When an email shows up in your inbox saying. “We were able to get our hands on all 10 of the Four Roses Icons of Whiskey, do you want to come try them” the answer is always yes. Inside I might have been screaming “Hell Yeah”, but one must keep a sense of decorum so my reply was more along the lines of “Yes, that would be lovely good sir”. Aw who am I kidding? It was Hell Yeah.
Thanks to the amazing hustle, team work, and foresight by some dedicated whiskey loving folks here in Los Angeles, LAWS (LA Whisky Society) was able to put together the entire collection for this increadible tasting. If you’re not familiar with the Icons of Whiskey here’s the down and dirty of it.
Whisky magazine recently gave Distillery of the Year to Four Roses. They also nominated a handful of shops around the country as whisky retailer of the year with 2 winners (Binny’s and Julio’s). To celebrate this event Jim Rutledge (Master Distiller at Four Roses) picked out some barrels, which he doesn’t do too often these days, and the nominated retailers got to buy one of the chosen barrels. Some of the stores got involved in the selection themselves, some didn’t and even Fred Minnick got involved. In the end 1 barrel of each of the 10 recipes was selected and 8 retailers got a barrel with 2 retailers getting 2.
Four Roses is famous for their 10 different bourbon recipes which uses 2 different mashbills and 5 different strains of propriety yeast and if you’re only passingly familiar with those cryptic 4 letter codes here’s a quick reference before we dig into the evening.
O = From the Four Roses distillery
B / E = The mashbill. B = 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley E = 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley
S = Straight whiskey
V / K / O / Q / F = The yeast strain
The way this epic Icons of Whiskey tasting was organized was semi-blind. We all knew what we were tasting, but the retailer and the recipe were covered up and each bottle was given a code name. That way all we knew was that we were drinking cask strength Four Roses Icons of Whiskey single barrels until the end when we did the reveal. Here’s how the night played out for me.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey Tasting Notes & Reviews
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OBSV
ABV: 53.7% Store: Julio’s Age: 12yrs 2 mo
- Nose: Caramel, raw grain, vanilla, Twizzlers and spice. This one didn’t really wow me with it’s aroma, felt really basic.
- Palate: Big spice with layers of leather, dark fruit gummies and grain. Again, not terrible, but didn’t wow me either.
- Finish: Wood, Twizzlers and spice. What I mean by Twizzlers is that waxy fruity quality.
- Overall: B- (80-82) OBSV is the most common single barrel recipe that gets put out so it’s the one you’re most likely to encounter and in this lineup it was definitely my least favorite. Though I’ve had some great OBSV single barrels in the past and this really illustrates the point about the wild nature of single barrels.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OESV
ABV: 60.7% Store: Wally’s Age: 10 yrs 10 mo
- Nose: Rich thick notes of caramel, dark fruit, leather, spice and wood.
- Palate: Dark fruit, wood, spice, brown sugar, vanilla and nail polish remover (acetone). Sounds like an odd note, but it works against the sweeter woodier notes.
- Finish: Wood, mineral water, dark fruit and burnt citrus.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) This one was a solid B+ and was even jockeying for an A- by the end of the night. It was a fantastic whisky and I wish I had ran down to Wally’s and picked one up when I had the chance.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OBSK
ABV: 59.6% Store: Schneider’s Age: 12 yrs 10 mo
- Nose: Melon rind, Fig Newton’s, mild oak, dark fruit and a touch of spice.
- Palate: Oak, dark fruit, vitamins, spice caramel, vanilla and dust.
- Finish: Woody and spicy with notes of cardamom, caramel and a light touch of maple syrup.
- Overall: B (83-86) Good, but feels a little washed out and light overall. Oddly enough adding water does help open it up, but it still feels a bit muted.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OESK
ABV: 57.4% Store: Bay Way Age: 9 yrs 4 mo
- Nose: Woody and spicy with nice notes of char, fruit and dark sweets.
- Palate: Dark fruit, wood, caramel, vanilla, a light bit of spice and something that reminded me of black tea.
