Four Roses Small Batch Select Bourbon Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

Earlier this month, Four Roses launched its first permanent brand extension (i.e. added a new whiskey into regular release) in 12 years, Four Roses Small Batch Select. It went on sale at the distillery on April 17th, although it may not have reached bar and store shelves in your area yet.

Small Batch Select draws on six of Four Roses’ famed ten recipes (five distinct yeast strains X two mash bills), OBSV, OBSK, OBSF, OESV, OESK and OESF. Each source of stock is at least six years old. It’s the first bourbon to so prominently feature the “F” yeast. The blend is then bottled, with no chill filtration, at 104 proof.

The existing, “not select” Four Roses Small Batch draws on only four recipes—OBSK, OESK, OBSO, and OESO—and is bottled at 90 proof, but also draws on whiskeys aged a minimum of six years. So whereas Four Roses Select leans on K and F distillates (K being spicy and big bodied, with F being herbal), the regular Small batch leans on K and O (O promoting a rosy flavor). In case you’re wondering, the only Four Roses product that draws on all then distillates made at the distillery is their flagship, Four Roses “Yellow Label.”

The Bourbon
The whiskey takes on a dulled copper look in the glass, perhaps because the higher proof and absence of chill filtration have made it a viscous liquid. The scent is quite strong, full of cinnamon graham crackers and ginger, plus citrus blossoms and a hint of dill, with dry, toasty wood coming up from the bottom.

That nose suggested a quite complex flavor was waiting upon a second sip, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, the palate was more in tune with the typical and expected bourbon flavor profile, albeit that of a full-bodied, spicy bourbon. Brown sugar and vanilla were strongly accented by ginger and that dry, toasty oak that wafted up in the nose. That carried over into a dry, toasty finish.

If you like your bourbon rich and spicy, this one is for you.

The Price
This new Four Roses bourbon will fetch $55 to $60, once it comes into wider distribution.