Four Roses 2014 Limited Edition Small Batch Review

I’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating again, Four Roses is my favorite bourbon. In an age where other producers seem to be cutting corners and generally irritating the whiskey community, Four Roses just keeps putting out quality and doing so with integrity. Their single barrel private selections can be found pretty easily and rival the quality of even the best yearly special edition releases put out by other producers. And then there are Four Roses own special edition releases which over the past few years have proven to be some of the best bourbons ever released. Both the 2012 and 2013 Limited Edition Small Batch were awarded American Whiskey of the year by Whiskey Advocate and while most whiskey awards are poofy fluff I feel those two were very deserving. The 2013 125th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch in particular is one of my favorite bourbons of all time. With that pedigree, the 2014 Limited Edition Small Batch has some big shoes to fill so let’s see how it stacks up.

55.9% ABV; Bottle 212 of 12516; $73

OBSK 9yrs, OBSV 13yrs, OESV 12yrs, OBSF 11yrs

Notes: The nose has all the typical fruit, sweet, and spicy notes of a great Four Roses bourbon. Cherries, apples, caramel, cinnamon, and mint along with a medium dose of wood. The palate is largely a reinforcement of all those same notes. Upfront there is a lot of sweet red fruit like caramel covered apples. A rich middle-aged woodiness follows up the mid palate and then the finish tapers off with sweet spicy notes like Big Red cinnamon gum and wintergreen mint that are typical in Four Roses’ higher rye recipes. After the spiciness subsides there is a little bitter oak that lingers for a while. It’s a great combination of sweet, wood, and spice. If I were being critical though I would say the finish isn’t as sweet as I would like because the spice is a little overbearing and the red fruit flavors in the front aren’t as prominent as in other great Four Roses I’ve had.

Thoughts: The ages on the whiskeys that went into this are a noticeable drop from the previous two releases and it shows a little. While this is delicious stuff it’s not quite in the same league as the previous two special editions. It lacks the layers, nuances, and balance that the 125th was famous for. Jim Rutledge is on record as saying the 125th was probably the best bourbon he’s ever made though so it’s almost not fair to compare this release to that one. Regardless of all that, this is a really good bourbon and still better than most of the other special edition whiskeys released last year.

Rating: A-