Barrel picks have been harder to come by these days as demand for the same has skyrocketed. But, Hokus Pokus recently got two great barrel picks, a Four Roses OESQ that is aged 11 years and five months and a Knob Creek Barrel Select Bourbon aged nine years and nine months. More importantly, once Hokus Pokus’ top customers have gotten their bottles, the remainder will be put on the store pick display in the Alexandria store.

The Four Roses pick is 108.4 proof. OESQ is one of the rare bird Four Roses bourbons that you rarely find in limited editions or as a barrel pick. I have literally only seen two like this – one that a buddy sent me from California and the New Orleans Bourbon Festival pick a few years ago. This is the low rye (E) mashbill with the floral yeast (Q). Hokus priced this at $94, which is a great retail price for a Four Roses barrel pick.

Color is a solid amber, lighter than you might expect on a bourbon this old but Four Roses uses single story warehouses so the barrels encounter a lot less heat during the summer. On the swirl is a nice film with thick legs. The nose has delicate floral notes, vanilla, with a hint of baking spice. On the palate is sweet vanilla and cinnamon rolls, banana, juicy fruit (like in the gum) and with lots of oak tannin, probably one of the most oak forward Four Roses barrel picks I have ever had. On the finish the banana and juicy fruit notes linger and become candied and these flavors mingle with lovely oak. This is a really great example of just how good Four Roses bourbon can be.

The Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Bourbon is that standard knock your socks off 120 proof that the standard Knob Creek Single Barrel is, and Knob Creek Single Barrel is one of my regular go to bourbons. Hokus priced this Barrel Select at only three dollars more than regular Knob Creek Single Barrel. The color is a nice solid amber, with a nice film and tons of thick legs on this oily rich bourbon. On the nose is rich vanilla and oak, along with a hint of leather and English pipe tobacco. On the palate, the vanilla gives way to candied cherries, which is my favorite flavor note on a good Knob Creek Barrel Select. But this particular Barrel Select is somehow lighter and less punchy than some other releases. On the finish, the cherry notes turn to cherry altoids with lots of oak without being overly oaked. This is a really great bourbon and really shows why a Knob Creek Single Barrel Select store pick is worth getting. To me, this represents the best whiskey Jim Beam makes, and that says something when you think about the ultra aged Knob Creek releases, Bookers, and Little Book.

Getting these two bottles on a Saturday afternoon, well, that’s what I call a good day.