Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey - 70cl - 45% ABV - Award-Winning Smooth and Mellow Bourbon Whisky - Higher Rye Content Than Most Bourbon's

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In this article, we’ll compare and contrast Four Roses Single Barrel vs Four Roses Small Batch Select to help you decide which one is the best fit for you. Mashbill: Blend of 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley + 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Bourbon that is stored in charred new oak for at least two years. It can be a blend of multiple straight bourbon whiskeys as long as they're all produced in the same state. In 2013 (the 125th Anniversary Release), the bottle count effectively doubled from an average of 4,000 bottles to 8,000 bottles. It then jumped to over 12,000 bottles the following year and has been climbing ever since (with the exception of 2016 where it inexplicably dipped to 9,258 bottles).

Sour Mash: A fermentation technique used by almost all bourbon distillers that employs pre-fermented mash from a previous distilling in a new mash. The sour mash prevents wild yeast from entering the mash and causing infections. If you’re familiar with recipes, you’ll realize that these are four of the most desirable and hardest to find single barrel recipes among enthusiasts. If you’re looking for a light tipple, this bourbon is perfect. Its delicate sweetness and spiciness combine perfectly with brie or camembert cheese, cured meats like prosciutto or salami as well as fresh fruit salads. The complexity of the flavours make it stand out when paired with the right foods!Nose: Holy moly, this dram smells super-old. The specs say that the 25 year old barrels only make up 5% of the total blend, but it smells more like 50%. Bountiful aromas of antiqued wood, orange-scented Pledge wood cleaner and leather upholstery drip with maturity. Great balanced, medium body and mostly a smooth ride with only a minor rough patch or two as it cruises over the palate. But the main question is will all of that actually translate onto the palate with this batch? Let’s find out. I’m especially excited about this batch because the 25 year old component is oldest bourbon ever used in the Small Batch Limited Edition. Here’s a shoutout to JC for making this review possible. As usual, I sampled this neat in a glencairn. Tasting Notes Palate: Light and sweet on the tongue with a nice spread of red fruits and cinnamon. It’s fun to observe the playful effect of rye spice at this lower proof as it brings up mint and a hint of other herbs if you look hard enough.

Bourbon, the Great American Spirit, is not as simple as one might think. Despite the increasing demand (and price) for much-hyped bottles, bourbon is an every-person drink. At the end of the day, it's a blue-collar spirit, made by thirsty farmers, for thirsty farmers. But underneath its fundamentals swims a deep sea of factors — additional rules and regulations, hype machines and deceptive marketing, false myths and a boom that began in 2008 and is still going strong today — that make bourbon more complex than it seems. For a truly tantalizing pairing, try the Single Barrel whisky with smoked meats. The smokiness of both elements perfectly combine and will make your taste buds sing. From succulent brisket to juicy pork ribs or even fragrant smoked salmon – it’s sure to be a hit at any dinner table. When it comes to the finest whiskies, Four Roses is something that springs to mind for many aficionados. This iconic American whisky brand has won countless hearts with its supreme quality and unmistakable characteristics; a perfect recommendation for any connoisseur looking for premium whisky.Briefly, if you’re new to Four Roses, it’s worth knowing about their 10 unique bourbon recipes. Very simply, they use 2 signature mash bill ratios which are used with 5 different yeast strains. This produces their 10 bourbon recipes which are used to concoct their whiskies. Most famous for its signature yellow label, today we’ll take a look at Four Roses’ Small Batch Select and Single Barrel expressions. When selecting either bourbon from their core offerings, it’s important to consider flavour, the complexity of taste, and of course the price tag. Whilst they share similar base ingredients, each has distinct differences in distillation techniques and barrel ageing that really set them apart. High Rye: A bourbon with a higher than normal percentage of mash bill made up of rye (as opposed to using more corn, wheat, or barley, the other main grains used in bourbon mash). This tends to produce spicier flavors in the bourbon. Wheated: A bourbon with a higher than normal percentage of mash bill made up of wheat (the main grain remains corn). This tends to produce a softer, less spicy whiskey.

