Four Roses 2015 Limited Edition Small Batch

Thanks to /u/devoz for sharing a dram of this whiskey.

Number 2 of a recent tasting. No mysteries yet. I haven’t lost face yet.

Except the wives are along this time. What if I say something truly horrible.

Thank goodness not all of these are Cask Strength, just…. 8 of them.

Fuck. I’m going to offend someone. Better keep drinking.

Four Roses and I seem to get along. I had a lot of fun with each of their different recipes. And I like the idea of different recipes. Trying new things. Different yeast, mashbills, and even mixtures of said bourbons.

That said, when I last had a Small Batch Four Roses, we didn’t see eye to eye. Granted it was from a pint glass. And wasn’t a limited edition. And was a different year.

And I may have been comparing it to 2013. Limited Edition. 125th Anniversary. You get the idea.

So when /u/devoz said that this was one of his favourites, I was happy and somewhat concerned I’d shit all over one of his favourites.

Then I realized he doesn’t really hold a grudge when I do that for others so we’re all good. Just look at the Amruts I’ve done. We disagreed completely!

Anyway, I poured myself extra because I totally meant to (and totally didn’t learn how to pour into a glencairn that night). Totally

Let’s see how it tastes.

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: Kentucky

Recipe: OBSK 16 year / OESK 15 year / OESK 14 year / OBSV 11 year

Bottle No: 2981 / 12672

Abv: 54.3%

Colour: 7.5YR 5/8

Nose: Brown sugar, corn, peach, wheat

Bigger brown sugar kick than I was expecting. This has 4 central notes. It does those, and nothing else, like a factory worker. You know, before his job was shipped overseas.

Lighter than I was expecting.

Taste: Peach, dry, wheat, banana, nutmeg, peanut

Fruity. Very fruity. Lots of peach and banana. Surprising amount. Good nutty flavour too.

It’s dry on the tongue. Easy sipping, even though it’s cask strength. More complex than the nose.

Finish: Dry, peach, wood, banana, molasses, butter

Finishes like a rum (foreshadowing). Not a lot of complexity, however quite sweet and buttery.

Conclusion: This is a peach cobbler made with lots of brown sugar, butter, mother’s love, and perhaps extra fat.

Is it mind blowing? No. But it’s certainly nice to sip on. Good amount of fruit and nuttiness. Love the amount of butter throughout. The nose was lacking for me, and I wanted a little bit more from the finish than “taste – nutmeg + molasses”. That said, there’s certainly a lot worse whiskies to drink out there.

80/100

Bourbon review #166, Kentucky review #103, Whiskey Network review #873

1001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die