Distillery: Four Roses Distillery
Region: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Aging: 6 Years
ABV: 52%
Proof: 104
Mash Bill: Crafted from Six Unique Bourbons that are unique combinations of Four Roses mash bills and yeast strains
Non-Chill Filtered: Yes
MSRP Price: $65
Appearance: Amber
Four Roses Small Batch Select Tasting Notes
Nose: Caramel, vanilla, toasted oak, dark fruits, citrus, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking spice
Palate: Bold rich caramel, heavy toasted oak, vanilla, dark fruits, cherry, plum, baking spice, rye spice, and pepper
Finish: Long heavy finish that leaves your mouth coated with a lovely oily and buttery mouthfeel due to the non-chill filtering. Leaves you with beautiful rich caramel, deep toasted oak flavors with a hint of dark fruits and baking spice, but then turns at the end with a lingering pepper spice
Is Four Roses Small Batch Select an Approachable Whiskey?
Four Roses Small Batch Select packs a bit of a punch because it has a 52% ABV and is non-chill filtered.
The combination may be a bit much for beginners, but it’s a real treat if you’re an experienced whiskey drinker.
Is Four Roses Small Batch Select Complex?
Four Roses Small Batch Select has a lot of nice layers of flavors.
It starts out with a big and bold hit of caramel the moment the sip hits your taste buds.
The next layer follows up with a bit of vanilla and heavily toasted oak.
Normally, you would say the bourbon was good just from those flavors, but this Small Batch Select takes things a few steps further.
On top of the caramel bourbon flavors, it also has a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, and clove notes to it that shine through about halfway through the sip and on the nose.
It then finishes out with a nice buttery mouthfeel with a bit of heat and pepper spice on the tail end.
It does not surprise me that this bottle has so much complexity to it because when I recently reviewed the Four Roses Single Barrel, it also had very strong flavors to it.
Since the Small Batch Select is a combination of six unique bourbon profiles, it has elements from each profile and creates this selection that covers all the bases you could ask for.
What are Four Roses Small Batch Select’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Four Roses Small Batch Select’s strongest attribute would be the amount of flavor that it packs into each sip.
It is big and bold and offers everything you could want from a bourbon.
Is Four Roses Small Batch Select a go-to whiskey?
Four Roses Small Batch Select is one of my top go-to whiskeys.
Out of all the whiskeys I have on my shelf, this is a bottle I often reach for and drink on a regular basis.
Is Four Roses Small Batch Select priced accurately to its quality?
Four Roses Small Batch Select is priced very well for the quality it delivers.
Conclusion for Four Roses Small Batch Select
Four Roses Small Batch Select is the bottle I would recommend everyone to have on their shelf. I’m a fan of Four Roses in general, but this bottle really takes the cake.
It is a little more expensive than all the other Four Roses bottles, but it is absolutely worth it.
Visiting the Four Roses Distillery
This specific bottle that I am reviewing today is a special bottle that I got with my friends Chuck and Andy (fellow reviewers for this site). It is engraved with our names and “Kentucky 2020” to commemorate our trip.
We had an amazing time on the bourbon trail and Four Roses was our favorite distillery of all the ones we went to.
I wrote an entire blog post titled “The Best Whiskey Tours to Help Level Up Your Bourbon Game” documenting our trip if you are interested in reading the complete experience we had on our whiskey tour and everything that we enjoyed along the way.
Let Us Know What You Think
I hope you enjoyed this tasting experience with me.
If you decide to give this bottle a shot, please let me know on social media via Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Thanks for reading and cheers!
0 Comments