Distillery: Four Roses
Proof: 100
Age: NAS
Mashbill: 60% Corn, 35% Rye, 5% Malted Barley with Four Roses's yeast strain 'V' (Recipe OBSV)
BACKGROUND: Four Roses uses 2 different mashbills and 5 different yeast strains to create 10 unique bourbon recipes. Their standard 100 proof single barrel is always OBSV, and consequently if it is a Four Roses Single Barrel and 100 proof then it must be OBSV. This single barrel came from warehouse RN and barrel number 4-2k. The strain of yeast used is version “V” which is described as having notes of delicate fruit, tons of spice, and a creaminess. Four Roses also has private selections and a limited annual release of their mash bills at barrel proof that are always highly sought after and for good reason.
NOSE: Four Roses OBSV Single Barrel has a classic bourbon nose! Vanilla, brown sugar, baking spice, and light hints of cherry which I would attribute to the yeast strain "V". It is a lighter nose but still perfect for your every day bourbon. (21/25)
PALATE: Four Roses OBSV is spicy! The high rye mashbill shines here. As soon as the whiskey touched my lips there was a burst of rye spice followed by some sweeter notes of honey, brown sugar, and some floral notes. It is a pretty straight forward and one dimensional whiskey and has some bitterness to it at the end. (34/40)
FINISH: Four Roses OBSV has a nice medium-long finish full of classic bourbon notes. Similar to the nose and palate, the finish has lots of rye spice, some oak, and bitter dark chocolate that threw us off. (21/25)
VALUE: Four Roses Single Barrel has a SRP of $40 which is pretty standard for your everyday whiskey. I don't have a problem with the price on this one at all. (8/10)
Overall: 84/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Four Roses Single Barrel is definitely a great bargain bourbon whiskey. It is full of classic high rye bourbon notes and is very enjoyable to sip on as a daily drinker or in a cocktail. Four Roses Single Barrel is a great introductory whiskey or daily sipping whiskey that anyone can enjoy.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Russell's Reserve 10 Year
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Heritage Distilling Small Batch Bourbon
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Four Roses Small Batch
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
