Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon

Four Roses is the only major Kentucky distillery running two mash bills and five proprietary yeast strains, which gives ten distinct recipes. Each gets a four-letter code: the first and third letters are constant (O for the Lawrenceburg distillery, S for straight whiskey), the second identifies the mash bill, and the fourth identifies the yeast. Four Roses Single Barrel is always OBSV — the high-rye mash bill B (35% rye) with the V yeast, which is the delicate, fruity one. That consistency is why this bottle tastes recognisably like itself bottle to bottle, even though every one comes from a different barrel. Our guide to single barrel vs. small batch explains what that distinction actually buys you.

Small Batch blends four of the ten recipes at 90 proof; Single Barrel is one recipe from one barrel at 100 proof. The Small Batch is rounder and more balanced by design, because blending is a smoothing operation. The Single Barrel is narrower, more intense and more clearly high-rye — brighter fruit, more baking spice, a longer and drier finish. Neither is better. Tasted side by side they are the single cleanest demonstration in American whiskey of what blending does. Four Roses Bourbon Small Batch ($37.99) is the natural companion bottle.

Not exactly, and that is the point. Every bottle comes from one barrel, and barrels vary — mostly by where they sat in the warehouse, which changes how much temperature swing they experienced over the years. Because the recipe is always OBSV, the variation is narrower than with most single barrel programmes, but you will still find bottle-to-bottle differences in oak intensity and fruit character. Our piece on what a rickhouse actually does to bourbon covers why that happens.

100 proof (50% ABV), non-chill-filtered, with no age statement on the standard bottling — Four Roses typically draws from barrels in the seven to nine year range for it. The 100 proof matters: it is high enough to carry aromatics properly but low enough to drink neat without water, which makes it an unusually versatile bottle for the price.

Neat, in a Glencairn or similar tulip glass, is where the OBSV character is most legible — the fruit and floral notes from the V yeast are delicate and a wide-mouthed rocks glass loses them. Add three or four drops of water if you want to open it further. It also makes an outstanding Old Fashioned, where the high-rye backbone stands up to sugar and bitters better than a wheated bourbon would. Our beginner's tasting guide covers the nosing technique.

For another distillery's take on a single barrel at bonded strength, New Riff Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon ($54.99) is the best value comparison on the site. For the same idea at higher proof and a very different house style, Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey ($78.09) is worth the step up. Browse the full bourbon collection or the best sellers for more.