Four Roses Yellow Label and Barrel Proof Yellow Label Reviews

It's been a while since I've written a review but I'm finally coming through with the finale of the Four Roses review series I've been promising. Up tonight we have 3 variations of an attempt at making a barrel proof version of Four Roses yellow label. The idea for this was brought to me courtesy of redditor /u/JustASomeball who pointed me to Keith Boyea with the Capital Bourbon Committee. I reached out to Keith and he graciously shared a few recipes with me. You can read his followup post on my original thread here. When I finally got around to vatting these I soon learned that measuring out 10 different whiskeys in small quantities is a major hassle. I lost motivation after the top three Keith recommended so I figured it would be a good stopping point. You can check the image link for some pictures I took along the way. Once I got that far I realized I needed some original yellow label in which to compare them to so I figure what the hell I might as well review that too. As for the samples, I tasted all of them blind so I didn't know which were Keith's picks until the very end. I filled in the blanks after my reveal so the reviews would make more sense.

Four Roses Yellow Label
40% ABV; $18

Nose: Light and soft. Sweet caramel and mint spice with a fresh apple-banana fruitiness.

Taste: Surprisingly nice and full-bodied. Thicker than you would would expect at 80 proof. The palate reinforces the aromas from the nose with typical wood sugar sweetness of vanilla and caramel followed by minty rye spice.

Finish: Short but with a nice spicy glow. The spice turns to more of a big red sweet cinnamon which is a common note for me with a lot of the single barrel recipes I tried.

Notes: For under $20, this is a solid pour. It's a bit thin which should be obvious given the proof but that also makes it very drinkable. This is a nice budget bourbon and would make for a good session whiskey or what I call a closer - something to reach for if your palate is a little taxed but you are ready to keep going.

Rating: B-

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Four Roses Barrel Proof Yellow Label Sample #5

• 6.67% each OBSV, OBSK, OBSO, OBSQ, OBSF
• 16.67% each OESK, OESO, & OESQ
• 8.33% OESF & OESV

Nose: Deep toffee caramel sweetness. Rich oak influence. Slight herbal grassy notes. A touch of hot rye.

Taste: Very rye forward. There is some sharp sweetness but it is really overwhelmed by the rye notes. Spice flavors are about an equal blast of mint and cinnamon which is proportion I never experienced with all 10 single barrels.

Finish: Medium long in length. Dark cocoa and cinnamon sweetness is resounding with some balanced but light smoky barrel char.

Notes: I would have guessed this to be more of a high rye OB than ⅔ OE to OB ratio. It's good but a little unbalanced by Four Roses standards. I think there is better in store with the other samples.

Rating: B

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Four Roses Barrel Proof Yellow Label Sample #4

• 6.67% each OBSV, OBSK, OBSO, OBSQ, OBSF
• 25% each OESQ, OESK
• 16.67% OESF

Nose: Similar to sample 5 - the sweetness is deep and the oak is very forward. There is also some soft fruit tartness - I'm thinking sweet tarts candy. Very, very wonderful.

Taste: Oh my. This one is very complex and there is a lot going on. Dark chocolate, sweet caramel, chewy smoky oak - all balanced with some sweet spicy cinnamon rye. It's intense but remarkably easy to drink.

Finish: Rides out just like the palate for a looooong time. The rye spice is a little more pronounced but never too hot or never too deep of a burn.

Notes: This is everything Four Roses can be. Balance, harmony, complexity. Deep layers of sweet and spice interplaying. It's got all the intensity of flavors that you usually get with something in the 130 proof range but this one does it with soft warm finesse rather than hot in your face fire. Absolutely glorious.

Rating: A

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Four Roses Barrel Proof Yellow Label Sample #1

• 6.67% each OBSV, OBSK, OBSO, OBSQ, OBSF
• 13.33% each OESK, OESO, OESQ, OESF & OESV

Nose: Sweetness isn't as heavy as the previous two samples but the fruitiness is more pronounced with some cherry and cinnamon apples. There are tannic hints as well reminiscent of leather and tobacco.

Taste: Very complex much like sample 4. The sweetness is less dark and more of a light honey graham cracker vanilla. Toasted marshmallows and light campfire smoke like s'mores. The honey flavors are very forward. Classic sweet big red cinnamon starts to come on at the end.

Finish: The vanilla honey sweetness is still there in a big way but is heavily shouldered on some bold rye minty cinnamon spice. The finish lasts for quite a while and like sample #5 is never overly hot but just a nice long warm glow.

Notes: This one has a lot of depth much like sample #5. The flavors are lighter and more crisp and less bold though. It still has a lot of complexity and finesse which is classic Four Roses to me.

Rating: A-

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There you have it folks. Short of reviewing the Small Batch that's about the best tribute I can do to Four Roses. I hope everyone enjoyed listen to me babble on about my favorite distillery. This vatting experiment was a lot of fun and I am glad I did it. Making them was tedious but it was worth the effort. In the end it looks like my scores lined up exactly with Keith's suggestions and I'm glad I made more of sample #4 because it's stupid good. It's so good in fact that I think what's left of my 10 bottles is going to be dedicated to making more of it.