4R Small Batch Select

[NightCru]

This hit K&L today.  I bought a couple bottles online, it will be a little bit before I actually take possession though.  They blew through the initial delivery in under a half hour.  I'm sure there is more on the way soon though.  It was $55 at K&L.

[fosmith]

This just hit the shelves here in the Bay Area.  K&L posted it on their web site this morning for $55 and it sold out in less than an hour.  Unfortunately, it was gone by the time I saw it but I'm sure they'll get more.  Ommm...

 

Saw a couple of reviews online this morning:

 

https://www.bourbonguy.com/blog/2019/4/18/four-roses-small-batch-select

 

 

[fosmith]

4 minutes ago, NightCru said:

This hit K&L today.  I bought a couple bottles online, it will be a little bit before I actually take possession though.  They blew through the initial delivery in under a half hour.  I'm sure there is more on the way soon though.  It was $55 at K&L.

You must have a mule in this area.  It's my understanding they no longer ship spirits outside of Calif.  Anyone know why they adopted that policy? 

[NightCru]

27 minutes ago, fosmith said:

You must have a mule in this area.  It's my understanding they no longer ship spirits outside of Calif.  Anyone know why they adopted that policy? 

I still have family in the area that help me out.  When I first moved away K&L could still ship to me directly but eventually they were cut off.  Way back when I was told there was a shit storm going down in interstate liquor shipping and slowly but surely stores were being cut off one by one by the shipping companies because they didn't want the exposure.  Eventually K&L was cut off.  Mission was cut off too.  I know there are others who still ship out of state but it does seem like one by one the options are dropping.

[ebo]

Does anyone know if the Bourbon wasteland of Ohio will be getting this?

[NightCru]

20 minutes ago, ebo said:

Does anyone know if the Bourbon wasteland of Ohio will be getting this?

Ohio is not on the initial list of states but I'm pretty sure the idea is over the next few years to roll this out nationally.  I'm sure Ohio will get it at some point and until then at least Kentucky is close by.

[Jazzhead]

I'm reading this thread while sipping an OESQ store pick from State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD.    This bottle has been hit or miss for me,  but it's connecting to my current mood like a spooning lover.  These guys distill boffo stuff.    

[ebo]

23 minutes ago, Jazzhead said:

These guys distill boffo stuff.  

I'd like to agree with that, but since JR has been gone, I think the product has suffered.

[CUfan99]

51 minutes ago, ebo said:

I'd like to agree with that, but since JR has been gone, I think the product has suffered.

JR distilled most everything that’s out now. Perhaps the product isn’t what it was when JR was master distiller, but maybe that has more to do with the difference in the market now than who the master distiller is. JR would be dealing with the same stock issues Elliott is and who knows how he would handle it. Maybe better, maybe not, but that is something to consider. 

[ebo]

Thanks for the information. I just know that my last two bottles of Single Barrel have been.......... less than what I have come to expect from Four Roses. Maybe being as they are SB bottles, I just happened on a couple of off bottles?

[0895]

2 hours ago, ebo said:

Thanks for the information. I just know that my last two bottles of Single Barrel have been.......... less than what I have come to expect from Four Roses. Maybe being as they are SB bottles, I just happened on a couple of off bottles?

 

I tend to agree with you that the product (single barrel) has suffered a bit recently, but I still enjoy it.

It is my understanding that stocks are being stretched very thin right now.

 

Ever toured cox creek?

Those guys are always working their asses off in the barrel dump/fill room.

 

With summer rapidly approaching, I'll go back to yellow label outta the freezer.  Yum!

[flahute]

2 hours ago, 0895 said:

With summer rapidly approaching, I'll go back to yellow label outta the freezer.  Yum!

Yes..........it's almost time.

[CUfan99]

6 hours ago, ebo said:

Thanks for the information. I just know that my last two bottles of Single Barrel have been.......... less than what I have come to expect from Four Roses. Maybe being as they are SB bottles, I just happened on a couple of off bottles?

I don't doubt what you've experienced. Your opinion is shared by many here. I'm just saying those bottles where distilled under JR's watch, but put into the single barrel program under Elliott's. It's conjecture whether or not JR would have done the same in this market. Times and stocks were different when JR was putting out the single barrels. Cheers! 

[Mako254]

2 hours ago, CUfan99 said:

I don't doubt what you've experienced. Your opinion is shared by many here. I'm just saying those bottles where distilled under JR's watch, but put into the single barrel program under Elliott's. It's conjecture whether or not JR would have done the same in this market. Times and stocks were different when JR was putting out the single barrels. Cheers! 

What I have found, my pickens county amigo, is that the more Four Roses private selections I am exposed to, the less I reach for standard single barrel. I always keep one handy, it is a staple with tastings and is a go to when I head out of town for a quick weekend. 

 

However, as my 4R tasting experience library expands, I find single barrel below the oesv and obsk that I have come to really appreciate. 

 

Part of that is it isn’t fair to compare a 100 proof CF 7 yr old to a 114 proof NCF 10 year old. Another part is my palate or judgement isn’t strong enough to experience 100 proof for what it is without thinking ‘man, oesv is better’. 

