4R Small Batch Select

[berto]

I heard:

 

6-7year

104 proof

V,K,F yeast with both mashbills

MSRP ~$40

[BadDayBlack]

1 hour ago, Clueby said:

The tasting notes sound nice. I hope it tastes nothing like regular small batch as that is the one in their lineup I can't stand. It tastes like old, wet, dirty leaves..not that I know what that actually tastes like!

+1

[flahute]

1 hour ago, Clueby said:

The tasting notes sound nice. I hope it tastes nothing like regular small batch as that is the one in their lineup I can't stand. It tastes like old, wet, dirty leaves..not that I know what that actually tastes like!

It will all the Vs Ks and Fs so it should be different. 

 

[Spade]

For 6-7 years and 102 proof, anything more than $40 would be really pushing it from my view. And really even $40 is a stretch since this has similar specs to WT101. 

[HoustonNit]

For 6-7 years and 102 proof, anything more than $40 would be really pushing it from my view. And really even $40 is a stretch since this has similar specs to WT101. 

I’m in no way putting down probably my favorite in WT101 but there’s some differences. It’s 104 vs. 101, NCF which too many adds a lot. I’m also assuming it’ll be a much smaller batch?

[smokinjoe]

1 minute ago, HoustonNit said:

 

I’m in no way putting down probably my favorite in WT101 but there’s some differences. It’s 104 vs. 101, NCF which too many adds a lot. I’m also assuming it’ll be a much smaller batch?

 

It also has the uniqueness of multiple mash bills mingled together.  Lots of differences with a comparison of these two whiskies.  

[HoustonNit]

It also has the uniqueness of multiple mash bills mingled together.  Lots of differences with a comparison of these two whiskies.  

Yes good point. Also when I saw what the recipes where I kept saying those are my favorites, than I realized 6 out of ten are my “favorites” and I essentially just figured I like all the recipes.

[flahute]

3 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

It also has the uniqueness of multiple mash bills mingled together.  Lots of differences with a comparison of these two whiskies.  

WT101 is also an outlier in terms of general age, proof, and price. If that's the value bar by which you judge all others, then a very large number of whiskies get eliminated. 

It's not always about value. It's sometimes about quality, enjoyment and uniqueness.

[HoustonNit]

WT101 is also an outlier in terms of general age, proof, and price. If that's the value bar by which you judge all others, then a very large number of whiskies get eliminated. 
It's not always about value. It's sometimes about quality, enjoyment and uniqueness.

Yeah it’s a slippery slope. I’d then make the argument I can get EW BIB for $13. This is 100 proof, probably a good chunk of the barrels used are 6+.

All that being said I’m not paying more than $50.

[EarthQuake]

I'm in. Under $60 and I'll grab the first one I see.

[flahute]

1 hour ago, HoustonNit said:

 

Yeah it’s a slippery slope. I’d then make the argument I can get EW BIB for $13. This is 100 proof, probably a good chunk of the barrels used are 6+.

All that being said I’m not paying more than $50.

 

EWBIB 6+? Are you sure about that? I taste nothing but wet cardboard in that which is indicative of young whiskey. I'd be surprised if it's a month over 4 years old.

[kcgumbohead]

8 hours ago, flahute said:

EWBIB 6+? Are you sure about that? I taste nothing but wet cardboard in that which is indicative of young whiskey. I'd be surprised if it's a month over 4 years old.

LOL!! While my palate has a far more favorable impression of EWBiB than yours, with regard to SmB SL, I am picking that 50-60 bracket as the SB is 40 in this market, regular SmB is 30-35 and we all know what has been announced regarding SBPS pricing. I am hoping for closer to 50 than 60. Agreed on WT, they set a pretty damn high bar and likely why most all of my recent/current purchasing has been some variant of WT.

[CUfan99]

I really hope Elliott has created something closer to the profile of the CS SiBs than the standard SiB currently is. I suppose 4 more proof points, NCF with the same age might get there. I'm excited to try it. I was very interested to know what the price point on it would be to see if it was going to be marketed below or above the standard SiB. If $40 will be the MSRP it's surprising to me they decided to "compete" with one of their own standard offerings.

[smokinjoe]

12 hours ago, flahute said:

WT101 is also an outlier in terms of general age, proof, and price. If that's the value bar by which you judge all others, then a very large number of whiskies get eliminated. 

It's not always about value. It's sometimes about quality, enjoyment and uniqueness.

