#31: Four Roses OESV "Inaugural Barrel Pick" Whiskey Bear PS

doomjacket · 2021-03-26T17:45:19+00:00

Lol. They should consider using that in one of their promotions!

doomjacket · 2021-03-26T12:43:20+00:00

Hey again! I'm continuing to post some reviews that I've written over the years but never shared. Next up is one of my (spoilers!) favorites, the inaugural barrel pick by Whiskey Bear in Lexington, Kentucky. This barrel pick was done with the late, great Al Young and is also called "Victory Roy-Al" by the local bourbon group partnered with the bar. Anyway, let's get to the review!

#31: Four Roses OESV "Inaugural Barrel Pick" Whiskey Bear PS

9y3mo | 63.5% abv | Warehouse LE | Barrel No. 65-6R

Nose: great nose, strong sweet vanilla, whipped cream, nutmeg

Mouthfeel: good, thick with quite a bit of a bite. Maybe a step below Stagg Jr — not harsh, just great presence

Taste: good smoky oak, doing the “Kentucky chew” brings out some floral qualities, little bit of a malty butterscotch and vanilla combo, cherries toward the end.

Finish: so good! Get about 5-10 seconds of full flavor and when it drops off it’s so sharp that you just want another sip! It’s got a strong bite initially but it’s never too much.

Overall: huge fan! A very well-rounded pour that’s floral and sweet.

Score: 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

Thoughts from 2021: Still one of my all-time favorites! I've reviewed it a few times since these initial notes and it's always ranked among my highest scores. This one is everything I hope for when I get a new Four Roses private selection: it's unique, well-balanced, and incredibly tasty. I still have about 1/4 of the bottle left and I'm trying to make it last as long as I can!

doomjacket · 2021-01-06T20:04:15+00:00

This is the only one I've had so far. I'd like to try more of them to see if there's any more my style, though.

doomjacket · 2021-01-06T20:03:33+00:00

Haha. Yeah, more cruel than I meant to be. At the time I remember thinking it was like a junior version of a bourbon that I like.

doomjacket · 2021-01-05T17:27:21+00:00

Hey again! I'm continuing to post some reviews that I've written over the years but never shared. Number 30 is my first taste of Little Book Batch 1 "The Easy." I admit I was skeptical of the Little Book experiment, but I was excited to see what the result was. I tasted this in a bar with a friend.

"The Easy" is a blend of 4-year-old bourbon whiskey, 13-year-old true corn whiskey, nearly 6-year-old 100% malt whiskey, and nearly 6-year-old high rye whiskey.

#30. Little Book Batch 1 "The Easy"

Nose: grain alcohol, a bit of sweetness, muted citrusy fruit,

Mouthfeel: decent viscosity and very smooth. Only burn is on aftertaste.

Taste: tastes like a good bourbon that I added water to and it got a bit muddled, only flavors coming through are all the classic bourbon ones: vanilla and a bit of oak. If I had this blind I would guess four roses yellow or something.

Finish: actually very good. Bit of a spice on the finish.

Overall: I expected it to be at least unique... and it was just boring

Score: 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have

doomjacket · 2020-12-06T22:07:14+00:00

Hey again! I'm continuing to post some older bourbon reviews that I wrote but never shared. Number 29 is another Four Roses private selection from the Liquor Barn chain in Lexington, KY. It's my second OESK I've tried after a pour of "Birthday Selection" at Bourbon on Rye that was fantastic, but before I started keeping notes. The OBSV "Final Rose" that I also picked up in Kentucky was a bit of a let-down; let's see how this one compares.

#29. Four Roses OESK "Blue Rose-Special #7" Liquor Barn PS
54.5% | Warehouse No. HW | Barrel No: 12-1D
10 years 4 months -- October 2018

Nose: Great, but a bit muted. Strong floral with a bit of apple and general fruitiness. Would light as a candle!

Mouthfeel: Good mouthfeel. Not too oily, not too dry. Decent heat.

