BOTM 12/14: Four Roses Single Barrel

[fishnbowljoe]

This is another bourbon that hasn't been the BOTM for a while. That, and the fact that I myself have been delving into Four Rose's products a bit more in recent months, prompted me to go with FRSB as the BOTM. :skep: Yeah, I know. I've heard it from a number of members here. "The avowed Weller/wheater lover is getting into FR's products? What's the world coming to?" What can I say? Tastes and perspectives change. It's a long story that I won't go in to….., for a change. :bigeyes:

FWIW, here's my take on things. There's lot's of tastes/flavors going on. To me, it's a little fruity, and a little floral, plus there's some sweetness, and spiciness too. It might seem like a jumbled mess to some folks. Maybe there's too much going on? Sometimes bourbons that have a lot of different "things" going on, are hard for some people to get a handle on. I know that I've thought that myself about a few things in the past. But in the case of FRSB, somehow it works, and in a very good way. The different flavors tend to counterbalance each other very nicely. IMHO, FRSB is one solid bourbon. I'll go as far as to say that I think FRSB is a bourbon that might be considered as being a good value pour. I know the price can be a bit different depending on where you live. It may be a bit higher in some areas, but I've been able to find it pretty easily from $26 to $32 a bottle. Let's hope that stays the same for a while. (Fingers crossed) :crazy:

Cheers and happy posting.

Joe

[flahute]

Excellent choice Joe.

With all the enthusiasm here for the Private Selection SB's of the various recipes it can sometimes be easy to forget the simple standard bearer of the single barrel line. I am certainly guilty of this, always chasing a new recipe.

It's flat out a great bourbon at a great price (locations varying of course). My tasting experience with this one match up pretty closely to your description. It's a staple for me (in theory, see above comment about chasing the 10 recipes too much). In honor of this thread, I shall rectify the previous statement and enjoy the standard SB for a while.

[jeffrey r]

A staple for me, and one above all others that I have turned other people onto with rousing success. It is delicious neat, and it is the best bourbon IMHO on the rocks. It just works wonderfully when sitting around with friends, in a big ol' rocks glass with ice, sipping away. A bargain at around $30, and a good value higher than that within reason.

[Paddy]

^^^What Joe said^^^! Great bourbon, unique profile, fairly priced and always available! I always have a bottle open at my house, and even keep a stash of it at the girlfriends place. :grin:

[Richnimrod]

I certainly envy you folx who are picking FRSB at less than $33. Around here it's not easy easy to find it much under $10 more than that. Too Bad! It is a very reliable and nicely balanced pour. Joe's mention of the complexity is accurate. It is. ... And it worx!

I'd keep more of it around if it was in the low-thirty-dollar range. I still scoop a bottle once in a while, because it so well-made, and always taste the same, or very similar. Not easy for a single barrel product. I appreciate the attention to the profile shown in this brand.

[amg]

I can still find it for $29.99 and you can't do any better for the money. Lots of complexity without any off notes. Red fruit, caramel, vanilla, spices, and it really sips like it's quite a bit lower than 100 proof. If it was the only bourbon I could get I would be content with that.

[miller542]

able to find it pretty easily from $26 to $32 a bottle.

Lucky. Its $47 with tax here in Utah and you have to special order it to get it, ask me how I know.

Agree with the others have said: consistent pour not normally found in a single barrel product; flavorful with lots going on but approachable, balanced, and easy to drink. Excellent value if you can get it for $40 or less. Nice enough to feel like you're having something special and priced so you can have that something special every day.

P.S. - the other side of the control state coin is being able to get limited items like ECBP and PHC8 at retail and not at the outrageous gouging prices folks on here post, so that helps take the sting out of the stuff like FRSB that are a bit on the high side.

Edited December 5, 2014 by miller542

[Phil T]

Love, love, love FRSB. Great value, great bourbon.

My local started carrying it a few months ago for $37.10...The last time I dropped in it was $33.95

[mbroo5880i]

It is a great bourbon for the low $30 range. I haven't bought a bottle for over a year because I have been able to find FR BS for $45 (on sale) to $50. I find the value and flavor of the FR BS to be compelling enough to justify the $20 price differential. However, this may shift as FR BS prices increases continue to outpace FR SB prices.

[boneuphtoner]

For my taste and my budget, absolutely one of the top 2 of the readily available products on the shelf today. This is the bottle that sent bourbon from something I enjoyed frequently to becoming a real enthusiast.

[BMartin42]

Always try to grab 3-4 when I'm out of state and see it around $30. It is $42.99 locally. I enjoy it thoroughly and it is pretty much what my wife drinks exclusively. At $30 I think it is the best bourbon at that price point for my tastes. At $43 I still enjoy it but there are plenty of others at the same or better price.

[kcgumbohead]

Proud member of the cult and love me some SB. I have never had one I didn't like a lot and the variation within the store picks compels me to gather as many different ones from as many different places as I can find. Some feature more spice others more caramel some are very chocolaty (love those and will stock up when I find em) almost always with tasting notes and age stated on the labels. Such wonderful and satisfying variation within that OBSV SB program. I was very sad to read that the store pick SB program will be ending and with it that variation that is such a great feature and selling point. The one I have open currently is nicely spice forward and sold out so I can't get any more of this particular barrel but will spend 2015 stocking up on others before they are all gone. 4RSB is just a great all around bourbon.

[BigRich]

I was out getting one for a party last night and the local store had a selection bottled in my birthday. So OF COURSE I had to grab a few.