Well said, bro.  For me personally, I put value probably near the bottom on this list.   (within reason).  One of things I could never reconcile with our esteemed and learned  SBer Squire, was that it seemed his measurement of any whiskey’s attraction or desire, was calculated by the “How many VOB BIB 6 yrs can I get for the same price” rule.  Obviously, works for him, though.  And, that’s fine!  

[HoustonNit]

EWBIB 6+? Are you sure about that? I taste nothing but wet cardboard in that which is indicative of young whiskey. I'd be surprised if it's a month over 4 years old.

I have no idea on age making the assumption based on how HH seems to have relatively a good amount of stock and a lot of other offerings generally in the 6+ range.

Luckily for me I don’t get the wet cardboard. I get a good dose of caramel and brown sugar. Nothing complex a short finish but nothing unpleasant.

I guess more for me.

[Spade]

I value uniqueness as well. And am willing to pay a premium to do so. But I’m not ready to accept a world where a six year bourbon is considered a premium product — and $40 or more is unequivocally premium. 

 

Anyway, I’m interested to try this and if the $40 is true and it’s any good (and I fully expect it to be good) I’ll buy it from time to time. Probably about as often as I buy the similarly priced, aged, and proofed Baker’s which is once every three years or so. 

[flahute]

5 hours ago, kcgumbohead said:

LOL!! While my palate has a far more favorable impression of EWBiB than yours, with regard to SmB SL, I am picking that 50-60 bracket as the SB is 40 in this market, regular SmB is 30-35 and we all know what has been announced regarding SBPS pricing. I am hoping for closer to 50 than 60. Agreed on WT, they set a pretty damn high bar and likely why most all of my recent/current purchasing has been some variant of WT.

In one of his last interviews before retirement, Larry Kass said that HH discontinued HH6yr BIB because they could no longer justify selling a 6 year bourbon at that price. Based on that I'd be very surprised if any 6yr bourbon is in EWBIB given it's nationwide distribution. HH6 was pretty much only in Kentucky at the time they killed it.

[flahute]

4 hours ago, CUfan99 said:

I really hope Elliott has created something closer to the profile of the CS SiBs than the standard SiB currently is. I suppose 4 more proof points, NCF with the same age might get there. I'm excited to try it. I was very interested to know what the price point on it would be to see if it was going to be marketed below or above the standard SiB. If $40 will be the MSRP it's surprising to me they decided to "compete" with one of their own standard offerings.

Does cask strength PS single barrels from 4R even have a profile you can name? They have 10 different recipes so I'm not sure what you mean. The cask strength PS do tend to be older than the standard single barrel so they aren't going to match that.

Given the new blend of 6 recipes it has a chance to be something unique for them.

[Mako254]

32 minutes ago, flahute said:

In one of his last interviews before retirement, Larry Kass said that HH discontinued HH6yr BIB because they could no longer justify selling a 6 year bourbon at that price. Based on that I'd be very surprised if any 6yr bourbon is in EWBIB given it's nationwide distribution. HH6 was pretty much only in Kentucky at the time they killed it.

 

I seem to recall bernie lubbers saying EW BiB is 5 year juice though it was a couple years ago. 

 

[smokinjoe]

2 minutes ago, Mako254 said:

 

I seem to recall bernie lubbers saying EW BiB is 5 year juice though it was a couple years ago. 

 

A “couple of years ago” in this bourbon world is like a lifetime!  

But, a data point, it is.  

 

[Mako254]

Four Roses in a tweet. Going to be north of the standard single barrel and vary by market. 

 

 

[flahute]

1 hour ago, Mako254 said:

Four Roses in a tweet. Going to be north of the standard single barrel and vary by market. 

 

 

Oy............that puts it into gouge territory in Washington State. The 4R distributor here marks everything up before it even gets to the retailer. They truly suck. 

[JCwhammie]

1 hour ago, Mako254 said:

Four Roses in a tweet. Going to be north of the standard single barrel and vary by market. 

 

 

We currently get SiB for $32.99, so maybe the small batch select (4R SmBS?) will be $40-$45 here. 

[BMartin42]

So maybe 42-50 here in central IL. I’m a buyer at anything less than 50 and twice on Sunday.

[Golferpimp1]

EWBIB 6+? Are you sure about that? I taste nothing but wet cardboard in that which is indicative of young whiskey. I'd be surprised if it's a month over 4 years old.

Couldn’t agree more. FC is slightly better, but not as good as EC or HMcK10. I love heaven hills older stuff but can’t stand anything that’s 6 or less. It’s like at 6 years it makes a magical transformation IMHO.