of these are fairly the same. I think the higher proof brings out the flavors a bit more with this recipe. Both sweetness and spice so I’ll have to choose the OESK.