ondarocks Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Question, I'm looking for opinions on this scenario. If you were given a choice of a 4R OBSV barrel strength at 62.5% and 8 yrs, 11 months or an OBSV barrel strength of 51.7% and 11 years which would you choose, if given a choice of only one? One obviously from up high in the rickhouse and one from down low. Neither of these allow you to taste first and it's sight unseen. That's my dilemma (if you want to call it that). I'm thinking the higher octane will be more of a flavor bomb and the lower more nuanced flavors. What say ye all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 5 minutes ago, ondarocks said: Question, I'm looking for opinions on this scenario. If you were given a choice of a 4R OBSV barrel strength at 62.5% and 8 yrs, 11 months or an OBSV barrel strength of 51.7% and 11 years which would you choose, if given a choice of only one? One obviously from up high in the rickhouse and one from down low. Neither of these allow you to taste first and it's sight unseen. That's my dilemma (if you want to call it that). I'm thinking the higher octane will be more of a flavor bomb and the lower more nuanced flavors. What say ye all? I tend to gravitate more to lower proof and 9-10 year old bottles so neither of these really hit the mark for me, I would probably go with the 11 year hoping the lower proof helps balance the oak out for my tastes. If you know when they were bottled I would pick the one with the older bottling date as I haven't loved the more recent 4R SB BS bottles I've picked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcgumbohead Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 They also have rickhouses that are oriented North/South and East/West not to mention the fact that 2 adjacent barrels of the same age can taste VERY different and not just different good ( I have had selections from adjacent barrels and you would never guess it by the taste), the barrel after all is 60% or so of the final flavor profile. Its a crapshoot without tasting, in prior years the odds were more in your favor vs. now as stretched stocks have understandably impacted what is available as evidenced by the increasingly younger PS selections you find on shelves and the increasingly inconsistent reviews from folks purchasing those PS bottles these days. IMO its a roll of the dice either way, maybe you can get some tasting notes from the store? not that its reliable but better than nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCwhammie Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 FWIW, I had these 2 sbs a few days ago. The one on the right is 50%, and the one on the left is 52.8%. While the older BS is better, to me it wasnt the $28 better. The 4R PS I've liked the best were around 115-120 proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0895 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 (edited) While age is a good thing with bourbon, I will say that I've had some absolutely fantastic Four Roses picks that were 7-9 years. Personally, I feel like age statements on 4R are much less a factor (for me) versus actual taste, when picking. I realize you mentioned that you won't get to try either beforehand. I think your speculation is probably somewhat correct, that the younger one will be more intense. I wouldn't say the older one will be weaker or less intense, just different. Four Roses cask strength bottles are always "full-flavored" to me. Personally, If price is similar, I would go for the older barrel, because right now they are slightly scarcer. If you want to try a younger version of OBSV, you should have no problem finding someone to offer you a taste of one . I'd also like to add that if either of those bottles is an old "leftover" Rutlege era pick, buy that one no matter what. Edited July 12, 2018 by 0895 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 2 hours ago, ondarocks said: Question, I'm looking for opinions on this scenario. If you were given a choice of a 4R OBSV barrel strength at 62.5% and 8 yrs, 11 months or an OBSV barrel strength of 51.7% and 11 years which would you choose, if given a choice of only one? One obviously from up high in the rickhouse and one from down low. Neither of these allow you to taste first and it's sight unseen. That's my dilemma (if you want to call it that). I'm thinking the higher octane will be more of a flavor bomb and the lower more nuanced flavors. What say ye all? Higher proof doesn't always mean more 'flavor'. It only assures more of what'll get ya' ripped. That said, higher proof sometimes comes with more dissolved aromatics, therefor; maybe more perceived taste intensity. On the other hand, more age in those single story rickhouses used by 4-R, often means more flavor, and more complexity. And rick position isn't the only predictor. Some rickhouses are 'hilltop', some are valley floor. That is more likely to predict "something" than the rick position within an unknown rickhouse IMO. These are 'shot-in-the-dark' guesses at best, though. The only way to see which one you like best is to taste 'em both SBS. My advice? Buy one of each, and go back for seconds (or more) on the best of the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondarocks Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 12 minutes ago, Richnimrod said: Higher proof doesn't always mean more 'flavor'. It only assures more of what'll get ya' ripped. That said, higher proof sometimes comes with more dissolved aromatics, therefor; maybe more perceived taste intensity. On the other hand, more age in those single story rickhouses used by 4-R, often means more flavor, and more complexity. And rick position isn't the only predictor. Some rickhouses are 'hilltop', some are valley floor. That is more likely to predict "something" than the rick position within an unknown rickhouse IMO. These are 'shot-in-the-dark' guesses at best, though. The only way to see which one you like best is to taste 'em both SBS. My advice? Buy one of each, and go back for seconds (or more) on the best of the two. Good advice from everyone. Yes, I presumed it was all a crap shoot anyway but wanted to see what others had to say. So many variables and influences. I am kind of leaning toward the older, lower proof one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 1 hour ago, ondarocks said: Good advice from everyone. Yes, I presumed it was all a crap shoot anyway but wanted to see what others had to say. So many variables and influences. I am kind of leaning toward the older, lower proof one. The answer to your kind of question around here is always "buy both!" which I heartily endorse. As mentioned above, 4R rickhouses are single story. That said, some of the tier 6 barrels can be fantastic, but even then, they've been on the older side. If I was only picking one, I'd get the 11yr every time. Not because older is automatically better but because I find that 4R PS barrels tend to really sing in the 10-12yr age range. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpiz Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 6 minutes ago, flahute said: The answer to your kind of question around here is always "buy both!" which I heartily endorse. As mentioned above, 4R rickhouses are single story. That said, some of the tier 6 barrels can be fantastic, but even then, they've been on the older side. If I was only picking one, I'd get the 11yr every time. Not because older is automatically better but because I find that 4R PS barrels tend to really sing in the 10-12yr age range. I second this. Four Roses barrels seem to develop really nice depth of flavor at 10+ years of age. Probably from sitting for so long at a relatively low ABV, among other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fosmith Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Buy both or you'll always wonder about "the one that got away". C'mon, you can always "borrow" $60 from your kid's piggy bank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeTerp Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 I would go towards the 11 year if I could only pick one. My favorite Four Roses have usually been around 10 years or so. I've also found some lower proof ones that I've really enjoyed (a 10 year OBSK comes to mind). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT3NSB Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 buy them both and compare! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 8 hours ago, JT3NSB said: buy them both and compare! ..........always the correct answer, especially here! Given that, I've had some extraordinary bottles of the older 4R PS's in the lower proof range. Obviously, YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 If I were shooting in the dark, I’d go lower proof since you don’t see those too often Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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