Revisiting: The Four Roses OBSF Recipe

FOUR ROSES BARREL STRENGTH SiB OBSF
Barrel VW-8-1D selected by Royal Liquors (2023)

MASH BILL – 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley

PROOF – 109

AGE – 11 years 4 months

DISTILLERY – Four Roses Distillery

PRICE – It was a gift (normally $115 before tax)

WORTH BUYING? – Had I, yes!

Uncorked and tasted in The Year of No Buying (The what? 🔗 here.)

The only way to try the famous ten Four Roses recipes on their own, not blended together into the brand’s standard releases, is through the single barrel program, whereby retailers purchase a barrel to sell exclusively at their store. From 2017 to 2022, I slowly made my way through an extended recipe comparison, comprised of various store-picked Four Roses Barrel Strength Single Barrel releases. As one bottle drew toward its end, I’d crack the next and try them side by side. The two bottles I had open at any given time would vary by only one of the recipe’s elements, whether the mash bill or yeast strain.

I enjoyed this years-long comparison process. It contributed a good deal toward refining my understanding of both my palate and the whiskey tasting process in general. Over time, I found I favored the lower-proof releases, typical of bourbons aged on the lower tiers of the one-story Four Roses warehouses, where temperatures are cooler. I also found the OESK, OESV, and OESO recipes appealed to me most overall, and that an age of 8 to 10 years seemed to be my sweet spot.

When I posted my last write-up in that comparison series, I truly thought it would be my last. Prices on these single barrels were ever on the rise, with some shops even enforcing bundle deals on top of the higher tag. Four Roses SiBs no longer seemed worth it to me, unless I knew from my extensive studies that I’d be very likely to enjoy a given bottle based on its specs.

But in early 2023 I came upon a local shop’s pick of the OESQ recipe. Even before my protracted studies, I’d already determined the Q’s weren’t my jam. Likewise the F bottles. But when I saw this OESQ offered at a decent price by 2023 standards, and with no bundle attached, I went for it. Tastes change, right? Maybe I’d respond to a Q bottle differently after a handful of years?

Indeed, I liked it much more than I thought I might. Featuring a through-line of baked banana running beneath a bouquet of nice oak and rye spice notes, it leaned more floral and dry than sweet overall. But I enjoyed it. Not enough to compel me to seek out more Q bottles in the future. But it was excellent bourbon, and nice to recognize a change in my palate.

That experience prompted me to keep my eyes open for an F recipe bottle should one come along. Maybe my tastes around that recipe would also have shifted? But a month or so later, my Year of No Buying set in, so, I didn’t look very hard…

And then in December 2023, a very kind acquaintance gifted me this pick from Royal Liquors, a longtime San Francisco family bottle shop. Owner Sammy Suleiman has indicated this would likely be his last barrel pick, as he may soon move on from the liquor store business. Between the three-tier mafia, the unicorn-hunting taters and haters growing evermore entitled, and the city of San Francisco’s seeming disinterest in small locally-owned businesses, one can hardly blame him.

So if this Four Roses OBSF indeed proves to be the last Royal Liquors barrel pick selected by Sammy’s keen palate, that alone will make it a special bottle. I’ve enjoyed other great picks from Royal Liquors. The first was also a Four Roses, a wonderful OESK from 2016. More recently, a 2021 Buffalo Trace pick offered a fine balance of dry and creamy qualities in an antique, rustic bourbon experience. And so I was quite grateful for the gift of this bottle, and to not have missed out on Sammy’s swan song selection.

So here we are, a little over two weeks after uncorking and a handful of pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.

COLOR – alternately misty, murky, and smoldering autumn oranges, with fiery and brassy glints

NOSE – dry, with cinnamon baked into a cookie, subtle baked banana, subtle ginger-cookie, sweet and dusty oak layered under everything, a bit of pulpy orange zest, milk chocolate leaning dark

TASTE – immediately tangier than the drier nose, with a subtly syrupy texture, and the sweet orange pulp, caramel, and oak in a lovely and teetering balance, which settles in on the oak toward the end

FINISH – dry like the nose, with a mint-like heat, a dusting of black pepper scattered across the oak notes, some lingering vanilla-caramel, a bit of the milk chocolate and just a subtle twist of the orange zest

OVERALL – an oak-driven bourbon accented nicely with its fruit and candy notes

The first few pours of this bottle actually reminded me very much of that OESQ I recently enjoyed, specifically with regard to the baked banana note. But as this bottle has aired out, that note has receded from the finish and taste to hover only in the nose. I presume this is a shared note between the F and Q yeasts, as it’s not something I remember ever picking up with any prominence in the K, O, or V yeast single barrels I’ve had.

In any case, what has been consistent with this bottle so far is its foundation of sweet and dusty oak. Though it might be too oaky and dry for some, for me it’s lovely and comforting. The nose and finish start and end things with that dryness oak tends to impart, while in the middle the taste splashes things with pops of orange and a tangy and syrupy texture. And then that minty-cool heat adds a bit of herbal liveliness while one contemplates the lingering finish.

I suppose I should also try an OESF, to touch base with how I respond to the E mash bill in combo with the F yeast, before drawing any new conclusions about where the F recipe variations fall on my personal scale of enjoyment. Although I wouldn’t say this particular OBSF bottling will sway me to pick up more OB$F releases in the future, I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to try it. It’s excellent. Still, going forward I’ll spend my money on sweeter Four Roses variations.

But of course I didn’t spend my money on this bottle. It was a gift. This fact is a part of the experience. Also, this release is potentially the final barrel pick from Royal Liquors, a store I’ve admired and appreciated throughout my whiskey journey. This fact is an aspect of the experience as well.

I do not share the prevalent assertion that one should assess a whiskey blindly, on momentary personal taste alone. There is a logic to that, of course. And blind tastings can be surprising and fun. But the fact is, most of the time we aren’t tasting our whiskey blind. We know what it is. We know how much it costs. We know if it was a gift, from whom, and for what reason. We might know the story behind the distillery or some other historically or sociopolitically significant aspect related to it. All of this is the experience. All of this is the whiskey.

So cheers to Royal Liquors. Cheers to Sammy Suleiman. I hope in the end, when that end comes, it will have been a good run for you, Sammy, despite the ups and downs of the liquor racket. In raising a glass to you with this dry, sweet, oaky bourbon you picked, I toast your dry wit, your sweet kindness, and your solid integrity—as steadfast as oak.

Salut!