- Finish: Wood, spice, vanilla and grains that faded out sweetly
- Overall: B+ (87-89) This was just a really good solid bourbon. May not have been the most complex of the bunch, but it was nice and rich and warm. I could easily enjoy a glass of this any time.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OBSO
ABV: 54.7% Store: Binny’s Age:10 yrs 4 mo
- Nose: Overall a bit light on the nose. Notes of caramel, wood, spice, citrus, vanilla, dried strawberries and bit floral.
- Palate: Oaky dark sweets with a bit of leather and spice. There was something “green” to it… almost vegetal but not quite. A bit more like fresh picked herbs that have sat in the fridge for a week.
- Finish: Sour, vegetal and chalky with thick notes of spice and wood.
- Overall: B- (80-82) Didn’t care much for this one, but some of the guys did, which is why blind group tasting are so much. You get to hear other people’s notes and opinions. A chance to learn, discuss and argue.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OESO
ABV: 55.8% Store: Binny’s Age: 12yr 4 mo
- Nose: Oak, caramel, dried strawberries, spice, vanilla, and wonderful, full bourbon character.
- Palate: Wood, dried fruit, light spice, vanilla, caramel and toasted nuts.
- Finish: Wood and fruity that fades to a sweet allspice.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) The way the notes are written makes it sound like it was spicy, and while it was there, it was light and balancing. This was another example of just a really nice bourbon.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OBSQ
ABV: 58.1% Store: Hi-Time Age: 10 yrs 11 mo
- Nose: Big dark sweets, dark fruit, spice and oak. Touch of toasted nuts and vanilla.
- Palate: Oaky and spicy, caramel and vanilla and dark fruit.
- Finish: Wood, mint spice and a light bit of dark sweets.
- Overall: A- (90-92) Complex, rich and full of awesomeness it was hard to choose between this and OBSF. If I set them on a numerical scale this would be a 91 and the OBSF would be a 92. Another one I wish I had driven out to get.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OESQ
ABV: 60.4% Store: Liquor Barn Age: 10 yrs 11 mo
- Nose: Sugar Daddys, dark fruit, smarties, fresh mint and a cavalcade of dark sweets with a touch of vanilla and oak.
- Palate: Woody, darkly sweet with good layers of spice and a slight earthy character.
- Finish: Spice, wood, dark sweets and earth.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) Sitting on the cusp of a B / B+ I really enjoyed this one and the earthy character added a nice dimension of flavor to it.
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OBSF
ABV: 56.6% Store: Schneider’s Age: 11 yrs 8 mo
- Nose: Dark juicy fruit and oak with big notes of spice and vanilla. One of the fruitiest Four Roses I’ve had in a while.
- Palate: Oak, rich dark fruit, caramel, vanilla and just a touch of citrus.
- Finish: Sweet and darkly fruity with notes of dark sweets and wood.
- Overall: A- (90-92) A little water really opened it up and brought out a light bit of nuttiness and was a great way to start the evening. This one ended up being my favorite of the night after doing a H2H with my second favorite (OBSQ, the other A-).
Four Roses Icons of Whiskey – OESF
ABV: 59% Store: Liquor Barn Age: 10 yrs 11 mo
- Nose: Caramel, oak, blackberry compote and the whole rack of baking spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, anise you name it.
- Palate: Oak, complex baking spices, caramel, vanilla and a light bit of dark fruit leather.
- Finish: Wood, dark fruit and vanilla fades to baking spices.
- Overall: B (87-89) This one for me was a bit off balance due to all of the spice. It was good, I’d never turn down another glass, but at times the spice covered up some of the other notes and weighed heavier than I usually like. A splash of water did help even it out a bit, but not enough for me to give it a B+.
So there you have it. The entire Four Roses Icons of Whiskey line up. If you’re a Four Roses fan then I highly recommend this is something you try to put together. Not necessarily this exact lineup, that’s going to be incredibly tough, but I mean tracking down the 10 different recipes and trying them side by side. It’s fascinating to see how whiskey changes with adjustments in mashbill and yeast.