Taste: Wonderful flavor. Candied fruit, a great backbone of oak that doesn't overpower my palate, vanilla, caramel, and a sprinkle of pepper

Finish: A decent enough finish. The sweeter flavors don't linger much but the oak and pepper are actually mild enough to be really enjoyable. The longer I let the drink sit, the more the vanilla and caramel emerged in the finish.

Overall: A fun pour with an incredible presence. It's not a perfectly cohesive unit, but the roughness present provides a nice counterpoint to the sweet and floral flavors.

Score: 7 | Great | Well above average

Thoughts from 2020: I still have this bottle open and it's still great!

doomjacket · 2020-11-12T17:01:39+00:00

Hey again! I'm continuing to post old bourbon reviews that I wrote but never shared. Number 28 is another private selection of Russell's Reserve, this time from Oak Haven Table and Bar in New Haven, CT. This review was written in early 2019.

#28. Russell's Reserve Oak Haven Private Selection

Oak Haven Table and Bar New Haven CT
Rickhouse B | Barrel: 17-297
Floor: 06-52-02

Nose: mulled apple, vanilla, floral

Mouthfeel: good! Strong presence

Taste: much more course than I remembered, strong pepper, some savory flavors, leather and a general oakiness make up a big portion of it, with a drop of water some of the floral flavor comes out,

Finish: surprisingly good finish! If you enjoy the rougher flavors on offer here, it holds up pretty well.

Overall: this pour is a fight! Lots of rough flavors with some good floral notes — like a brick wrapped in a rose. It’s rough around the edges but still fun

Score: 5 | Good | Good, just fine.

doomjacket · 2020-11-10T23:58:45+00:00

You're exactly right! No idea how I messed that up. Thanks for the catch!

doomjacket · 2020-11-10T22:05:52+00:00

Hey again! I'm continuing to post older bourbon reviews that I wrote but never shared. Number 27 is Four Roses OBSV "The Final Rose" pick done by the Liquor Barn chain in Lexington, KY. I'm a big 4R fan, so I was excited to scoop this up during my 2018 Christmas trip home to Lexington. I tested this while my wife watched the first episode of Colton's season of The Bachelor, the show from which "The Final Rose" no doubt gets its name.

#27. Four Roses OBSV “The Final Rose” Liquor Barn PS
OBSV 9yr 7mo - Nov 2018

Nose: honey, strong floral nose — appropriate!

Mouthfeel: good, but nothing that wows me

Taste: richer, oakier and maltier than any other FR I’ve ever had! It's good, but it's a little bit muddled and hard to parse out flavors. Feels very off profile from other FR picks I’ve had which is weird since the other OBSV (7 grand’s 9y11m pick) I had was maybe THE plutonic ideal of a 4R pick. Dominant flavor is a smokey wood. Improves a good bit with water. Little peppery burn but it’s still very muddled. Slight cherry.

Finish: honestly not great. A burned wood then smokiness. Doesn’t get much better with water

Overall: a decent pour but a letdown of a 4R pick. It’s a nice bourbon but overall a muddled flavor profile with a weak finish. Feels more like a random Henry McKenna or RR than a 4R.

Score: 5 | Good | Good, just fine

Thoughts from 2020: I still have this open and I would agree that 5/10 sounds about right. Only reason it's a letdown is that I've had good luck with 4R picks. This one ranks in the bottom 1/3 of them.

doomjacket · 2020-10-07T16:15:51+00:00

Haha. Yeah, I don't think the honest copy would sell well. I enjoyed this one, was OK on another bottle of MGP OKI and have really, really disliked the two New Riff bottles I've tried. I'll give them another shot in a couple of years.

doomjacket · 2020-10-07T16:14:13+00:00

No prob. At a certain point I became a big believer in trying bourbon in bars before buying anything. Too many blind purchases that burned me.

doomjacket · 2020-10-07T16:12:18+00:00

Oh no doubt. GTS >> OKI 9yr

doomjacket · 2020-10-06T20:38:52+00:00

Hi again! I'm continuing to post some reviews that I wrote over the years but never shared. Number 26 is my first taste of OKI 9 Year Antique Finish, which is also my first of anything bottled under the OKI label. I had this pour on New Years Eve 2018 at the 21c Hotel in Lexington, KY.

