Which of the four roses barrel selects made a impression to stock up?

[bourboNcigars]

I ask cause they have 10 different kinds and I'd like to pick up 3 or 4 different and at $55 each to me that's a lot to Risk on bottles I might not like, so I was wondering which left a positive impression on you guys and which you choose to keep in rotation?

[smknjoe]

You can't go wrong really if you like the "house" profile. Just pick up 3 different recipes and let us know what you think of them.

[bourboNcigars]

Sounds good man, half the fun is the risk and the not knowing lol

[flahute]

What Joe is saying is that nobody can really predict what you will like and give a recommendation safely. If you look around and read the "what are you drinking today" and "what did you purchase today" threads (and by read, I mean go back a month or so and read through them) you will see a lot of discussion about the various recipes and see that tastes vary quite a bit. Some will love one recipe, while another just doesn't do it for them. Still though, it's highly doubtful you will hate one because they all have something good about them so it's true that you really can't go wrong. Four Roses is consistently good that way. To Joe's point, if you know that you like the small batch and standard issue single barrel, start with the recipes that go into those two and then branch out from there.

[mbroo5880i]

If you like the standard Four Roses Small Batch and Single Barrel, chances are you will enjoy any of the recipes. I started with the Small Batch so my natural progression was to Single Barrel. Because the standard Single Barrel is OBSV, I opted for something in the lower rye "E" mashbill (OESK). As with the previous products, I liked it. I have tried OBSV, OESK, OBSK, OESQ and OBSF. I liked them all. See if the retailer can provide a sample.

[sutton]

If you are buying 4, you could by 2 yeasts and the high/low rye recipe of both (like OBSO, OESO) and compare, or buy a fifth bottle and pick the high or low rye of each and taste across the different yeasts ...

You could go on the FR website, they describe each of the 10 recipes - pick the three or four that appeal most to you from the description.

Or ... close your eyes and pick randomly!

[smknjoe]

Not knowing...what other people like? I have no idea what you like. So, I can't tell you which one to get. The only way you will ever know is to try it for yourself. If you are in Chicago it's very easy for you to try any of the 10 recipes any time you want thanks to Binny's. So, what's the rush? Buy 1 bottle if you don't want to buy 3. Go to a bar and try all 10 in one night. You have lots of options and lots of time (they aren't limited releases.)

What you're asking reminds me of a guy who bought 3 cases of ECBP without ever trying it because 1. most people said it was good 2. it was "rare" and he didn't want to miss out on it. That's not a smart way to shop and it's an expensive way to shop. Luckily, he liked it, but what if he had been like the Fox (Doug) who spent months tracking down his perceived "grail" only to find out that it was the most disgusting bourbon he had ever had?

How's this for an opinion...I think Weller 12 is the most overrated bourbon in the "enthusiast" community. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it fundamentally. I just don't like the taste of it, at all. It has the worst aftertaste of any bourbon I've ever had. You'll have a very difficult time finding anyone to agree with that opinion on any bourbon site. I'm glad I didn't go out and buy cases of it before I tried it.

I've had about 6 or 7 4R recipes and liked them all. It's not like there is a huge difference between them in general. You can tell they all came from Four Roses.

Edited May 24, 2014 by smknjoe

[smknjoe]

If you are buying 4, you could by 2 yeasts and the high/low rye recipe of both (like OBSO, OESO) and compare, or buy a fifth bottle and pick the high or low rye of each and taste across the different yeasts ...

You could go on the FR website, they describe each of the 10 recipes - pick the three or four that appeal most to you from the description.

Or ... close your eyes and pick randomly!

...and I assumed you already looked at the 4R site. If not, Mark is correct. They have pretty accurate descriptions of the recipes and flavor profiles there. If you like the standard Single Barrel then I think you will be happy with just about anything you get.

[bourboNcigars]

Thank for the info and advice everyone, I will look into the website and start with the ones that interest me more

[smknjoe]

The "E" mashbill tends to be slightly sweeter. One of my favorites tends to be OESO, but I've really enjoyed all of the private selections I've had so far.

