Four Roses standard release bourbon has ten different bourbon recipes blended together. However, small batch releases, including the limited editions, contain a blend of different recipes but not all ten. Ever since its introduction, Four Roses Single Barrel at 100 proof has contained the OBSV recipe, which is the high rye with delicate fruit yeast recipe. Definitely a solid pour. But, Single Barrel Barrel Strength picks have been available for quite a while as store picks containing various different recipes of the ten Four Roses uses. At long last, Four Roses is releasing 100 proof single barrels with recipes other than OBSV, and I have been seeing pictures on social media. Thankfully, Hokus Pokus just got in two different Single Barrels, OBSF (high rye with minty, fruity, spicy full bodied yeast) and OESK (low rye with spicy full bodied yeast). OESK is one of the most sought after Four Roses recipes, and often ends up in annual limited releases. However, the OBSF was part of the Four Roses 130th Anniversary Release, and I really liked that one. At $45 a bottle, this is a real bargain to me.

OBSF Single Barrel – Color is a nice amber, and given that Four Roses uses single story rickhouses, Four Roses is often not as dark as other bourbons. I get a thin film on the swirl. On the nose, there is delightful spice, vanilla, and herbaceous notes. On the palate, this bourbon is pretty rye forward but not overly so, with some lovely apple, vanilla, cocoa, and clove notes on the palate. Very rich mouthfeel given that thsi was proofed down to 100 proof. On the finish, the cloves tend to dominate. What really strikes me about this bourbon is not just the flavor profile but how flavorful it is at 100 proof; even the finish feels more like cask strength than 100 proof. This is a solid and enjoyable pour, and I am glad I got to try OBSF on its own. It’s a damn good bourbon.

OESK Single Barrel – OESK holds a special place in my heart. I lobbied Hokus Pokus to do a Four Roses Single Barrel pick back in 2018, and that was an OESK pick that took on legendary status among bourbon drinkers in the Hokus Pokus market (Central and South Louisiana.) OESK always seems to be in the mix for the small batch limited editions and the standard small batch select. For me, this recipes is a natural candidate for a regular single barrel release – low rye with spicy, full bodied, yeast. The color on this is maybe a hair darker than the OBSF, On the swirl the film is thicker with more legs than the OBSF. On the nose is very traditional bourbon notes of vanilla, caramel, baking spice, and oak. On the palate, the caramel and vanilla notes are enveloping, with lovely baking spice in the background, On the finish, the vanilla and caramel fade into baking spice (not clove; more mellow than that) and lovely oak. This single barrel just has so many of the wonderful flavors that come to mind when I think for Four Roses. I would buy a case of this if I could. If this becomes available on the regular, it would become an almost daily drinker. Like the OBSF, it is surprising how flavorful this is despite being proofed down to 100 proof. Which tells me that neither bourbon needed that much proofing down to get to 100 proof.

This is definitely a brilliant move by Four Roses to start putting out Single Barrels of recipes other than OBSV. Small Batch Select in 2019 was a brilliant move to give devotees to their limited releases an accessible $50 bottle that remains one of my main go to’s six years later. This move is brilliant for the same reasons, really great bourbon in the $50 category, but also it allows bourbon connoisseurs to try their various recipes for great bourbon without hunting for a store pick. Like Small Batch Select initially, this is currently a limited release, but hopefully these will become more widely available as Small Batch Select became.