kcgumbohead Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 The problem with the 10-recipe pack is barrel variation. Just because a barrel was filled from distillate from a particular recipe doesn't mean that barrel will be representative of the recipe. Let's say the first set of 10-packs uses a really good OESQ barrel. A general consensus forms about OESQ being the best among the ten. A run ensues on OESQ, leaving other recipes languishing. So, a 10-pack may skew buying habits by crystallizing general opinions based on insufficient sampling. Even JR may not always be able to determine the recipe of a blind sample he tastes.Interesting and valid points. I will say that among the 10 recipes 10 personalities have emerged for me that I associate with each recipe and the majority of samples I have had in addition to my references for each recipe have been on profile. While there is variation between the samples of a given recipe of bottled PSSBs that I have tried, proof, age, ... all shift the profile from my reference points but not so much that they don't exhibit the personalities I have come to expect from them. That said I have not had multiples of all 10, only about 6 but that's more than 50% of the whole and those multiples have tracked my reference.Where it got a lot tougher was during the barrel selection. There were 8 samples of 2 recipes, I didn't know what order they were in and misidentified the first sample as the opposite recipe than what it was. It was too hot and just not very good, in fact JR asked the 4R employee that accompanied him how it even got into the selection batch.There would need to be a benchmark for each recipe which I'll bet 4R already has so as to avoid the pitfalls listed above. The only one of the 10 I didn't like AT ALL was OBSQ it was so bad ( to me) that I had to vat it just to get through it. Others have described a completely different experience with that recipe but I am not about to gamble another 750 on it, a sample however? That I would most certainly try as I think my OBSQ might have been "off".I hope they do a 10 recipe sample pack as the cost has really escalated and finding and acquiring the 10 recipes is a time consuming and expensive task. It is however a hell of a lot of fun and very instructive if you are a 4R fan. I was able to establish benchmarks and preferences that guide my SB purchases and it hasn't let me down. My references of course are only of real value to me but that's the point and why the 10 pk would be such a great tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madhatter Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 A problem I could think of with a 10 recipe sample pack is that small bottles (<750 ml) might require the acquisition of separate bottling equipment just for that one product, unless the sample pack had 50 ml bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suntour Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Kcgumbohead: very interesting. I wanted to start a thread on this very subject...lots of us are collecting the 10 recipes...itd be cool to see 10 different samples of each recipe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohrmund Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, in Florida ( not to be confused with various state controlled "ABC" liquor establishments ), recently released their barrel proof FR selections - has anyone had a chance to try them yet?I just stopped by a ABC store that is kind of out of my way, they had 4-5 recipes. I screwed up and bought 2 of the same, but did get 3 different styles.OBSQ 120.4OESF 109.4OESO 100.8My double was the oesf so I am sampling that at the moment. Jury is still on it.Gary 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I just stopped by a ABC store that is kind of out of my way, they had 4-5 recipes. I screwed up and bought 2 of the same, but did get 3 different styles.OBSQ 120.4OESF 109.4OESO 100.8My double was the oesf so I am sampling that at the moment. Jury is still on it.Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry in WashDC Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Eric, you beat me to it - ditto re: the OESO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohrmund Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I will have to crack that one open when I get back to the house. I will let you know. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohrmund Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Well all I can say is WOW. The OESO was much bolder than I was expecting. It has a great punch in the face with a fruity and pepper finish that hangs around for a good bit. I was expecting it to be a little mellower than some of the higher barrel proofs. I much prefer this to many others that I have had. It is aged at 11 years/11 months and at just 100.4 I wasn't expecting this bottle.I think I wlll have to buy a back up or two.I my first 3 months of drinking bourbon exclusively I stayed away from Four Roses, thinking it was a lot of talk. Boy was I wrong. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Well all I can say is WOW. The OESO was much bolder than I was expecting. It has a great punch in the face with a fruity and pepper finish that hangs around for a good bit. I was expecting it to be a little mellower than some of the higher barrel proofs. I much prefer this to many others that I have had. It is aged at 11 years/11 months and at just 100.4 I wasn't expecting this bottle.I think I wlll have to buy a back up or two.I my first 3 months of drinking bourbon exclusively I stayed away from Four Roses, thinking it was a lot of talk. Boy was I wrong. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auracom Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 We welcome you to the cult.Now sit back and enjoy your stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleCBreese Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Saw a tweet today from BourbonTruth (so I am not sure how accurate it is) that Four Roses has run out of Q yeast for Private Barrels and will be out for a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
