In 2004, Four Roses master distiller Jim Rutledge released the first single barrel expression in the distillery’s modern era. Twenty years later, Four Roses has announced that it is adding three new single barrel bourbons to the lineup, each with its own unique recipe pulled from the distillery’s stable of 10 combinations of mashbills and yeast strains, and we have the details.
Four Roses essentially makes ten different bourbons using the aforementioned mashbills and yeast strains. The two mashbill recipes are B (60 percent corn, 35 percent rye, five percent malted barley) and E (75 percent corn, 20 percent rye, five percent malted barley). Each of these is fermented using a different yeast strain to impart a unique flavor: V for delicate fruit, K for slight spice, O for rich fruit, Q for floral essence, and F for herbal notes. Until now, the single barrel bourbon has been made from just one recipe, OBSV, which indicates it’s made at Four Roses (O) using the B mashbill, it’s a straight bourbon (S), and it uses the V yeast strain. There have been occasional private barrel picks of single barrels made from other recipes over the years, but most people have not been able to actually try those.
Now there are three other recipes joining the Four Roses Single Barrel Collection: OBSF, OESK, and OESO, each aged for seven to nine years just like the original OBSV. “We are incredibly proud of the recognition our flagship Single Barrel has received over the last 20 years, so to be introducing our new Single Barrel Collection in this anniversary year is something truly special,” said master distiller Brent Elliott in a statement. “Our 10 recipes are central to creating Four Roses’ signature mellow spice, and this collection provides the experience for fans to enjoy more of what makes our bourbons special.”
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We have not been able to sample these whiskeys, but official tasting notes are as follows: OBSV has notes of rye spice, apricot, pear, cinnamon, and toasted oak; OBSF is defined by herbs, bright rye, apple, vanilla, clove, and cocoa on the palate; OESK has notes of baking spices, mellow oak, tea leaves, and caramel; and OESO has flavors like red fruit, vanilla, brown sugar, and delicate oak.
But that’s not the end of the story, because the distillery announced it will continue to release new single barrel expressions using its other recipes in the coming years, allowing Four Roses fans to finally get a chance to try every mashbill and yeast strain combination as a single barrel bourbon. The new Four Roses Single Barrel Collection will be available throughout 2025, and it’s reasonably priced at $50 per bottle, but they will initially only be available in Kentucky at the distillery visitor center in Lawrenceburg and the Four Roses warehouse and bottling facility in Cox’s Creek. Of course, expect these to show up on the secondary market as well once they start to trickle out. You can also find the classic Single Barrel Bourbon, as well as some past editions of the expensive Limited Edition Small Batch, available to purchase now from ReserveBar.
