FOUR ROSES BARREL STRENGTH SiB OESV
Barrel PN 8-1W selected by Safeway NorCal August 2022MASH BILL – 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% barley
PROOF – 107
AGE – 11 years 7 months
DISTILLERY – Four Roses
PRICE – $55 (That’s right. It was mistagged!)
WORTH BUYING? – Very much yes
In Part 1 of this series I wrote about Knob Creek. Like that brand, I’ve always associated Four Roses with the autumn months. Their standard Small Batch Select is a great go-to in that regard. But the higher rye content of their two mash bills gives any Four Roses offering an earthiness that pairs perfectly with Fall weather and harvest season foods, both savory and sweet.
Over a period of time from roughly 2018 into 2022, I went about an extended comparison of Four Roses Barrel Strength SiB store picks. The ten possible mash bill and yeast strain combinations Four Roses works with, combined with the idiosyncrasies brought about by age and warehouse placement, made for a great way to develop my understanding of my own tastes and senses.
I would open a new bottle as the previous drew toward its final ounces. The two bottles I had open at any given time varied by only one of the recipe’s elements, whether the mash bill or yeast strain. I was less strict about matching age or warehouse placement.
All in all, I formally compared fourteen bottles. In addition to expanding my understanding of tasting whiskeys generally, another outcome was to notice I favored the Four Roses E mash bill (75% corn, 20% rye, 5% barley) over the spicier B (60% corn, 35% rye, 5% barley), and the yeast strains K, O, and V over either the F or Q. I also found I prefer single barrels aged on the lowest tier of the warehouses, where lower temperatures yield lower proofs. As for age, 8 to 10 years was my sweet spot on average.
Since that comparison experiment came to its close in early 2022, I’ve only picked up a handful of SiB store picks. The current subject of this post is a particularly nifty find, given the store had inattentively tagged it as a standard Four Roses Single Barrel release, which generally goes for half the price of the store picks. I have no moral issue with benefitting from the errors of retailers, given the widespread Bourbon Boom Era practice of pirate pricing. 🏴☠️ 💸😉🥃
So here we are, the day after uncorking and two pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a simple brandy glass.
COLOR – dusty oranges that range from pale to fiery
NOSE – sweet and weathered oak, brown sugar and cinnamon, dried strawberry and raspberry, a thick vanilla-laden caramel
TASTE – that sweet oak takes the lead, carrying strong caramel decked with the dried berries, all on a sticky syrupy texture
FINISH – the sticky syrupy texture lingers into the finish, with strong oak, the dried red berries, a slick of caramel coating it all
OVERALL – oaky, rustic, and sweet
This bottle sure is pushing the oak. But it’s a sweet oak, weathered by time, strong without insisting. It pairs nicely with the prevalent red berry notes, which offer their own rustic sweetness alongside the caramel and brown sugar.
Further sipping, and I start to pull out a cozy coffee note on the taste and finish, adding more complexity to the caramel and oak combo.
This is solid Kentucky bourbon. Rustic, not rough. Savory, yet still sweet enough to achieve a lovely balance. I’d be curious what it tasted like at the 10-year mark. Here at 11 years 7 months, it tempts going overboard on the oak tannins for me. But it doesn’t cross that line, so, I dig it.
I don’t really buy Four Roses Barrel Strength SiB store picks anymore. The last time was 2023 I think. They’re typically priced from $115 up to $150 now, and there’s just too much to choose from in that price range these days. But at the $55 I paid for this bottle, I’m thrilled. Maybe Four Roses and the retailers who still go for their private selections will eventually accept that the Bourbon Boom Era is over, and come back down to earth. At $75 I’d still pause. But I’d be more likely to keep a bottle or two on hand.
This question of value feels a bit like spitting off a ledge into the ocean. Nothing will come of it. I was spoiled early on in my whiskey journey by so many $65 Four Roses store picks, and back then I thought that was pricy! Sipping this mistagged OESV has me a bit nostalgic for that more bountiful time.
Meanwhile the sun is getting ready to set, so I’ll take what’s left in my glass out back and enjoy it.
Cheers!
