Four Roses Small Batch Review

Four Roses is a bit different from other bourbon distilleries, and it’s worth knowing why. It doesn’t make one bourbon. It makes ten, and the bottles you buy are blends of some of them.

That’s the reason Small Batch exists. It’s a blend of four of the distillery’s ten recipes.

Ten recipes

The distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, uses two different mash bills and five different yeast strains. Two mash bills times five yeasts equals ten recipes, and each one has a slightly different flavour. One mash bill is higher in rye and spicier. The other is lower in rye and softer. The yeasts bring different fruit or floral notes.

Four Roses Small Batch blends four of those recipes. It’s bottled at 45% with no age statement, though it’s generally said to be several years old. The distillery is owned by Kirin, a Japanese drinks company, which is a quirk of the bourbon world.

The small batch bit

“Small batch” is a marketing term. There’s no legal meaning to it, so it doesn’t tell you much by itself. What does matter is the blending of four recipes, which is a clear and unusual approach.

Trying it

I tried this neat. I’d read it’s the fruity one among the standard bourbons, and I was curious whether that’s actually noticeable. It is.

Nose: Ripe fruit, vanilla and a little spice. It smells softer and fruitier than Buffalo Trace, with a floral edge.

Palate: Soft and fruity, with caramel and light spice. A hint of oak in the background. It’s smooth, with a bit more going on than the average bourbon. I liked the fruit, which isn’t common in this style.

Finish: Medium, smooth and slightly spicy. The fruit lingers nicely. A drop of water kept it pleasant.

The fruity one

If you compare it with Buffalo Trace and Maker’s Mark, Four Roses is often described as the fruitier of the three, with a floral note. That fits my taste for smooth and approachable whisky, but I’d rather see what I actually taste.

Moving up the ladder

The Four Roses range gives you a clear ladder. The Yellow Label is the cheaper entry bottle. Small Batch is the middle. Small Batch Select is stronger and uses six recipes. Single Barrel is a bigger step. If you like the Small Batch, the Select is a natural next stop.

Value

A 70 cl bottle usually costs about £33 in the UK. That’s fair, and a touch above Buffalo Trace.

Small Batch is usually in the same price range as Buffalo Trace and Woodford Reserve. It’s a good place to compare all three.

Who it is for

It’s for people who like a soft, fruity bourbon and want a bit more going on than Maker’s Mark. It’s a good bottle for neat sipping and for cocktails. If you want a big, bold flavour, look at the higher-proof bottles.

The fruit in bourbon

I wasn’t expecting a bourbon to taste fruity, and I kept looking for it again after the first sip. It’s there, and it’s what makes the Four Roses different from the others. It’s a ripe, slightly floral fruit that sits well with the caramel.

Next to Buffalo Trace

I poured a glass of Buffalo Trace beside it for comparison. Buffalo Trace is drier and a bit simpler. The Four Roses has more going on, and it feels softer at the same time. I preferred it, and I’d pay a few pounds more for it.

It’s the bourbon I’d choose if I only had room for one, and I’d happily give it as a gift.

Last word

Four Roses Small Batch is the bourbon I’d suggest to someone who says all bourbon tastes the same. It doesn’t, and this is a good example. The fruit and the floral note make it stand out, and the softness makes it easy to enjoy.

It’s not showy, and it doesn’t shout. It sits quietly on the shelf and gives you a better drink than you expected. At £33, I’d say it’s one of the smartest buys in the category, and I’d keep a bottle at home.

Verdict

Yes. It’s smooth, fruity and well priced. I’d choose it over most bourbons in the same price range.