Though if this is something that you’re interested in doing you’ll want to start by locating an OBSQ & OESQ right away. Four Roses isn’t releasing any of those for a while and they’re starting to disappear off shelves due to the impending scarcity so don’t hesitate on grabbing those two right now, otherwise you’re going to have to wait a few years to get the opportunity again.
Cheers!
I found a single OESV 10 year 4 mos today on sale (mixed in with a double facing of an 8 year store pick) and snatched it up. It was wonderfully fruity, spicey and woody with a long warm vanilla wood finish. Much like yours but sans the acetone. It was bottled for “The Cask Strength Society”. Don’t know who they are, but they picked an awesome barrel.
That’s awesome! Hell of a way to start the weekend. Cheers!
If you have a bottle but don’t know the make-up, can you find out based on the bottle’s label? I have a bottle that I really enjoy and is unfortunately nearing it’s EOL and would like to find a close match.
Most of the store picks have it listed on the label. If it’s a standard then it’s an OBSV
Great review! Ever since I visited the Four Roses distillery, I’ve been very fascinated by the interplay of the mashbill and yeast. I was wondering if anyone had tried all 10 back-to-back, so I did a bit of searching and came across this page. I’ve been able to find 6 of these in local shops, but I was curious about the remaining 4. Looks like I really should track down the OBSF. Thanks!
Cheers Brett! I’m working on tracking down all 10 for my own as well for another round up (all 10yrs old +). So hopefully sometime in the future I’ll be able to do it again, but it sounds like you have a lead on me. Hope you get yours soon!
I just got lucky enough to land a store bottling of OBSF, and I have to agree with your assessment of it being really incredible stuff. The only other Four Roses recipes I’ve had are OBSK & OBSV, but the OBSF definitely stands as one of the single greatest bourbons I’ve ever drank- I’d easily put it in my top 3-5 all time favorite bourbons. I’ve rarely even had any super special limited release stuff I enjoy more than this- offhand Jefferson’s 17, Four Roses 125th, and Wild Turkey Tradition and maybe WT Diamond are the only bourbons I’ve had that I like better. This was probably the best $60 I’ve ever spent.
I’ve never met an OBSF I didn’t like :)
My specialist shop here in Copenhagen, Denmark has Four Roses Small Batch LE 2014, Single barrel LE 2013, Single Barrel LE 2014 on the shelves. Prices: $74, $89 and $103. I Wonder if I should buy some.
Holy cow. If I could get those for those prices I’d do them in a heart beat. Especially that LE 2014. It’s one my all time favorite whiskeys!
Hi Time Wine is selling their OBSQ bottles for $69.99. Based on your experience, is it special enough to justify the price?
Would I be better off buying two bottles of regular single barrel?
I think their OBSQ was good and different. I didn’t know they still had any left. One thing to note about these vs the regulars is that these are all bottled at full Cask Strength. Personally, I’d pay $70 for it and if they still have some this weekend I’ll probably pick one up if I can make it down there this weekend.
I have had I think 3 different store bottlings over the years 2 OBSQ and 1 OESF as well as the standard Single Barrel several times. I always end up liking the $25 standard Small Batch better..not sure why.
The standard Small Batch is always good, it’s rare for me to not have it in the house. That said I’m on the opposite side and almost always end up liking my single barrels at least a bit more than the SB. Though the times that it’s not better it’s really bad.
Great write-up. I keep on hearing how a lot of people don’t like the F expressions. Obviously, every single barrel bottle is different, but it is interesting to see you liking the OBSF the most out of the 10 you tried. I have a bottle of OESF that I absolutely love. I did a blind barrel proof tasting with a friend the other day at it was #2 for the both of us, beating out the likes of Stagg Jr. (#3) and MMCS. It was only beat by the 140.2 (#6) expression of ECBP (which is one of my favorite bourbons of all time). Keep ’em coming.
Thanks man, really appreciate it. I’ve wanted to do an all 10 recipes tasting for a while and finally got the chance. Really interesting to see how it all panned out. I’ve read do so much about the Q also being a very polarizing yeast strain, but I ended liking both the E & B Qs.
As a side note I’m also a fan of the 140.2 I need to get my reviews of it and the Elijah 12 up soon.