Four Roses Small Batch Select Bourbon

The taste of cinnamon and spice with the finish of bitter oak.

Perfect sweetness could use more spice

Well goodness me, between dry January and the irritating paradox of having more work to do when working from home, I nearly forgot to drink any whiskey! Let’s fix that by getting into one of many bottles of bourbon I scored at a year end clearance sale in December. Four Roses Single Barrel is a popular bottle on this platform, and indeed, it was one of the first bourbons I ever purchased. What does it’s more premium shelf mate have in store I wonder? Wow. This is a totally different bourbon. Good different. Nose has so much. Cedar, wintergreen, rich, spicy oak, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, hint of citrus, and dare I say, some hops! One of the best bourbon noses I’ve come across. Palate is super mouth coating. There’s that non chill filtering right there. Did you even by that box of cheap chocolates in a cheesy heart box from Walgreens and fish out the caramel coated ones first because they didn’t suck like the rest? (It is almost Valentines Day...). This bourbon tastes like a proper version of those treats. Caramel with milk AND dark chocolate up front, followed by some vanilla, hazelnut, and barrel char. The rye spice shows up on the finish to coat your tongue on the way down your throat, leaving your lips tingling. Wow. Wow wow wow. First rate stuff, and at $52, a steal. The nose is amazing, and the chocolate caramel thing going on with the palate is just lovely. I forgot to mention the extra long finish with just the right amount of hug. I’m gonna have some fun with this bottle. If you like many Distiller users love the Four Roses SiB, check this one out next. Whereas that one is super fruit forward, this one retains the spice and brings out the dessert flavors. Great drams all around. Cheers!

The nose has rich chocolate smell. I’m tasting caramel and oak with spices and the finish is like a peppermint paddy. Really enjoyed this one.

The nose is punchy, with lots of alcohol coming through immediately with a slight touch of sweet green apple and a tad of rye spice. The palate follows it up as hot as well, drinking more like a 115-120 proof range more than a relatively mellow 104. I don't get the strong vanilla that others here comment about, but rather very intensely sweet and somewhat tart fruit - citrus, green apples, mint. The palate and finish turn in to a somewhat overly spicy cinnamon making it again feel much higher proof than it actually is. Despite supposedly having less rye in it and almost being the same proof, it drinks hotter than the 4R SiB. I think that has to do with age, as the SiB is closer to 10 years and this is only 6-7. I am overall not a fan of high rye bourbons, but this especially is too brash for my taste, really drinking hot and lacking nuance. Does it have a lot going on, and would it probably hold up great in cocktails? Absolutely, but that's not exactly what I look for personally. The thought that this is $10 more than the SiB is appalling. Reach for the SiB instead if you want to enjoy 4R. This doesn't suck, it's just not something that I myself will ever be buying again.