Whiskey Advent Calendar Tasting: Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
This is part of my series on tasting notes from the 2021 Drinks By The Dram Bourbon Advent Calendar.
Whiskey for December 11th, 2021: Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
The distillery
Four Roses Distillery is an American Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky but is owned by Kirin Company, a Japanese holding company. Four Roses has an old history and was at one point one of the top selling bourbons in the US until Seagram bought the brand and discontinued its sale here. In 2002, Kirin bought the brand and brought it back to the US under Master Distiller Jim Rutledge. Jim is a bit of a legend in the bourbon world.
Four Roses Distillery exclusively makes bourbon and only under the "Four Roses" brand name. They have a few variants that come from blending various mash bills and yeasts together. The classic four roses is 2 mashbills pitched with 5 different yeasts each, so 10 distinct whiskeys make up the blend. They have a nice outline on their website.
The whiskey
Tonight's whiskey is the Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon. Unlike the classic Four Roses Bourbon, this is not a blend and is made from one mash bill with one type of yeast. In this case it's their fruity yeast with the following mash bill:
60% Corn | 35% Rye | 5% Malted Barley
This would be a "rye forward" mash bill. I've drank a resonable amount of four roses over the years and I like their classic quite well. The single barrel has actually been a little inconsistent, so I'll be interested to see how this one goes.
Look
Golden russet with light coloring the sparkles well in the light. It forms sparse thin legs that are extremely slow to run.
Nose
This whiskey has a strong fruity nose to it, but it's muted. Half-way between dried fruit and fresh berries. There's brown sugar and cinnamon lurking in the background and rye and oak around the edges. It's subtle and gentle with very little alcohol on the nose.
Taste
The tastes starts and ends with caramel sweetness. It then opens up to cinnamon, dried fruit, and hefty rye spice that all bloom and fill the mouth as the alcohol burn blossoms. It warms nicely on the way down and then fades out with oak followed by cinnamon lingering in the finish.
After water
The nose stays largely the same after a little dilution. You get a little bit of grass coming through from the rye that was largely hidden before. Everything stays nice and subtle and fuzzy around the edges.
Water tames the alcohol burn a lot, which is unsurprising given the high proof (100 proof/50% abv). This lets the brown sugar, cinnamon, and fruit come through the whole way. The rye spice still makes a show in the middle and the finish is still sweet and cinnamony. There's a little astringency that shows up in the middle of the drink now. It might just be the hint of smoke trying to poke through, or just a way the rye is manifesting.
Summary
I have always enjoyed Four Roses, and I've drank my fair share of it. Four Roses Single Barrel is a subtle but delicious bourbon that, while I've had it be a little inconsistent, this sample is right up my alley for what I look for in a "classic" bourbon that I don't want to also punch me in the face. I recommend at least trying it, but if the 46 dollar price tag isn't too much, I think you'll find it's easy drinking and quiet companion. It might be too meek for a cocktail that isn't mostly bourbon though, so skip it for that.