signde Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 i question the accuracy as well but in the years i've been following him he's yet to report something that wasn't true. definitely sad news, the Q is one of my favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I don't think they typically made a lot of that one anyway and given they need it for yellow label I suppose they have to draw a line somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I can confirm that my local store was told by FR that they can only pick from 8 recipes going forward. They didn't tell me which two were off the list, but I wouldn't be surprised if Q was off the books. They let a ton of 10 year old OESQ go last year, which JR mentioned being particularly proud of in terms of quality. Heck, I've got a bottle of it open that's in the running for top bourbon of all time for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suntour Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Indeed, both the OESQ and OBSQ I've got open are spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 This reminded me that the approximate ages of the different single barrel LE's was not included in this list. This is what I had written in my own little informal listing if it is of interest to anyone:2007 1B LE-OESO 13.5yo (40th Anniversary)2008 1B LE-OBSK 12yo (120th Anniversary)2009 1B LE-OESQ 11yo2010 1B LE-OBSV 17yo (100th Anniversary)2011 1B LE-OBSQ 12yo2012 1B LE-OESK 12yo2013 1B LE-OBSK 13yo2014 1B LE-OESF 11yoSince I have never owned some of the earlier ones I have acquired the information from various sources. It was also summarized in this blog post. If there are any errors please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dboland Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 According to their site, 2014 was OBSF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 According to their site, 2014 was OBSF. Which just goes to show you can't believe everything you read on the internet! Pretty sure the 2014 SBLE was an OESF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dboland Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Ha! I stand corrected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Indeed, both the OESQ and OBSQ I've got open are spectacular.Tell me about it! I've got one of my OESQs in reserve, but I might try to acquire another from a different store if I can find one. I have an OBSQ from Westport Whiskey/The Bourbon Society in Louisville that I'm hoping will be tasty. Frankly, I'm just glad the OESQs that went out didn't get bogarted for an LE release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dusty Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 i question the accuracy as well but in the years i've been following him he's yet to report something that wasn't true. definitely sad news, the Q is one of my favorites.I have worked thru two 10 yr OBSQ's from Crown Liquors(local)and they are among my favorite FR single barrels ever-and I'm typically a "K" guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amg Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I have worked thru two 10 yr OBSQ's from Crown Liquors(local)and they are among my favorite FR single barrels ever-and I'm typically a "K" guy.Are those the ones that are still on the shelf? Might have to grab one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbroo5880i Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I am kind of a "K" guy too! However, the most recent Crown OBSQ was awesome. I am not sure if it is the one currently on the shelf. Mine was [TABLE=width: 259] [TR] [TD=width: 345, bgcolor: white]Four Roses OBSQ (Crown), Barrel # JE 50-3D[/TD] [/TR][/TABLE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 (edited) I recall a poll we took a while back where I was the only guy that voted for OBSQ as my favorite. Imagine my surprise when I saw this thread blow up! :slappin:It's been well documented that JR has been warning of an impending shortage, and that high demand for the for the barrel select program would soon outweigh the dwindling supply. The second warning salvo was the recently witnessed, approximately $20 increase in the cost of the barrel select/barrel proofers per 750.As Garbo noted upstream, the Q yeast (especially barrel proofers I had from the '13 bottling) provided some of, if not the best whiskey I've ever touched to my lips. I'd expect that this is the first of many shortages to follow with regard to available recipies, and wouldn't be surprised if the barrel selection process didn't end up going the way of the dodo bird (at least for a while). Edited April 15, 2015 by Paddy spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dusty Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I am kind of a "K" guy too! However, the most recent Crown OBSQ was awesome. I am not sure if it is the one currently on the shelf. Mine was [TABLE=width: 259][TR][TD=width: 345, bgcolor: white]Four Roses OBSQ (Crown), Barrel # JE 50-3D[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]yep just got one today. Same barrel but my "3D" looks more like "3P" bet it's the same though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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