A little background

It took Four Roses a few years to get it off the ground, but they noticed the trend. A trend that whiskey drinkers want more out of their whiskey. They decided to act on it and add the Small Batch Select to their main line of products in early 2019, making it the first permanent addition to their product line in 12 years. The Small Batch Select is a blend of 6 of the 10 Four Roses recipes, OBSV, OBSF, OBSK, OESF, OESV, and OESK. Each with an age between 6 and 7-years. Small Batch Select is bottled at 104 Proof and Non-Chill Filtered, with limited distribution initially that will increase with time. Retail price of $55-$60.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn.)

Color

Medium Copper

Nose

Orange peel, canned peach syrup, and green apple jump out of the glass with an underlying cinnamon and black tea note.

Palate

Cinnamon graham crackers, peach cobbler, and vanilla cream working together to create quite the decadent flavor profile that one can really chew on.

Finish

Lingering coconut and dark chocolate. Cinnamon spice swells towards the end that creates a nice bookend to the experience.

In closing

If you are a fan of the herbal Four Roses F yeast strain like I am then I believe you will enjoy the Small Batch Select. The red fruit sweetness that some really enjoy from the brand is close to absent in this blend so take that into consideration before you buy. While I tip my hat to Four Roses for listening to the people, I must say I wish the pricing was $5-$10 lower. Regardless, this is a fine whiskey and a fantastic addition to the Four Roses portfolio.