By Richard Thomas
Rating: A-
To a bourbon fan, end of summer means more than more pleasant weather and the disappearance of mosquitoes. Autumn brings with it the annual limited edition release season, when all the most ardently sought, annualized whiskeys come out. Every year for the last eighteen years, the end of summer marked the drop for the forerunner of that season: Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition. This one is coming out on September 3rd, and the only reason this review isn’t classed as a Sneak Peek is because Drinkhacker posted their write-up of it first (The Whiskey Reviewer’s sneak peeks must both beat the bottle to the shelves and be the first write-up to hit the interwebs).
Non-chill filtered and bottled at 109 proof, the new Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon is comprised of four hand-selected batches aged 13 and 19 years, so middle aged to ultra-aged. Six of Four Roses ten combinations of mash bill and yeast went untapped. The backbone of the bourbon are two lots both aged to 13 years, OBSV (38%) and OESV (35%). Rounding that out is a 13 year old OBSK (17%) and a 19 year old OESV (10%). So, Master Distiller Brent Elliott hit the popular OESV distillate twice for this concoction, but one middle aged and the other ultra-aged. That makes a substantial difference between the two bourbons.
The Bourbon
This stuff drink takes on a bright amber appearance in the glass. The nose delivered two well-balanced currents, one of apricot and tangerine, the other of allspice and peppery oak. Sipping yields more apricot plus vanilla, cookie spices and a mix of tannic strains, tea and acorn. The finish opened with apricot jam before turning to spicy oak. Four Roses Small Batch LE this year is superbly balanced, delivering on the fruitiness that some Four Roses yeasts are known for, but also the spiciness they have a whole high rye mash bill ready to push.
The Price
This year’s release ran to 16,854 bottles, at a suggested retail price of $249. However, the market value (what one must pay for a bottle at on-demand retail) is $670.