[compliance]

See if any are outside of the usual 10 year age range. The gift shop 17yo was one of the best bourbons I've ever had. They probably won't have anything that old, but slightly older ones seem to trickle out now and then. I also try to spot the bottles with the extra low proofs at barrel strength. I just tend to like those. An extra high proof would probably be good too. It could be all in my head but stuff like that seems to indicate something more special and unique about a given barrel, so those are the ones I like to take chances on. They really don't sell duds though, so you are safe selecting anything.

[DPPSmoker]

I purchased gift shop bottles of OBSF and OBSO two months ago. Based on the label descriptions, I thought I would like the OBSO more than the OBSF but it wasn't the case. To be honest, I didn't pick up much on the subtleties provided by the yeast. But I picked up on two other things. The oak was very noticeable in the O yeast bottle with it not so much in the F yeast. I like my bourbon less oaky so I preferred the F from the point of view. The other thing was the F yeast was 62.6% abv while the O yeast was around 51 - I can't quite remember. But that F bottle is the easiest drinking bourbon I have ever had over 120 proof. Had I known I would enjoy it as much as I have, I would definitely have purchased much more.

The other comments above are well taken by me. You don't really know what you will like until you try it yourself. Sounds like a good time to me.

[GaryT]

Thank for the info and advice everyone, I will look into the website and start with the ones that interest me more

That is what I would do. I've had single barrels of the exact same recipe where I absolutely loved one, and the other was only OK (although good news is that even an "ok" FRSB barrel proof is worth the money IMHO). But the recipes and yeast strains are the best indicator if you haven't tried them.

[petrel800]

My suggestion would be if you're interested in comparing the high rye "b" vs the low rye "e," stay away from the K yeast. K is my favorite yeast, but the spiciness it adds doesn't make the B vs E comparison easy. If you've had the standard 4R SB 100 proof and liked it, the V yeast is always a good place to start.

[Paddy]

Do not stock up on any of them! They are highly overrated and do not live up to the praise given here on this forum!

All kidding aside, I feel that they each make quite an impression, in their own unique way(s). Having said that, I do have a favorite. But hey, this is a public forum...

q

[bourboNcigars]

Website was a good idea, of the 10 I'm going with these 4 first

OBSK

OESK

OBSF

OESV

THANK GUYS!

[Restaurant man]

I too snatch up Lower proof barrel

Proof 4 roses. I just like them better. Comparing 2 obsk's last night and the 55 percenter was Devine.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

See if any are outside of the usual 10 year age range. The gift shop 17yo was one of the best bourbons I've ever had. They probably won't have anything that old, but slightly older ones seem to trickle out now and then. I also try to spot the bottles with the extra low proofs at barrel strength. I just tend to like those. An extra high proof would probably be good too. It could be all in my head but stuff like that seems to indicate something more special and unique about a given barrel, so those are the ones I like to take chances on. They really don't sell duds though, so you are safe selecting anything.

We selected barrels again on Friday. For the first time we revealed ages prior to tasting. We had from 9 yr 3 mo to 11 yr 6 mo. I had the youngest rated high and the older bottles rated quite low.

At the end, a 10 yr 5 mo OBSO and a 10 yr 9 mo OBSF won out. It will be our second OBSF barrel.

[Restaurant man]

Do you remember the proofs?

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Do you remember the proofs?

They won't know proof until it is bottled. I didn't look at warehouse location/tier.

Edited May 26, 2014 by P&MLiquorsEric
typo

[Restaurant man]

They won't know proof until it is bottled. I didn't look at warehouse location/tier.

Right. I rarely do either. Congrats on finding another good barrel. Not shipping to GA I presume?

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Nope to shipping booze from KY.

Edited May 26, 2014 by P&MLiquorsEric
blah

[gooneygoogoo]

Just did a second blind tasting of all 10 recipes last night. Yet again OBSO was the favorite

[bourboNcigars]

I'm surprised that most binnys are out of stock on all variations of this but at the same time I'm not surprised considering how much of a following it has, just will just wait and keep an eye out for them

[OscarV]

The Binny's Barrel Proof OESO & OBSK I got a few years back are about as good as it gets.