Four Roses Private Selection (OBSO Liquor Barn)

Thanks to /u/devoz for sharing this dram

I am proud to say that I have reviewed one of each of the recipes from Four Roses. And after that, I declared that the most amazing part of any US company is the ability to make different whiskies and then blend them well.

So of course I keep ending up with different single casks of each recipe. Just to make sure I was correct.

So when offered a dram of Four Roses Private Selection (OBSO Liquor Barn), I said yes. Because I haven’t had it. Also it’s on the older side of these releases at nearly 12 years, and I do agree with Benjamin Franklin on the love of the older side. Not as old as him though. Serious GILF hunter that guy was.

So the recipe breakdown: O – Was made at Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY. B – Is the High Rye Mashbill – 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley. S – Straight whisky distillation. O – Yeast Letter O, the floral, spicy, medium bodied one.

Got it? Great! Let’s see how it turned out, shall we?

Price: N/A

Region: Kentucky

Selected by: Liquor Barn

Age: 11 Years, 8 Months

Warehouse: US

Barrel: 53-2L

Abv: 56.0%

Recipe: OBSO

Colour: 10YR 6/8

Nose: Vanilla, mint, toffee, cherry wood

Initial blast of vanilla and mint. The nose overall is very sweet based. Not too much, though if you hate bakeries and presumably happiness, it may not be inviting to you.

The extra years have amped up some of the complexity of the traditionally simpler nose.

Taste: Nectarine, tobacco, brown butter, cloves, oregano

If you were expecting a bakery from the nose, then the taste is going to skip you up. Like getting a patisserie and a boulangerie mixed up, there’s more savoury here than sweet.

Heck, I even don’t mind the tobacco (apologies I can’t narrow it down) on this one. it somehow just works. Nothing is too complex, though overall tasty.

Finish: Pear, cloves, apple, licorice, cumin, herbes de province

Long finish. Nothing overly complex: That said, it’s herbal and spicy in all the right places. A bit more fruit would have gone a long way, however… I mean, it’s just really tasty, so I keep sipping it.

Conclusion: This is one of those fluke casks that, if we’re lucky, will happen again. However I feel we won’t be so lucky. I’m surprised that the folks at Four Roses let this one go, as it’s really, really tasty.

Somebody was lucky to get it out of there. Lovely complex nose, good flavours on the taste, and a long finish. If you can, find this. Or just find other ones and compare. Or look for older casks. Or dance a jig.

84/100

Bourbon review #223, Kentucky review #142, Whiskey Network review #1413