A little background

Every fall, within the flurry of special releases, Four Roses releases their Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon, which is bottled at barrel strength and different recipes/vintages each year. This year’s release contains 21 year old OBSV, 15 year old OESK, 15 year old OESV, and 11 year old OESV but does not disclose the percentages of each vintage (speaking of which, come on Four Roses). This years release carries a retail price of $140 and is bottled at 112.6 Proof.

(Tasted neat from a Teku 11.2 oz Glass)

Color

Dark Reddish Amber

Nose

Dank musty oak, salted caramel, espresso, star anise, allspice, and puff pastry. Far darker than what I’ve come to expect from these Limited Editions.

Palate

Milk chocolate malted milk balls, toffee, Caramello Bar, mellow honeydew melon. Underlying cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest. Unctuous and feels like silk on the tongue.

Finish

The older barrels really flex their muscles on the finish with vanilla tannins beginning to dominate and the dank musty oak from the nose returns and carries throughout with a waxy undertone.

In conclusion

Well there really isn’t much better than paying a premium for a bourbon and it actually exceeding your expectations, and this one does big time. While the last few years of the Four Roses LE Small Batch have been so-so, for me this one really tickles my fancy. Gone are the bright bubble gum fruit notes and in their place comes dark, dank, funky oak notes. While the specific amounts of each vintage is not disclosed, I can assumed there is a substantial amount of the 15 and 21 year old bourbons in this blend. I’m both excited and happy that Four Roses stepped outside of their comfort zone with this release and feel they may have a whiskey of the year contender on their hands.