Four Roses Single Barrel: Bourbon's Beautiful Equation
With 10 unique recipes from 2 mashbills and 5 yeast strains, Four Roses is the bourbon equivalent of a master perfumer's workshop. Each barrel is its own creation.
Four Roses is bourbon's great mathematician. While other distilleries rely on a single mashbill and a consistent yeast strain, Four Roses multiplies two mashbills by five proprietary yeast strains to create ten distinct recipesāeach coded with a four-letter designation that has become a language unto itself among enthusiasts. OBSV, OESV, OBSQ, OBSKāthese aren't random letters. They're signatures of flavor profiles as distinct as fingerprints.
The standard Single Barrel release uses the OBSV recipe (60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley with the V yeast strain), and it's a remarkably well-balanced starting point. The nose offers a delicate bouquet of vanilla, dried raisins, and fresh flowers with a gentle fruitiness that distinguishes Four Roses from the caramel-heavy profiles that dominate the bourbon shelf.
On the palate at 100 proof, this bourbon unfolds with deliberate grace. Rye spice layers beautifully with leather, aged wood, and a mint note that keeps things lively. Raisins and cherries provide sweetness, while vanilla-coated peaches and dark pecan toffee add dessert-like indulgence. The high-rye mashbill gives Four Roses a spicier, more assertive character than its proof might suggestāthis is a bourbon with something to say.
The finish is exceptionally longāone of the best in the $50 tier. Currants and dark fruit leather mingle with cinnamon, ginger, pepper, bittersweet chocolate, and burnt caramel in a slowly evolving curtain call that rewards patience. This is a bourbon designed for contemplation, not consumption.
But the true magic of Four Roses lies in the barrel-strength store picks. When a skilled retailer selects a single barrel at full proof from any of the ten recipes, the results can be transcendentāOBSV at 58% that tastes like cherry pie, OESQ at 60% that's all dark chocolate and tobacco. These $50-70 picks are some of the best values in all of bourbon.
The standard release at $50 is excellent. The store picks are revelatory. Four Roses has quietly built one of the most compelling bourbon programs in Kentucky, and the math always adds up.
