Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch (2023) Review

With over 130 years of history behind it, the Four Roses brand has persevered through many challenges to become the renowned icon of bourbon it is today. Once the top-selling Bourbon in the U.S., a takeover by Seagrams in the late 40s resulted in Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon becoming an export-only product to the EU and Asia for decades. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that the purchase of the brand and its production facilities by the Kirin Brewing Company resulted in its return to the US market as a Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Under the watchful eyes of then-Master Distiller Jim Rutledge and now Brent Elliott, the past 16+ years have seen the brand become extremely popular once again in both the US and globally. The Four Roses core range consists of their Kentucky straight bourbon, their Small Batch bourbon, their Single Barrel Bourbon, and their Small Batch Select. They also release much sought-after limited-edition barrel-proof bottlings of either their Small Batch bourbon, Single Barrel bourbon, or both on an annual basis to eager fans.

When it comes to making their bourbon, the Four Roses distillery boasts 10 distinct bourbon recipes, made by combining two separate mashbills (E with a low percentage of rye -21%, and B with a high percentage of rye- 35%) and 5 proprietary yeast strains (V, K, O, Q, F), which are exclusively aged in single story rack-houses which face in particular directions (North, South, East, West).  Four Roses are very transparent in their approach and strongly emphasise both the contribution of their two mashbills, aswell as the unique flavour characteristics imparted by their five yeast strains on the finished product. In fact, Four Roses go so far as to educate their fans on these specific unique flavour profiles and according to their website, their five yeast strains produce flavours such as: delicate fruit (V), slight spice (K), rich fruit (O), floral essence (Q), and herbal notes (F). Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot uses these 10 distinct recipes, either individually or blended, to produce the entire Four Roses product range. Their Kentucky Straight Bourbon uses all ten, their Small Batch uses four of the recipes, their Small Batch select uses six, and their standard Single Barrel uses just one. Through this process of blending the unique flavours of their 10 recipes and using single-story rack-houses, Four Roses achieve more consistency across their products.

Announced for release during the annual KY bourbon festival, the 2023 release of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch also celebrated the 135th anniversary of the storied brand. The release was the 16th in its series of annual limited-quantity special bottlings, highlighting the brand’s commitment to craftsmanship and quality bourbon.
Bottled at 108 proof, the 135th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch featured four hand-selected bourbon recipes: a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old OESV recipe. A key differentiator for the distillery, Four Roses combined two mash bills with five proprietary yeast strains to create 10 distinct bourbon recipes, which allowed Master Distiller Brent Elliott to create consistency across the brand’s core product line while also innovating and achieving a wide range of flavor profiles.
The release followed Four Roses’ recent brand refresh. Fans observed the new packaging details on the limited edition bottle, including the brand’s updated logo and a beautiful engraved rose cluster on the cork.

Vital Stats:

Name: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2024 Release
Age:  Blend of 12, 14, 16, and 25 year old bourbons
Proof: 108 Proof (54% ABV)
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Mashbill: Blend of three different recipes at the following ages and percentages:
1. 40% OESK Recipe: 14 Years, 75% Corn, 20% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
2. 35% OESV Recipe: 12 Years, 75% Corn, 20% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
3. 20% OESV Recipe: 16 Years, 75% Corn, 20% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
4. 5% OBSV Recipe: 25 Years, 60% Corn, 35% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
Producer: Four Roses Distillery, Lawrenceburg, KY.
Website: https://fourrosesbourbon.com/bourbon/small-batch-select/
Glassware: Glencairn

Review

Nose: The nose is a complex blend of sweet, floral, and fruit notes, opening with caramel before quickly moving to soft red fruits and rich floral notes. These are followed by a range of earthy complex barrel spices including cinnamon, cloves, allspice, a subtle grasiness, and leather. As you nose deeper the complexity continues to develop as caramels turn dark, fruit notes become increasingly concentrated and faintly tart, floral notes become more intricate, and spice notes pick up a dark herbaceous and chocolate edge all whilst an undercurrent of caramel remains present throughout. 

Palate: The palate is viscous, initially opening with sweet caramels, before tart black cherries and soft strawberries wash across your palate, bringing with them dark herbaceous notes, white pepper, earthy baking spices, smoky charred oak, dark chocolate, and thick floral notes. As the spice fades back, the concentrated fruit and floral sweetness remains, balanced out by aromatic herbaceous notes, dark caramels, and savoury high-cacao chocolate-forward barrel smoke notes.

Finish: The finish opens with lingering rye spice on the front of your tongue before herbaceous charred oak, dried red and black fruits, and concnetrated floral notes emerge and lead into a long and layered aftertaste of dark caramels, dried fruits, floral notes, herbaceous charred oak, baking spices, and cinnamon.

Overall 

This is my first review of a Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch release in a long time, but I felt compelled to write something about this particular tasting. Even though it’s been a year since its original release, one thing is clear—the calibre of these releases is as exceptional as it has ever been, and 2023 appears to have been a very special year. It captured everything I would describe as a ‘perfect’ expression of Four Roses’ hallmark flavours: rich and concentrated fruits, complex floral notes, aromatic herbal touches, and deep, wood-forward barrel flavours. In fact, this particular release is so good, it’s difficult to describe it as anything short of a masterpiece.

From nose to finish, each sip takes your palate on a journey of complex and finely layered flavours balancing all five primary tastes. The flavours unfold seamlessly, moving from sweet to tart, savoury to faintly bitter, all with an added hint of umami. Each flavour enhances the next, complementing the upcoming nuances whilst highlighting the delicate transitions in between. To top it all off, the fact that this whiskey is then bottled at barrel proof, whilst maintaining such a delicate, layered profile, is truly the sweet cherry on top.

When I looked at the recipes used in this release after I had tasted it, I wasn’t too surprised to find that a healthy helping of low rye SV recipes were responsible for creating a rich and complex blend that’s packed full of those concentrated fruit and floral notes which I particularly enjoy from Four Roses. The supporting role of the ever-dependable OESK was also clear in how well the baking spice elements balanced out the sweet fruit notes to achieve a broader profile. The biggest surprise, however, was just how big of an impact the 5% of 25-year-old OBSV had on the final profile, and in hindsight, it’s easy to trace those dark barrel notes and endlessly aromatic herbaceous notes back to it.

With this release marking 135 years of the Four Roses brand, I think it’s important to acknowledge the incredible skill and dedication of the team behind it in the past number of decades. Don’t forget that for many years the Four Roses brand was a cheap blend of whiskies with a heavy focus on the export market to keep the lights on. Through the hard work, exceptional palates and meticulous blending from Master Distillers such as Brent Elliott and his predecessor Jim Rutledge, new life was breathed into the brand and we, the drinkers, have continued to benefit from this legacy of excellence. Both men have played pivotal roles in renewing the Four Roses brand and, with their dedicated teams, revived this brand to the levels of success and acclaim it enjoys today. We owe a debt of gratitude to Brent, Jim, Al, and all the other key players in this bourbon miracle for their unwavering commitment to quality and innovation in the world of American whiskey.

Try or Buy?

These releases always run over the $/£/€100 mark so this one is worth trying before you buy! If, however, you liked previous releases I would say rest easy knopwing that this is a fantastic release and well worth the retail price.