Four Roses Salutes Rutledge with "Barrel Strength" Limited-Edition Bourbon

[MikeK]

That seems to be an unfortunate trend at Toddy's this year. He wanted $50 for VWFRR. We left it on the counter and found all we wanted elsewhere for $37.

[OscarV]

Got my two bottles today via the mail.

Barrel No. 17-1C
Warehouse No. SS
102.8 proof

Barrel No. 17-1G
Warehouse No. SS
101.6 proof

Please don't ask me what I paid, cuz I don't like to be laughed at, but I do have two!!
Besides bourbon will get you thru times of no money, better than money will get you thru times of no bourbon.

[darkluna]

Attaching the official Four Roses news release for future reference

[Gillman]

Here's a formal review of FRBS, Barrel No. 15-1B, only 50.2% ABV.

Of the 1442 bottles in total filled, mine was the 29th (per side label), so presumably 15-1B was the first dumped or at least packaged.

The nose discloses a typical Four Roses Single Barrel smell, but more intensely. There is cinammon red hots, some well-seasoned wood and alcohol, and some kind of fermented fruit underneath. Also, there is a certain odour that I used to talk about in the best whiskeys, which is the "old roses" or aged damask rose smell, "old books" partly too. Some of this may be from the rye since I found it both in the best younger and older ryes (e.g., WT rye and Julian's ryes).

Colour is a dark reddish copper.

The taste is a little bitter, tangy, not necessarily well-integrated, but full of diverse flavours. It is not as complete as I would like, maybe a little too dry.

Now if I could taste a vatting of all ten, or even five, but you know where I'm coming from..

This bottle still will get very good use: the riot of flavours will shine through with rocks treatment, or maybe even a dash of water to display them. Bourbons that are not silky smooth are best drunk that way, and a silky smooth bourbon often seems bland with rocks or water, so it all kind of makes sense.

Still, I'd like to taste the 9 others (as I did Charles Miller's 10 barrel samples of Weller 107); if I did I'm sure I'd find where the sweet spot is.

Gary

[AVB]

I just got a bottle from barrel 15-1B at 100.4 proof if you want to update your listing.

Ack, I didn't scroll down to see the review. I guess you know all about barrel 15-1B already.

[Vange]

AVB, where did you get one of these? I cant track anyone in NY that has them in stock yet.

[AVB]

I live near YORK, PA not New York. A friend who lives in Kentucky sent me one.

AVB, where did you get one of these? I cant track anyone in NY that has them in stock yet.

[AVB]

Is anyone tracking bottle numbers too? Mine is 63/1442 so that leads me to believe that barrel 15-1B was the first bottled.

[Gillman]

I notice a lot of interest in this bottling and some of it I know comes from the simple desire to collect a rare item. I don't share that interest, since I buy only to drink the bottles within a short time, but I understand it since the collecting bug is one shared by many people.

For those interested only in the taste, I can only speak to the bottling I have tried, which is 15-1B. In my view it is certainly good whiskey but not superlative. I just can't speak for the other 9, we know how barrels can vary one to the other. The others may be great or some of them and if so people will want understandably to try to get or taste one of those.

But if they all taste like mine did, I would say, you are not missing anything essential. Based on my tasting of this one expression of the Barrel Strength release, I would say the regular single barrel is still the classic expression of Four Roses or in other words, Four Roses at its best.

Gary

[Vange]

I live near YORK, PA not New York.

OOPS! Thanks anyway though.