Somehow it's been almost a year since I've written up a Bourbon. Yikes.
A goal that's developed here is to cover the preeminent whiskey makers, a tall task but a fun one. For American whiskey, from the big boys, we've examined Elijah Craig (Heaven Hill), Blanton's and Col. E.H. Taylor (Buffalo Trace/Sazerac), Old Grand-Dad and Knob Creek (Jim Beam/Suntory), Russell's Reserve (Wild Turkey/Campari) and Bulleit (Diageo). We've also seen Angel's Envy (Bacardi), Catoctin Creek (private), Noah's Mill (Willett), Michter's (Chatham Imports), Wilderness Trail (private) and High West (Constellation Brands). I've tended to talk more about the distillery and/or company as time has gone on and may want to return to a few, namely Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace, at some point. Another fun topic would be to look out how a small number of companies and distilleries produce most of the Bourbon and Rye out there (aka the 'Bourbon tree'). But for now we'll keep filling the gaps. One of those is Four Roses.
Four Roses is an American whiskey distillery located, where else, in Kentucky, specifically Lawrenceburg. This is between Louisville and Lexington and is the same town as Wild Turkey, though they aren't in any other way connected. While the Four Roses brand name supposedly goes back to the late 1800s, there seems to be conflicting stories on its founding and I'm not going to try and look too deep where the name came from. We do know that the distillery, in operation in the same location, dates to 1910 and is contained in a Spanish Mission-style historically-designed building that looks super cool. I want to go there now. Purchased by Seagram in 1943, they ceased selling Bourbon under the brand in the United States, instead focusing on overseas markets in Europe and Asia. For some reason they starting selling Four Roses here as a cheap blended whiskey (not meeting the classification for Bourbon), and continued to do so until 1995. It wasn't until Four Roses was purchased by the Japanese Kirin Brewing Company in 2002 that Four Roses was available as a 'straight' Bourbon whiskey in the United States again. Kirin still owns the distillery and brand.
Like a lot of whiskey makers, Four Roses has seen considerable growth in recent years. Between 2015 and 2019 a massive expansion was undertaken allowing the distillery to double its production. Along with the completion of this project, a new permanent bottle was added to the distillery's lineup. Called 'Small Batch Select' it's a premium version of what I'm reviewing today. Though I keep hearing good things I wanted to start with something closer to $30 before reaching for a fancy ~$60 bottle. Besides the Small Batch and the Small Batch Select, the other permanent offerings from Four Roses are a standard (no age statement, no other name) straight Bourbon (<$25) and a single barrel expression (~$50). I choose the Small Batch over the rest because I typically prefer Bourbons a step above the cheapest option and $30-40 is a competitive range that's essential for comparisons. For full disclosure I've had the Single Barrel a few times and never seem to prefer it over similar products out there.
One more thing. A distinctive part of Four Roses is their ten Bourbon recipes that come from two different mashbills and five yeast strains. The standard version of Four Roses utilizes all ten of these recipes. The single barrels come from only one, 'Recipe 1,' a tidbit that makes sense. The Small Batch uses four of the recipes, combined to create a standard product. I wanted to bring up the ten recipes as a nod to an old post about Bulleit. For a long time, before they built their own distillery, Four Roses distillery produced the spirit that went into Bulleit. Even though they now make their own, Bulleit is still emulating the methods of Four Roses by using ten different recipes and note that on their new expressions. Some connections just can't be broken it seems.
Let's take a closer look at the Small Batch. Besides the details below the Four Roses site has a lot of good information on their process if you're interested.
ABV - 45% (90 proof)
Mash - combo of (corn/rye/malted barley) 60%/35%/5% and 75%/20%/5%
Maturation - charred new American oak
Age - at least 6 years (per website, nothing on the bottle itself)
Location - Lawrenceburg, KY
Price - ~$30 or less (MN), $40-45 (MD)
Tasting Notes:
Nose - fruitier side of Bourbon
Color - good color, slightly yellowish amber
Taste - rye spice is strong, burnt wood and sugar, less fruit than expected from nose
Finish - dry, clean and easy to drink but that rye sticks around
Final Thoughts -
Whiskey is weird. When first drinking this I thought it was boring and easily forgotten, even for its relatively inexpensive tier. But when you actually seek out the flavors it starts to shine, at least a little. The rye is appealing, as that's what I'm usually looking for in American whiskey these days, and there's a nice balance of flavors at the lower proof too. This is a bottle worth considering.
One important aspect to note. Four Roses, both the Small Batch and Single Barrel, are much more expensive where I used to shop on the east coast. While I wouldn't spend more than $40 on this (out there), at under $30 (here) it's a pretty good deal. It's one of the larger price differences I've seen since moving, if not the biggest. In the future I'll probably pick this over, for example, the 1792 Small Batch or the standard Woodford. But it still doesn't beat, I think, old standby Knob Creek. Regardless, it surprised me tonight.
Hope you're having a good one. Cheers!
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