This little baby was the reason I triggered that Bottle-Share thingy again. I had been hearing such great and excaggerated things about it, that it must be a tremendous bourbon. And that while I am not a Four Roses fan. Usually I find it too gentle, too floral.

Anyway, I bought the nine whiskies for the Bottle-Share and bothered about getting participants later. That only took about an hour so no harm done there. I got to get a massive amount of cool bottles in again! The kid in the candy store reference is appropriate.

But when all comes down, it’s about how it tastes, and not about what other people think or about the bottles being sent to your house, right?

Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition, Barrel Strength, 2012

Sniff:
It’s a fairly typical scent of textbook bourbon, if you ask me. Quite some oak and a nice smelling spiciness. Pretty sharp at 55.7% with some crisp mint, vanilla and spiced cake that any Dutchy would call ‘breakfast cake’ or ‘ontbijtkoek’.

Sip:
Light, but strong. Oak, allspice, crisp but gaining richness quickly. Creamy with creme brulee, caramel and pound cake. It loses a bit of the lightness along the way.

Swallow:
‘Bourbon’, with a gentle syrupy feel to it. Maybe even some Seville orange. A long finish!

This is as stunning as everyone made me believe it is. It’s not an exceptionally ‘different’ bourbon, but the flavours are stunning, incredibly well balanced and strong. That’s maybe what intrigues me the most, the fact that it is a textbook bourbon, but done so incredibly well, I can barely imagine a better made drink. Stunning, and epic.

Jason Pyle writes a great review too.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon 2012, 55.7%. No longer available.