Four Roses Single Barrel Collection Offers Expanded Look

By Richard Thomas

The club of diehard fans for Lawrenceburg’s Four Roses Distillery may be smaller than, say, Buffalo Trace, but a good argument can be made their fandom is more devoted and authentic. Four Roses gives its devotees much to latch onto, such as the brand’s almost romantic restoration story: two decades ago, it made a dramatic comeback under new ownership after decades of neglect by Seagram.

Yet the most attractive aspect of Four Roses for whiskey nerds is their system of making ten distinct bourbons, derived from five house strains of yeast and two grain mash bills. These ardent fans are always curious about each of the ten expressions, but accessing them all is difficult, sometimes impossible. In fact, for several years, only one was accessible in and of itself.

The standard Four Roses Single Barrel has always been an OBSV (meaning yeast strain V and the 35% “high rye” mash bill), including many of the company’s special releases. Sometimes other variants would appear in the Four Roses Single Barrel Limited Edition series, but that had a lifespan of just 2008 to 2015. The company released a ten recipes blending kit.

For the last decade, the only access one has to some of the other Four Roses variants as individuals is through a private barrel bottling. What this meant in practice was you had to find a retailer or a bar that ordered a barrel of the variant of interest, which could be a daunting prospect.

Four Roses has now done something to address that broad, deep shadow that obscures access to their constituent bourbons. In November 2024, they announced that in the early 2025 the Single Barrel Collection would become available. This collection includes the existing Four Roses Single Barrel of the OBSV variant, but adds OBSF, OESO and the historically popular OESK. So, both mash bills (traditional and high rye) and four of five yeast strains are represented.

So, time to round up the Four Roses Single Barrel Collection, starting with what they all have in common. All four expressions are bottled at 100 proof, and the barrels in question are chosen when they have matured for between seven and nine years. Now for the four individual expressions, starting with the existing standard version.

Single Barrel OBSV (Average Rating from multiple reviewers: B)
This formulation is based on the high rye mash bill and the V yeast strain, noted for its fruity, but light character. It comes in the standard charcoal-colored label, rather than the new Collection-only red labeled bottles.

The nose led with its earthy caramel and nougat, sweetened with boozy pears and another fruity note that sad between apricots and peaches. That aspect is undoubtedly a product of the V strain of yeast. Behind that, the high rye mash made its presence felt with cinnamon sticks and a shard of musty old wood. The flavor sat pretty firmly in benchmark bourbon territory, albeit leaning hard onto the spicy corner of that territory. In a 90 degree turn, the finish opened silky and sweet, but soon turned to lightly peppered wood as it lingered.

Single Barrel OBSF (Rating: B)
The other single barrel expression made with the high rye mash is a new one, this one using the F yeast strain noted for producing herb flavors

I found the nose full of apple and vanilla sweetness, accented by nutmeg and clove. In other worse, like a dessert dish of baked apple that saw the cook play with the spice blend. The flavor ran from there with apple cookies seasoned with vanilla, nutmeg and ginger. The finish turned to a marginal sliver of astringent oak.

Single Barrel OESO (Rating: B+)
This bottling is the one that came out with a different coloring from the others. Instead of a bright, like amber, OESO is a dull, middle amber. It comes from the traditional bourbon mash plus the heavy fruit yeast, strain O.

The scent smacks the nose with citrus fruits and red berries, backed by vanilla, candy corn and toasted graham crackers. That rolls onto the tongue as red berries, vanilla, brown sugar and a light touch of dry, spicy oak. The finish was also a light one, and sprang out from that closing dry, spicy note from the palate.

Single Barrel OESK (B+)
I am often told OESK is the fan favorite variant of Four Roses Bourbon, the one that fans loved to see appear in past limited edition single barrel bottlings, that private barrel clients most often seek out, and the company leans on for its continuing Small Batch Limited Edition releases. That is a product of their traditional mash combined with their lightly spicy yeast strain.

A sniff yields cinnamon grahams with vanilla grizzle, a non-descript fruity note, and shavings of cedar. The flavor leads with candy corn and caramel before developing aspects of quite dry oak and cinnamon sticks. The finish turns a bit tannic, like a breakfast tea.