Up today is my six in a series of reviews for all 10 recipes in the Four Roses Single Barrel lineup. I started with the lower rye OEs in order to work my way up to the higher rye OBs. I was able to time it just right so that my first review of an OB coincides with the /r/bourbon community review which is the forum who selected this bottle.
63.2% ABV; Aged 10 years, 6 months; Selected by /r/bourbon
This is the highest proof of all 10 private selections I am reviewing in my series.
This is the highest proof of all 10 private selections I am reviewing in my series.
Nose: Intensely sweet. Moderate heat. The sweetness is strong enough that it's hard to get many other nuances but there is some mild oak and wintergreen mint in there.
Taste: Heavy in flavor. Thick and robust in mouthfeel. Sweet and spicy like a really good cinnamon chewing gum. Lots of lots of heavy dark brown sugar, baking spices.
Finish: Long. Deep warm glow. Sweet cinnamon rides out the finish all the way until the end. Mint from the nose comes back into play. There is some charry oak in there too but in a pleasing form. The finish is long both in heat and flavor. That's the best kind of finish, for my money.
Notes: The Four Roses notes for this one are "Mint, Fruity, Spicy, Full Body." I think the cinnamon predominates over mint and I get very little fruit with this particular barrel. That's not a bad thing in my book… if I want fruity I'll head for the V yeast strain. It's not the most complex Four Roses I've ever had nor is it as layered as others like the fantastic OESQ but it really excels in a few key areas. This kind of deeply sweet and spicy heavy bourbon is right up my alley and the ABV is in my excitement zone. You picked a hell of a barrel, guys. Well done.
Rating: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment