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Four roses cult following here


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So Four Roses tastes floral because of the name?

I guess that Woodford Reserve must taste like a 1940's station wagon, Jim Beam tastes like a covered bridge, Buffalo Trace has an animal muskiness to it and Wild Turkey is gamey.

Are these correct assumptions?

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With all due respect I still have an open 4RSBle12 on my bar and it is OESK.

Thank you for the correction of my correction. OESK 2012 and OBSK 2013. Told you k's were hot :laugh:

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I think fruity is being confused with floral.

4R1B is a spice bomb.

I am probably guilty of this, but in my head there is an overlap between fruity and floral. I am not really thinking about the way a fruit salad tastes, as much as the smell of fruit on a hot day when it is still on the vine/branch/etc. It is going to be deeper and richer, but with some sort of floral component.

So Four Roses tastes floral because of the name?

I guess that Woodford Reserve must taste like a 1940's station wagon, Jim Beam tastes like a covered bridge, Buffalo Trace has an animal muskiness to it and Wild Turkey is gamey.

Are these correct assumptions?

For some reason I'd rather have a glass of Sunny Brook than OGD right now...

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Man this thread I started has me wanting to open the small batch and single barrel and see what the love is all about, still trying to limit how many I have open at a given time..sad thing is I don't even have a rye open in the rotation and I have 3 different rye in the bunker I've heard nothing but praise about..I need to start drinking more

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They won't go "bad" after you open them. If you open it, taste it once, and close it back up it's almost as if you never opened it.

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So Four Roses tastes floral because of the name?

:) I guess names can suggest taste. To me, FR stands in distinction (esp. the OB bottlings) to the rye content, similar in some respects to the OGD range ... I would love to see Beam release some age stated OGD, maybe in the 8-12 year range to see how it compares to some of the FR SB bottlings.

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... I am a huge fan of 4R whiskey, the way they run their company, and particularly the people there who make it all happen. But, the single biggest challenge facing 4R is the one that that they haven't had to deal with yet (and the one which causes us enthusiasts such consternation with the other legacy distilleries)...That is, when consumer demand goes past their ability to meet it. That day of reckoning is coming soon for 4R. Even they will admit, if not for the economic problems in parts of Europe, specifically Spain and Greece, which stymied sales there and freed up capacity, they would be behind the 8-ball today. It will be interesting to see how they handle that. I hope it goes well, and if it doesn't, let us all cut them some slack by remembering these Halcyon days.

+1 on FR being a great company and having very good product at reasonable prices.

I expect that day will come soon when their bourbon availability will start to be constrained. I am not a hoarder, but I have been picking up a couple bottles here and there of my favorites. Right now my bunker has 1 OESK (Yankee Spirits), 2 OESQ (Liquor Barn), 3 OSBF (gift shop). With all the other open FR bottles I have, that will last me quite a while. Well, the OESKs disappear rather quickly!

BTW, the price I paid in April at the gift shop was $63/bottle. Late last December, it was $60. So, prices are creeping up.

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My notes on FR recipes, their regular bourbons and their limited editions.

Oxxx = Lawrenceburg, KY (Old Prentice)

xxSx = straight whiskey

xExx - 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley

xBxx - 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley

xxxV - delicate fruitiness

xxxK - slightly spicy character

xxxO - rich fruitiness

xxxQ - floral essence

xxxF - herbal

Single barrel - OBSV

Small batch - OBSO, OBSK, OESK, OESO

Yellow label - all 10 recipes

2007 Single Barrel LE, OESO, 13½ years; 40th anniversary of Jim Rutledge with Four Roses; 1442 bottles

2008 Single Barrel LE, OBSK, 12 years; 120th anniversary of the Four Roses brand; 2238 bottles

2009 Single Barrel LE, OESQ, 11 years; 1836 bottles

2010 Single Barrel LE, OBSV, 17 years; 100th anniversary of the distillery; 2359 bottles

2011 Single Barrel LE, OBSQ, 12 years

2012 Single Barrel LE, OESK, 12 years

2013 Single Barrel LE, OBSK, 13 years

2014 Single Barrel LE, OESF, 11 years, between 54.15 and 63.8% ABV

2008 Marriage Collection, OBSV-13 years, OESK-10 years, 55.7%

2009 Marriage Collection, OBSK-10 years, OBSK-19 years, OESO-10 years, 54.8%; 3432 bottles

2010 Small Batch LE, OBSV-15 years, OBSK-11 years, OESK-10 years, 55.1%

2011 Small Batch LE, OBSK-13 years, OESK-11 years, OESV-12 years, OESQ-13 years, 55.1%; 3792 bottles

2012 Small Batch LE, OBSV-11 years, OBSV-17 years, OBSK-12 years, OESK-12 years, 55.7%

2013 Small Batch LE, OBSV-18 years, OBSK-13 years, OESK-13 years, 51.6%; 125th anniversary of the Four Roses brand

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Do you guys really, honestly like the Yellow Label? I can't put my finger on why I dislike it so much.

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Do you guys really, honestly like the Yellow Label? I can't put my finger on why I dislike it so much.