Sweetness comes by way of wildflower honey and toffee (where was the honey on the palate?). Yes, some dry tannic notes remain like dry oak and leather, but they’re very well contained. This finish lasts for days Score: 9.5/10 While Yellow Label is bottled at 80 proof and contains all 10 recipes that Four Roses produces, Small Batch contains only 4 recipes: OBSK, OESK, OBSO and OESO. Four Roses Small Batch blends barrels of OBSO, OBSK, OESO and OESK together into a rich and velvety liquid that, like everything else Four Roses puts out, is magnificent. If you’re not sure what all of those esoteric letters mean visit Four Roses to see all 10 bourbon recipes Four Roses uses. Though all you really need to know is that this is a truly delicious blend of Four Roses characteristics and that it being a small batch blend, can change a bit from bottling to bottling over the years. Not nearly as much as the single barrel bourbons do, but if you keep drinking them for long enough (or if you keep notes… or a blog) you’ll probably notice some variation. We wanted to add something to our lineup that brings that pure experience you get with a non-chill filtered Bourbon, while also showcasing some of our recipes and flavors that aren’t as forward facing in our other existing bottles.During the 1950s, Seagram’s made a strategic decision to end the distribution of Four Roses whiskey in the United States due to diminishing interest in this type of spirit. Surprisingly enough, despite waning popularity domestically – other countries such as Japan continued strong demand for Four Roses bourbon. Four Roses use these three ingredients, but use two different mashbill recipes instead of just one. Each recipe uses different ratios of corn, rye and malted barley. For ease, these are called Mashbill E and Mashbill B. See below. Maybe a reason they’re in such short demand is that a majority of the barrels get redirected to make up the contents of Small Batch before they ever reach 8+ years of age. Today we finally fix that with a formal review of Four Roses Small Batch. This is a blend of four of the distillery’s ten recipes — OBSK, OESK, OBSO, and OESO — and it carries no formal age statement, though I’ve read it reported that Small Batch is at least 4 years old. Master distiller Brent Elliott has also been quoted as saying there’s nothing under 6 years of age in the blend. Bottled in Bond: Under the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, a bottled-in-bond spirit must be produced by one distillery in the same distilling season, then aged under federal supervision and cut and bottled at 100 proof.

The main differences between Four Roses Single Barrel vs Four Roses Small Batch Select are fairly distinct, coming down to their mash bills, proof, maturation and filtration process. Four Roses Small Batch is made with an average of 250 barrels per batch with a combination of four recipes (two different mashbills with two different yeasts in each). The bourbons blended are anywhere from 6-8 years old. Four Roses Small Batch is extremely competent at what it’s designed to do at this price point. I was imagining that at only 90 proof that most flavors would get washed away. But my tongue still had an easy time distinguishing each note. Spice! Oak, dark fruit, dark sweets, waxy cocoa, roasted nuts, dried corn and some minerally/metallic notes.Small Batch: A subjective term signaling a bourbon made using a select number of barrels or recipes in a blended bottling. If you’re new to whisky (or bourbon) this section explains the unique aspect of Four Roses’ approach to making their spirits. The Single Barrel is by nature, less complex due to it’s single recipe, single cask maturation. But as far a single-barrel bourbons go, this has to be one of the best we’ve tried. With a lengthy ageing period of eight years, it offers bold flavours of toffee, dried cherries, and oak.If you’re looking to try your first single-barrel bourbon, this would be a magnificent entry to the category. As one of the oldest single-barrel bourbons on the market, this would make an excellent foray into this style of American whiskey. With its extraordinary success, this whiskey has earned the respect and admiration of whisky connoisseurs and critics everywhere. In 2017 it was declared as “Best in Class” by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, followed by 2018’s esteemed honor of receiving the “Chairman’s Trophy” at that same event. Furthermore, it scored a remarkable 91 points from Beverage Testing Institute along with being named one of Whiskey Advocate’s Best Bourbons for 2018!