Review: Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
Review: Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
We’ve been fans of Four Roses pretty much since the beginning of Drinkhacker, and while we’ve enjoyed the standard-edition Small Batch Bourbon on many occasions, we’ve never gotten around to actually reviewing it. (Yes, we’ve covered umpteen limited edition annual releases of this whiskey and the new Small Batch Select, but never the year-round bottling.)
Today we finally fix that with a formal review of Four Roses Small Batch. This is a blend of four of the distillery’s ten recipes — OBSK, OESK, OBSO, and OESO — and it carries no formal age statement, though I’ve read it reported that Small Batch is at least 4 years old. Master distiller Brent Elliott has also been quoted as saying there’s nothing under 6 years of age in the blend.
So, here goes.
Small Batch has always come across as feminine to me, and this bottle is no exception. Lightly floral and fruit-forward, the nose evokes thoughts of sandalwood and Christmas cake instead of the usual barrel char and vanilla. A spritz of perfume leads you into the palate, which pops with notes of nutmeg, orange peel, spice cake, and cream soda, while a soothing vanilla note finally kicks in on the finish. Beautiful but soft, the finish is on the short side but oh-so-engaging throughout the experience. All the more reason to take another sip, and another…
90 proof.
A / $28 / fourrosesbourbon.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT] [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
$28
About Post Author
There are Whiskeys & whiskys. And bourbons and such. But Four Roses Small Batch is a time machine. It does not compete. It does not abide, to quote a dude. It just is something special. And, as special things go it is an acquired taste. One for the less confined; For the free thinker in all of us.
When I drink bourbon whiskey like this I think about who I would share it with. For it is special.