Thank you for pointing that out, E. Since I took the Yellow Label out of my line up some time ago, I honestly don't even recognize it when discussing 4R whiskey. Not a fan of it. Maybe, it's the low proof ...I don't know...but, it does nothing for me. I now remember plodding through my last, and final, bottle,

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Thank you for pointing that out, E. Since I took the Yellow Label out of my line up some time ago, I honestly don't even recognize it when discussing 4R whiskey. Not a fan of it. Maybe, it's the low proof ...I don't know...but, it does nothing for me. I now remember plodding through my last, and final, bottle,

That's pretty much exactly the way I feel about it. I had two bottles of it. I forced myself through one and just gave the other one to my brother...lol.

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Thank you for pointing that out, E. Since I took the Yellow Label out of my line up some time ago, I honestly don't even recognize it when discussing 4R whiskey. Not a fan of it. Maybe, it's the low proof ...I don't know...but, it does nothing for me. I now remember plodding through my last, and final, bottle,

Its been a staple around our tailgate since a guy started his postdoc at Kentucky in ~2002 and got turned onto it by some folks in Lexington. Not really anything special, but as far as the low cost 80 proofers go its good enough and serves fine as a people pleasing mixer. Not that thats anything for 4R to hang its hat on, but I don't think they try to?

Some swear by it over ice on hot days but I've never been able to get behind that either.

Edited by ramblinman
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IMHO, the YL is a pretty good whiskey.....provided you don't just gulp it down. To me it's one of those that needs to be swirled and savored for a bit before it goes down the hatch (no lewd comments necessary WAINWRIGHT :grin:) Gives the flavors a chance to show themselves.

I try not to let a great deal be a deciding factor in my purchases anymore, but when handles were out there for $29.99 and had a $10 rebate, I bought a bunch.

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I am thinking FRYL 90 proof would be a hit. SmB bumped to 94 proof would be great. We want the best of both worlds...flavor and proof! C'mon Mr. Rutledge, make it happen!

I have a friend who is a dedicated WR drinker...WR this, WR that. I gave him a bottle of SmB. He told his dad (in his 90s) about it. His dad laughed and asked him why he would drink that rot gut. He did drink it and liked it well enough to buy another bottle. Shhh...don't tell Mikey, he might like it.

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I am thinking FRYL 90 proof would be a hit. SmB bumped to 94 proof would be great. We want the best of both worlds...flavor and proof! C'mon Mr. Rutledge, make it happen!

I have a friend who is a dedicated WR drinker...WR this, WR that. I gave him a bottle of SmB. He told his dad (in his 90s) about it. His dad laughed and asked him why he would drink that rot gut. He did drink it and liked it well enough to buy another bottle. Shhh...don't tell Mikey, he might like it.

FR yellow exists at 90 proof. It's called buliett bourbon :laugh:

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FR yellow exists at 90 proof. It's called buliett bourbon :laugh:

:lol: Good point. I bought a bottle of ETL Com and Larcency (obviously different bourbons compared to FR) for about $55 combined. I was wondering whether I would get as much enjoyment out of both bottles as I would a single bottle of FR BP (any recipe). It is pretty close.

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I also like Four Roses.. The regular Single Barrel bottlings are priced at $39.99 around my part of Florida.. I have yet to have a bottle I did not like..

Creggor

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It's my favorite whiskey/whisky, let alone bourbon. Standard 4R1B that is. I haven't ponied up the extra for a bottle of barrel strength or a different strain just yet. Everything more expensive scares me into skipping buying a bottle I won't like, everything cheaper has been really disappointing. Not disappointing in being good bourbon, just disappointing in trying to find a cheaper similar substitute! I can't daily pour a $40/750ml bottle, though I wish I could.

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It's my favorite whiskey/whisky, let alone bourbon. Standard 4R1B that is. I haven't ponied up the extra for a bottle of barrel strength or a different strain just yet. Everything more expensive scares me into skipping buying a bottle I won't like, everything cheaper has been really disappointing. Not disappointing in being good bourbon, just disappointing in trying to find a cheaper similar substitute! I can't daily pour a $40/750ml bottle, though I wish I could.
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Bourbon nirvana - having a bourbon you thoroughly enjoy that is not too expensive and is readily available. It would be better for your wallet if it were cheaper, but I suggest that that might make you appreciate it less.

I would have to say that buying it cheaper makes me appreciative of the fact I can buy more.

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Ok, it seems like everyone else has chimed in so I will as well.

Four Roses is my favorite bourbon and favorite distillery with absolutely great people. Love it from the YL to the limited editions and everything in between. They have a great barrel program that someday I am going to be able to go down and participate in directly but have enjoyed many of the other fine choices others have made.

The staff is just great, from everyone at the gift shop to the people in the office when you contact them for this that or the other thing. They are the only distillery that I have brought down a Michigan gift basket because they are just so great.

I will not go on and on about Jim as he is great and everyone knows this. With that said, it does bring up some concern as to what happens when he retires. But I know he has enough great bourbon sleeping away that I should be good to go for years to come.

Best regards, Tony

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I stare at a bottle of single barrel, and private selection SB (OBSF) 122* Barrel proof every day at home because I fear I can't replace the private selection

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