To me, the Four Roses annual release Small Batch Limited Edition is the pinnacle of the Fall Limited Release Bourbon season. This is the only limited release bourbon Four Roses does each year, whereas other distilleries have multiple fall release bourbons. I look forward to getting this bottle each year, and the price remains around $200, up from $150 a few years ago. These are always so very good. This years Limited Edition Small Batch is 31% high rye mashbill with fruity yeast (this recipe goes into Four Roses standard single barrel OBSV) aged 12 years, 23% low rye with spicy yeast (OESK, which is one of my favorites) aged 15 years, 39% minty and fruity low rye aged 16 years old, and 7% 20 year old OBSV. Again this year the yeast strains used are the same ones found in Four Roses Small Batch Select, which continues to be one of my go to bourbons. Non chill filtered and the final proof is 108.2.

The color is a nice deep amber with super thick film and legs on the swirl. On the nose you get green apple, milk chocolate, vanilla, a hint of bready cinnamon roll, a hint of caramelized sugar, and some nice oak. On the palate is a nice silky mouthfeel that isn’t really thick and syrupy, with really nice notes of cherries, raspberries, mint, cocoa, cloves, and some really nice oak in the background. Really delicious bourbon. On the finish, the cloves hang around and the raspberry notes sort of come to the fore then fading into oak. This particular Limited Edition is really barrel driven, and I like that.

So, I decided to compare this with the other Limited Editions on my shelf. I missed out during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, 2019 and 2022 are goners, so what I have is some of the 2023 135th Limited Edition, the 2018 130th edition, and the famous 2017 Al Young Release. I am planning to finally retire these bottles to make room for new ones, although with these it has been hard to drink the last few sips as then, they will be gone.

The 2017 Al Young release – this was the first Four Roses Limited Release bourbon I ever bought, with the cool 1960’s looking bottle that just screamed Mad Men to me. More delicate on the nose than the 2024, and my gosh, what a smooth sipper. But as I noted when I first reviewed it, it really could use some more oak. But the Al Young release is so representative of the Four Roses style it is no small wonder this was really the rage seven years ago. But I like the 2024 better.

The 2018 130th Anniversary Release – I had forgotten how different this one was with the herbal tea notes due to the increased amount of high rye bourbon in the mashbill. Less delicate than the Al Young but definitely not as punchy as the 2024 release. I think the 130th is a more complex than the 2024 release, which probably explains why I hesitated on the bottle kill on this bottle. There is just so much going on with this bourbon – caramel chews, dark chocolate, hazelnut, cinnamon, dark fruits, vanilla cream, a slight leather note with a hint, but just a hint, of anise, plus the herbal tea note on the finish. I want to say a little more oak would have made this better, but the oak may have occluded some of the other super complex flavors. Bourbon nerd me likes the 130th anniversary better than the 2024 release, as I kill this bottle, sniff. But oak and proof hound me, says the 2024 is better. Really sad to see the 130 rotate off the bar as an empty.

The 2023 135 Anniversary Release – It took a lot of discipline this year not to kill this bottle. I looked at it often on my bar and asked whether I deserved a dram or not over the last year. Apparently I have not had a good year since there is one fourth of the bottle left. Nose very complex but not as strong as the 2024. On the palate though, and even reviewing my notes from my review, Brent Elliott I think has found his sweet spot as far as flavor profiles for his annual limited releases. Oak and English pipe tobacco mix with clove, vanilla, stone fruit, and caramelized brown sugar. Some may favor apples, or raspberries, or cherries, some will have more cloves than others, but comparing last year’s and this year’s limited releases. I think Brent Elliott may be actually better than Jim Rutledge as far as blending Four Roses distinct bourbons into a limited edition small batch. As far as picking a winner between 2023 and 2024, I just can’t. While they are different they are both just so very good. The 2024 has a little more oak; the 2023 is a little bit more complex. Both bottles will be going back to my living room bar so I can have this mental debate again about which one is better. Tie between 2023 and 2024. Decided to pause this review and try them both again the next day. I give a slight edge to the 2024 just because of the oak because my palate likes that, but objectively, it is still a tie.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is just one of those bourbons that year after year is just amazing. Most importantly, if you can happen to get your hands on a bottle of the 2024 release, yes, it is worth the money to have this on your bar. I feel fortunate that I have had multiple bottles of this over the years, and I really had so much fun writing this review while enjoying some of the prior years’ releases.