LouisianaLonghorn
Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
December 31, 2019 (edited September 13, 2020)
Final review for 2019. This bottle looked sad and nearly depleted in my cabinet, so I put it out of its misery last night.
Re-review at bottle kill.
Purchased: 2/2/2019
Bottle Kill: 12/31/2019
I gave this one glowing reviews when I first reviewed it, and again when I re-reviewed it last year. Since that time, I've gotten into cask strength bourbon, as well as explored more of the Old Forester, Wild Turkey, and Heaven Hill products. This is still a quality bourbon, but not the five star rating I've given it before; perhaps indicative of an expanded or changed palate, having experienced many fine whiskies in the past year.
I've found that bourbons that are open too long tend to oxidize in the bottle more than Scotch. It may have to do with the age of the spirit, and bourbon's relative youth compared to the 12-18 years most Scotches go through. Doesn't give me hope for the folks experimenting with "rapid aging technology". Young spirit is young spirit. This particular bottle didn't take air well, and the oxidization ended up accentuating the spikier rye notes, resulting in a lip-numbing menthol feel on the finish. Still all the classic bourbon notes, but spikier, not as rounded as I remember them being when I first opened the bottle.
Ultimately, I continue to search for a bottle that remains consistent from start to finish. I've had that luck with several Scotches, but yet to find a bourbon that holds up over time. Sill a quality drop mind you, just not the five star pour I once believed it to be.
Thus ends my biggest whisky year yet. I tried (and bought) more this year than all my other drinking years combined. You decide whether that's a good thing or not...
I received several nice bottles for Christmas, with reviews coming in the near future. Here's to a great 2020 full of quality new drams. Cheers!
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@Soba45 🙃
nice review....I agree with Scotch. I'm intentionally depleting my bar of bourbon in favor of mid to high end scotch. I can't find a bourbon to compare....
@WhiskeyLonghorn Yeah pity I can't buy a bunch and ship them over to you!
@Soba45 perhaps so... Either way, glad I was able to score a 2017 bottling. I’m so jealous you can get it for $100 in NZ!
@WhiskeyLonghorn Hmm yeah odd given he sold prior to 2018. They will still be Billy Walker produced if it says it i guess. The switch appears to have occurred partway through 2019. Maybe he had lined up the bottling a fair way in advance before he left?
@Soba45 I was looking at some of the 2019 bottling last week. GD is still marketing them with Billy Walker’s signature rather than RB. A curious choice...
@WhiskeyLonghorn Nice! I just cracked open a bottle last nice and without letting it breathe for a second it was awesome. Can't wait until it opens up. There is a place with 50 bottles of the old stuff for $100 USD in nz so I'm thinking of stocking up with a couple more. I see the 18 is back on the market in UK after several months absence which means its the newer batches from Rachel Barrie which I don't have any confidence in!
@Milliardo glad to know I’m not the only one with this problem. I wonder if there’s variations, like high ABV or some of the older age statement bourbons like you recently reviewed. The journey continues. Happy 202”. Enjoyed your month of reviews.
@Soba45 I’m already seeing some lovely variations in my GD 18 bottle since I got it past the neck. Wonderful complexity. Like liquid fudge! Happy 2020!
What’s spooky to me about oxidation and bourbon is twice in 2019 I opened a “sealed” bottle of bourbon that was already oxidized beyond the point of drinkable. One was Elijah Craig Small Batch and one was Old 55. I ended up pouring those bottles out, and I later had a drink of each from different bottles and they were fine. This always makes me fearful when leaving a bourbon on the shelf for a special occasion. In general, older distilleries do better about this than newer, but the oxidation threat to bourbon is a real problem. I too have never had this happen to any scotch, not even Kirkland brand at Costco, opened and shelved for over a year. My bourbon buddies are tossing around the idea of using a Coravin wine sealer to preserve bourbon they don’t intend to kill outright. One guy even thought about vacuum sealing in those freezer storage bags. Proof that the struggle is real!
Nice review and I agree, the old quality stuff not only lasts for ages it changes profile in different but still great ways e.g. Glendronach 18. Happy 2020!