Up tonight is the last in my series of all ten recipes in the Four Roses Single Barrel lineup. After this one is done I'll do a bonus round or two of some Four Roses Yellow Label Barrel Proof that I recently vatted. The OBSV recipe and I are already very intimate as it's the recipe for the standard single barrel which is one of my favorites. Let's see how it stacks up against the rest of the lineup.
60.1% ABV; Aged 8 years and 8 months; Selected by Sinkers Wine & Spirits (Nashville, TN)
Nose: Spice in the form of mint. Red fruitiness like apple and cherry is very apparent. There is also some tannic oak and a slight furniture polish tinge.
Taste: Spiciness starts even at the front of this one. A lot of the other recipes start sweet and finish spicy on the front of the palette but this one stays spicy through the whole range. The spice here is more minty than cinnamon. There is some deep sweetness that comes in at the end. There is just enough sweetness to keep the spice from being overpowering. The fruity notes are all over the palette here - pear, apple, cherry. Lots of intricacies.
Finish: Long spicy finish with a high heat afterglow. The long lasting flavor is a dark cocoa powder and mint chocolate along with some dry oak, anise, and more fruits.
Notes: It's hard to go wrong with this recipe. There's a reason why it's the single barrel flagship. While this particular bottle was a little hot and young for my tastes, all the things I love about OBSV are there. Rich creaminess, intricate fruitiness, spice, and enough sweetness to hold it all together. It's not often you find so many elements in a single pour which is the beauty of this recipe and why it is my go-to daily sipper.
Rating: A- / B+
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