Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Four Roses Single Barrel Review Showdown Part 8 of 10: Binny's OBSO

Up today is another entry in my rundown through all ten recipes in the Four Roses Single Barrel lineup. All the bottles in this series are from various private selections so they vary in profile but my hope is the underlying characteristics of each recipe will shine through and I can pick my favorite. I started with the lower rye OE series and am now working my way through the higher rye OBs. At the end of the series I plan to review a couple crazy vattings of Four Roses Yellow Label Barrel Proof that I learned about here.


56.2% ABV; Aged ?? years (misprint on label); Selected by Binny's (thanks to redditor /u/jrowell2)

Nose: Nose is a tad hot which is surprising given that it is near the bottom of ABV in my series. Oak is the predominate followed by a florals and light sweet toffee. I kept expecting the alcohol vapors to go away but they just aren't. Not the best nose.
Taste: Minty spice on the front. A brief period of wood sugary sweetness, mostly on the lighter side like thin maple syrup. The familiar big red cinnamon spice that has been present in almost every review comes in at the end but not as strong.
Finish: Shortest of the series that I can recall. Almost all spice and very little lasting sweetness. The finish is tragically shallow, I can't even think of anything else to say about it.
Notes: The Four Roses notes for this one say "Slightly Fruity, Spicy, Medium Body" and the Binny's notes say "rich, fruity yeast". While the spice is there it misses the mark on almost all the other fronts. I would say the body on this one is rather thin and the fruity notes are very muted. If anything there are some floral notes but that's it. There haven't been many disappointing showings in this series but this one has to be the bottom which I am partially blaming on a rather poor barrel. I rated the O yeast a little higher at 86 when paired with the lower rye mashbill but it's safe to say this is probably my least favorite.
Rating: B-

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