Four Roses Single Barrel Binny's Private Selection Kentucky Straight Bourbon - OESQ

VITALS:
- $65
- 123.6 Proof
- 8 years, 9 months
- Kentucky

So here it is, recipe #9 of the ten different Four Roses recipes that I've had the chance of trying, leaving only the OBSO left to try (and I welcome any leads in the Chicago-land area!). At this point I've come to the conclusion that regardless of recipe, the Four Roses private barrel picks are can't-lose bottles, and I certainly recommend them to anyone that may come across one or more.

This OESQ recipe is a 20% rye mashbill and is described as having a "floral essence." Though that seems a bit odd to me for a bourbon, the OESF that I had came with a similar description and that was one of the best bourbons I've ever had. This is also the youngest of the Four Roses Private Selections that I've had, and in fact the youngest that I've ever seen bottled.

Despite that, however, this was an absolutely delicious bourbon! The nose was full of cinnamon, a nice, Christmas-y spice to it. It also had a nice, mellow caramel note to it that helped to offset the alcohol fumes.

The palate, though, was rich and decadent, offering much more than the traditional cinnamon and caramel notes. Right up front I was hit with dark fruit notes, like raisin or plum, which was nonetheless underscored by a nice layer of caramel.

This bourbon also had a great viscosity to it, that allowed those delicious, rich, dessert-like flavors to carry from beginning to end, coating the mouth with flavor! By the second pour, the alcohol burn from both the nose and the palate had faded, leaving behind only flavor, and allowing the whiskey to really sweeten up.

What was raisin before sweetened to a more caramel appel flavor, but a nice, crisp, tart apple, like a Granny Smith. With additional notes of peanut and brown sugar, this really turned into an absolutely delicious pour, one that I couldn't help myself but to keep going back to over other bottles.

Towards the end it also seemed to develop a rich amaretto flavor, that seemed to complement perfectly the raisin, caramel and apple notes that were present throughout. Aside from that dark fruit note that was always there, the other real consistency with this bourbon was the richness of it, especially after it was open for a bit and the alcohol started to fade. This is one where I was disappointed when the bottle was finished, as I wished I had enough for at least one more pour.

Grade A