Perhaps the product is consistent but my palate has changed??

[ThirstyinOhio]

On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 3:36 PM, CUfan99 said:

I don't doubt what you've experienced. Your opinion is shared by many here. I'm just saying those bottles where distilled under JR's watch, but put into the single barrel program under Elliott's. It's conjecture whether or not JR would have done the same in this market. Times and stocks were different when JR was putting out the single barrels. Cheers! 

I completely agree with this.  I think the single barrels had started dropping in quality while JR was still in command and that Elliott simply took over at a bad time.  The recent 130th release gives me full faith that Elliott knows what he is doing as I think its better than the vast majority of the previous 4R small batch limiteds released under JR.

[EarthQuake]

Yeah, I would say it's a little silly to put the drop in quality on Elliot. Market demand has risen sharply in the last 10 years, so Four Roses simply doesn't have the luxury of picking the best of the best for the private selection program - or rather, the best of the best simply isn't as good as it was before, as they have to sell younger and younger barrels just to keep up with demand.

 

Personally I find the current private selection barrels to be fantastic, but I just started to get into Four Roses in the last year or so, I expect I missed out on the golden days.

[kcgumbohead]

On 4/20/2019 at 6:29 PM, Mako254 said:

What I have found, my pickens county amigo, is that the more Four Roses private selections I am exposed to, the less I reach for standard single barrel. I always keep one handy, it is a staple with tastings and is a go to when I head out of town for a quick weekend. 

 

However, as my 4R tasting experience library expands, I find single barrel below the oesv and obsk that I have come to really appreciate. 

 

Part of that is it isn’t fair to compare a 100 proof CF 7 yr old to a 114 proof NCF 10 year old. Another part is my palate or judgement isn’t strong enough to experience 100 proof for what it is without thinking ‘man, oesv is better’. 

Perhaps the product is consistent but my palate has changed??

While never age stated, I recall an interview with JR some years back where he said SB was, on average, 9yrs old. The SBPS of the day were in the 9-10 yr range, I doubt that is the case anymore given their supply strain, perhaps closer to the 7 yr you estimate.

[Mako254]

50 minutes ago, kcgumbohead said:

While never age stated, I recall an interview with JR some years back where he said SB was, on average, 9yrs old. The SBPS of the day were in the 9-10 yr range, I doubt that is the case anymore given their supply strain, perhaps closer to the 7 yr you estimate.

 KC,

in the last 6 months, two locals landed 100 proof store picks. Both were 7 yrsand less than 6 mos. just 2 data points and certainly they are still putting older barrels out for NAS Shelfies.  

The private selects I have come across are are still very very good but I’ve seen more than a handful at sub 9 yrs. 

 

 

[fishnbowljoe]

Regardless of JR or BE, just a little food for thought here. It’s been over 2 years since FR’s contract with Bulleit expired. No one knows for sure the ages of the distillate that was designated for Bulleit back then. One would think some of it might have been older. What is FR’s doing with that distillate now? Just sayin’.

 

Biba! Joe

[CUfan99]

1 hour ago, fishnbowljoe said:

Regardless of JR or BE, just a little food for thought here. It’s been over 2 years since FR’s contract with Bulleit expired. No one knows for sure the ages of the distillate that was designated for Bulleit back then. One would think some of it might have been older. What is FR’s doing with that distillate now? Just sayin’.

 

Biba! Joe

Was 4R contract distilling and selling aged stock to Bulleit?

[fishnbowljoe]

21 minutes ago, CUfan99 said:

Was 4R contract distilling and selling aged stock to Bulleit?

4R’s did contract distill for Bulleit. Selling aged stock? Well, the distillate for the Bulleit 10 yr had to come from somewhere. I guess I’m just trying to put 2 and 2 together and come up with 4.

 

Biba! Joe

[flahute]

2 hours ago, CUfan99 said:

Was 4R contract distilling and selling aged stock to Bulleit?

 

2 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

4R’s did contract distill for Bulleit. Selling aged stock? Well, the distillate for the Bulleit 10 yr had to come from somewhere. I guess I’m just trying to put 2 and 2 together and come up with 4.

 

Biba! Joe

At one point in the recent past, approximately 50% of 4R distilling and warehouse capacity was dedicated to Bulleit. They are no longer distilling but Bulleit barrels are still sitting in the warehouses. Last year a 13yr OESK got dumped into Bulleit. That one hurt.

[BigRich]

4R’s did contract distill for Bulleit. Selling aged stock? Well, the distillate for the Bulleit 10 yr had to come from somewhere. I guess I’m just trying to put 2 and 2 together and come up with 4.
 
Biba! Joe

Math is hard

[Richnimrod]

4 minutes ago, BigRich said:

Math is hard

IT IS!!!   

And so often coming up with incorrect results has me deciding to just make guesses rather than using this voodoo some of y'all call 'math'.   

Numbers just lie anyway, right?   C'mon folx!   Let's all just quit using math, and maybe it'll go away.....  

[CUfan99]

10 hours ago, flahute said:

 

Last year a 13yr OESK got dumped into Bulleit. That one hurt.

That’s appalling!