[Quintilian]

It's just an outstanding bourbon. That OBSV recipe is a sound mix of fruit, cream, and spice with a high-rye mash bill. I need to try the some of FR LEs and am specifically interested in OESV, OBSK, OESK, and OESQ. The cruddy selection in my area makes me have to have to pick up a bottle of regular FRSB when I'm on the road. I'm envious of the prices others have noted. At the Binny's up in Champaign, it runs about $36-38 if I remember right.

[flahute]

It's just an outstanding bourbon. That OBSV recipe is a sound mix of fruit, cream, and spice with a high-rye mash bill. I need to try the some of FR LEs and am specifically interested in OESV, OBSK, OESK, and OESQ. The cruddy selection in my area makes me have to have to pick up a bottle of regular FRSB when I'm on the road. I'm envious of the prices others have noted. At the Binny's up in Champaign, it runs about $36-38 if I remember right.

All the recipes you listed are fantastic so you should definitely seek them out. OESK was my first PS bottle from 4R and I came to love it after a short period of adjustment. I have some backup bottles because I liked it so much. I recently finished an OESQ and found it to be similar. I would buy again in a heartbeat. I'm currently working on OBSK and recommend this one also. I've only tried OESV once but immediately fell in love with it. I've been seeking out a bottle ever since.

[Quintilian]

All the recipes you listed are fantastic so you should definitely seek them out. OESK was my first PS bottle from 4R and I came to love it after a short period of adjustment. I have some backup bottles because I liked it so much. I recently finished an OESQ and found it to be similar. I would buy again in a heartbeat. I'm currently working on OBSK and recommend this one also. I've only tried OESV once but immediately fell in love with it. I've been seeking out a bottle ever since.

[zillah]

Love Four Roses Single Barrel. While I am usually buying up the barrel proof single barrel's these days, OBSV will always be my favorite recipe thanks to the original. Here are my notes:

Four Roses Single Barrel (Warehouse NS, Barrel 9-1 D, 100 proof)

Nose: cherry, plum, coca cola, birch beer, milk chocolate, gingerbread, toasted marshmallow, egg nog, star anise, orange peel, basil

Taste: cherry, plums and peaches on the tip of the tongue, followed by oak, ginger, clove and butterscotch mid palate, then an end of dark fudge, gram crackers, and oranges; velvety mouthfeel

Finish: medium length of cacao, cherry cordial syrup, cotton candy, ginger snaps, mint chocolate chip ice cream, clove and nutmeg

Overall: Outstanding whiskey. A perfect balance of fruits, herbs, spices and wood. Complex, rich, refined and smooth. The only thing I ask of this whiskey is that it stay out of my hands and on the shelf because I can't stop drinking it otherwise.

[jeffrey r]

Thanks for sharing your insights. I'm interested in seeing how the lower-rye mash bill tastes like on its own, so I'll probably start with OESK or OESV.

[t44tq]

The standard OBSV bottling, which I generally find for about $35, is an excellent bourbon. However, I find that a lot of the barrel selection bottlings done at cask strength (averaging around 120 proof) can be much better. Also, I personally like some of the OESF, OESV and other low-rye versions. Because the northeast is a bad place to find limited edition bourbon, I think I'll stock up on some FRSB private bottlings.

[boneuphtoner]

It's just an outstanding bourbon. That OBSV recipe is a sound mix of fruit, cream, and spice with a high-rye mash bill. I need to try the some of FR LEs and am specifically interested in OESV, OBSK, OESK, and OESQ. The cruddy selection in my area makes me have to have to pick up a bottle of regular FRSB when I'm on the road. I'm envious of the prices others have noted. At the Binny's up in Champaign, it runs about $36-38 if I remember right.

No private selections in my immediate area, but driving less than an hour I found a cask strenght OESQ that has become one of my all-time favorites!

[Merrymash Monk]

Always try to grab 3-4 when I'm out of state and see it around $30. It is $42.99 locally. I enjoy it thoroughly and it is pretty much what my wife drinks exclusively. At $30 I think it is the best bourbon at that price point for my tastes. At $43 I still enjoy it but there are plenty of others at the same or better price.

Similar price situation here in NH. Single Barrel retails for $45 a bottle- often on sale for $40. The FR Small Batch is often on sale for $25. They're both great bourbons and I'll admit the Single Barrel is the better of the two. But at these price points the Small Batch is a lot better value to me.

[Crowes]

I have such a strange relationship with this bottle. There are some nights where I swear it's one of the best pours I've had in a while, and other nights where it just seems unbalanced and astringent. I've noticed this with all the private bottlings I've picked up as well. It's just schizoid on my pallet I guess. Kind of like how Blanton's is for me as well. And it's not so much the differences between bottle, becuase it's a single barrel. One bottle will hold a lot of joy, and a lot of befuddlement, depending on the night.

[drunk]

It's hard to say I have a favorite anything, but this is probably it for me. I've never had an off bottle, and the dozen or so that I've gone through have all been really good to outstanding.

[AaronWF]

Four Roses makes it easy. 3 all-year, two limiteds, a gift shop/private barrel program. Rutledge and Co must have intimate knowledge of the recipe:location:age algorithm to be able to crank out such a consistent product. The 1B will always vary because it's a 1B, but with the single-story rickhouses, variation in limited.

To me, OBSV is fruit, mint and honey. Been awhile since I've grabbed a 1B off the shelf, but some of my favorite whiskey ever made is OBSV.

[jvd99]

My first Ah-Ha moment with bourbon was a store select of the standard OBSV SB. I had tried several bourbons before, mostly mid-shelfers, but the FR was an awakening that started my bourbon fanaticism. Back in the day, I promptly went out and bought three more of that bottle and picked up a couple of SmB LEs that were sitting on the shelf months after they were released. Of course, this was before the bourbon hysteria was in full swing and LEs sat on shelves quite awhile.