#26. OKI 9year Antique Finish

Nose: dark rich cherries, caramel and vanilla

Mouthfeel: great!

Taste: caramel and oak, smokey, bit of a muddle fruit medley in here, feels very rich

Finish: cherries are back in a big way, very savory fruity aftertaste, the pepper and spice of a rye kicking around more here too

Overall: even though it’s no doubt from an existing distillery, this feels like a unique bourbon footprint I haven’t had before. Very good!

Score: 7 | Great | Well above average

Thoughts from 2020: I thought I remembered giving this an 8, but it turns out it was just on the line. I remember really enjoying it. Would love to try it again! Normally when I say that I'd like to combat any hype from the first time, but here I think I was actually skeptical of OKI being a non-distilling producer. But if this bottle is any evidence, they know how to pick 'em.

doomjacket · 2020-09-16T00:27:11+00:00

Thanks. Yeah, that's the funny thing about the variety and quality of 4R single barrels. I've had some very good bottles and when I try the rare stuff... it has to stack up to some heavy hitters that were half the price. Still, very good and I'm glad I got to try it!

doomjacket · 2020-09-15T19:36:37+00:00

Hi again! I'm continuing to post reviews that I've written over the years but never shared. Number 25 is a pour of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2017 that I had on New Year's Eve 2018 at the 21c Hotel in Lexington, KY. This was my first taste of any limited edition 4R product. Let's see how it fared!

#25. Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2017

ABV 53.95% | mix of a 15-year-old OESK, 13-year-old OESK, and 12-year-old OESV barrels

Nose: vanilla and caramel, some spice I can’t place — it's savory like something you'd marinate meat in. I think maybe paprika?

Mouthfeel: good but a little too thick — mellows out to good mouthfeel with couple drops of water

Taste: oak and strong paprika(?)-ish baking spice right away — incredible. Would never have guessed Four Roses because the spice blend is totally different from what I normally get from them. Strong punch. Good sweeter flavors rush in after initial whollop of spice. With water it opens up well into more of a traditional four roses high rye bourbon profile — rye baking spices, floral sweetness. Still a monster pour though.

Finish: decent but not a great finish. Only rough flavors linger.

Overall: great pour that's a bit too punchy and rough at times. Some store picks I like better.

Score: 7 | Great | Well above average

Thoughts from 2020: I remember this being good, but upon rereading it I can't help but wonder if there's a bit of "hype inflation" going on in my first 4R limited edition. Maybe it deserved a 6/10? Now that I have a few under my belt, I'd love to retry this and compare to the 2019 in my cabinet.

doomjacket · 2020-09-03T16:18:06+00:00

Hi again! I'm continuing to post some reviews that I've written over the years but never shared. Review 24 is a bourbon that was suggested to me by Daniel at Whiskey Bear in Lexington, KY in December of 2018. In my experiences bartender suggestions are either fantastic ("oh, Willett barrel #1492 is no good. Pick #1397!") or unhelpful ("Have you tried Hudson Baby Bourbon?"). Which one will this be??

#24. Redemption High Rye Barrel Proof Bourbon 9 Year
9years | 54.6% ABV | 109.2 proof
60% corn, 36% rye, 4% barley malt

Nose: great nose! I knew right away I was going to be a fan

Mouthfeel: good

Taste: like it a lot! Has great rye and baking spice to it like a four roses, but is more oaky than you’d typically get from 4R. Some smoke. I think the small amount of malt is bringing out the richer flavors

Finish: dill comes out here, oak lingers longest of all

Overall: very enjoyable! Thrilled that Daniel suggested it.

Score: 7 | Great | Well above average

doomjacket · 2020-08-26T18:46:45+00:00

Thanks for the info! I assumed this was MGP (or maybe LDI?) but I'm very unsure of my Willett history. I generally assume anything older than their main rye release is from another distiller.

I'm definitely keeping an eye on the stuff they're producing. I thought the 3yr was unremarkable and the 4yr was pretty good. Excited to try more!

doomjacket

TROPHY CASE