BACKGROUND: Single Barrel is one of the four expressions in the Four Roses line and joins the traditional yellow label, small batch, and small batch select offerings on liquor store shelves. The distillery also produces “limited edition” versions of most of its expressions, but they are both pricey and difficult to obtain. Four Roses utilizes two mash bills and five yeast strains to produce ten different bourbon recipes, and each recipe is denoted by its own letter code. All Four Roses Single Barrels use the OBSV recipe, which can be decoded as follows: O = produced at the Four Roses Distillery B = made with the “B” mash bill comprised of 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley S = straight bourbon whiskey V = made with the “V” yeast strain, which the company has said produces bourbon with “delicate fruit” flavors. Because all of the company’s products are made at the Four Roses Distillery and all are aged at least two years, which earns the “straight” designation, only the second and fourth letters in the recipe code change from bourbon expression to bourbon expression. Four Roses also uses an “E” mash bill, which is 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% barley, on some of its bourbons. The other four yeast strains include “O,” which produces “rich fruit” flavors, “F,” which produces “herbal notes,” “K,” which produces “slight spice,” and “Q,” which results in bourbons with “floral essence.” The 100-proof Single Barrel retails for $43.99, and though it carries no age statement, a Four Roses press release that I located said the bourbon is “at least” seven-years-old. I sampled Barrel No. 17-1F from Warehouse No. KE. NOSE: The nose offers the scent of buttered corn, which seems unusual for such a high-rye mash bill, but it is dominated by strong chocolate covered cherry notes that seem as if I had just opened a box of the Queen Anne Chocolate Covered Cordial Cherries that my parents routinely gifted me at Christmas as a child. PALATE: The chocolate covered cherry nose converts into an all-enveloping flavor of the same, although a bit of citrus may be detected toward the back of the tongue. It is a decidedly sweet and pleasant palate. FINISH: Heat rises on the long finish as if someone is slowly turning up the burner on a gas range, and then it subsides just as slowly. Oak makes an appearance in the finish along with an aggressive mint flavor, which I often notice in high-rye bourbons. FINAL ASSESSMENT: Four Roses Single Barrel offers a wonderful mixture of sweetness on the palate and spiciness on the finish. It is like riding a wave of flavor that suddenly takes an unexpected turn. I have often sampled single barrel offerings by various distilleries, but none have proven as initially sweet as this Four Roses version. The company obviously knows what it is doing and has its mash bill/yeast strain recipes dialed in. This experience makes me want to sample more of the Four Roses recipes that are on the market. Given its ready availability, excellent taste, and middle-of-the-road price, I feel that the Four Roses Single Barrel offers excellent value and was money well-spent.