aacharbonneau
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
July 11, 2019 (edited August 10, 2019)
Nose: Corn dust and dandelion - that unmistakable smell of pulling dandelion weeds in the garden. A slight fruitiness, like light cherries and soft red apples. A bit of ethanol burn and much less spice than I expected. Much more vanilla on the nose the second time in, like some buttercream frosting.
Palate: Thick and sweet at first, followed by a burst of spices. Lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, subtle peppery notes, and more as is roils on the tongue. Behind that is a sort of floral creaminess that I can't quite describe. Second time around I find a lot more oak influence, like chewing on a spicy toothpick.
Finish: Medium length, dry mid tongue and mouthwatering at the same time. Lots of corn and honey sweetness as well as some oak and tanned leather.
Conclusion: I am impressed, I'd take this over the standard Four Roses Single Barrels I've had. That floral base throughout is phenomenal - I'm a sucker for floral whiskies and this has got it. The mouthfeel on this sticks out as one of the defining characteristics, just so thick and silky smooth. I also didn't expect the explosion of spice on that palate since there was no hint of it on the nose. Definitely a bottle to buy again.
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Well I honestly didn’t pick it up until you mentioned it. It’s not something you’d expect in a whiskey in fact I even had Mrs Old Dude give it a whiff lol. Rarely do I read reviews prior to giving a review myself simply for objective reasons, but dang man it’s there on the nose if you look for it.
@OldDude I'm glad I'm not the only one! I looked back at the review and thought I was a bit crazy for having said that, but it's one of those smells that's just so unique and engrained in my memory from so many hours weeding a garden that my nose/brain just latched on to it! I'm not sure I can say I've gotten that from any other whiskies, but I'd love to find more!
Dandelion...? Challenge accepted. Had it on hand, poured it and dang if it wasn’t oh so slightly there. Had to search for it but this old nose finally picked it up. Well done -
Great review!
@aacharbonneau haha you’re tempting me to go have a taste! It’s a good one.
@bigwhitemike that's a really good way to put it! It's a bourbon with a little more uniqueness than a "standard". That combination of floral and Woody is killer!
4RSmB is a favorite. It’s weird to taste side by side with other bourbons because it’s just so different. Light, elegant, and so, so floral but it still stirs the pot with dashes if oak, pepper, and baking spice. Cheers!