Four Roses Small Batch Select

Four Roses Small Batch Select is a bourbon made from 6-7 year old barrels using both of Four Roses’ mash bills and three of their proprietary yeast strains (V, F, and K), making this a blend of 6 different flavor profiles.  Look through the pictures with this post to see a breakdown of the mash bills and yeast strains and the target flavor profiles for each.

For those of you who voted for bourbon as the next review, thanks for participating and I hope you enjoy it.  For all the rye voters (and it was really close), I’ll do a rye next.

ABV: 52%

How it smells…Sweet vanilla and oakiness up front with slight fruit & floral scents mingling in.  Overall, it was very pleasant on the nose with a classic bourbon profile.  It was surprisingly non-boozy smelling (slightly boozy) despite its 104 proof.  Adding a touch of water doesn’t change much.

How it tastes…Smooth the entire way down.  Starts with sweet honey flavors followed by vanilla and spice and ending with elevated spiciness.  The finish has some cocoa notes and sweet cherries.  Adding water brings more spice up front as well as a bit more cocoa towards the end, perhaps providing a mellower transition between phases.

Price...This bottle was gifted to me from my brother for my birthday (thanks bro!) but when I purchased it in the past, the price was $60..

Rating...🥃🥃🥃🥃

Final thoughts…I put this as my 2nd favorite Four Roses behind some of the Single Barrel Barrel Strength bottles (I have not tasted the annual Limited Edition so I can’t rank that one), but my favorite of their standard bottles for sure.  I don’t get much of the spices (cinnamon, pepper, etc.) on the nose, but they are certainly there throughout the tasting.  I plan to always keep a bottle of the Small Batch Select on my shelf, especially at the $60 price point.