With Four Roses Small Batch, not everything’s coming up roses.
Four Roses has been rooted in the bourbon game for more than a century, earning itself a renowned and recognizable reputation. That reputation mainly stems from the brand’s consistency – like crazy consistency.
These days, while other bourbon brands are frantically churning out new collections and inventions, Four Roses continues to offer the same four bourbons: Yellow Label, Small Batch, Single Barrel, and Small Batch Select. (Is it a coincidence that the Four Roses brand offers Four bourbons? Who’s to say.) Sure, there’s a handful of limited edition, anniversary, etc bourbons thrown into the mix, but those four are the permanent collection. But what’s even crazier – three of those expressions are fairly new. Yellow Label was the lone rose for almost 120 years until Single Barrel cropped up in 2004, Small Batch in 2006, and Small Batch Select as recently as 2019.
And the intensely methodical vibes don’t stop there. Four Roses has exactly ten recipes for all of their bourbons: two mashbills crossed with five different yeast strains. In the case of Small Batch, four of these distinct recipes are cross pollinated. Then, the batch itself is made up of 250 barrels that are aged between 6-7 years.
With all of that effort and borderline-OCD energy, you’d expect Four Roses Small Batch to be mind blowing, but truth be told, it’s just a bit wilted.
Four Roses Small Batch is an easy drinker, sure, but that’s mainly because there’s no standout flavor. If you concentrate, you may catch glimpses of flavors like oak, cherry, caramel, and even rye spice, but they’re nearly impossible to pin down. The decently low 90 proof and fairly thin viscosity aren’t exactly helping matters. Overall, Four Roses Small Batch feels like a flavor cliffhanger – you’re fully invested, waiting for something exciting to happen, and then…nothing.
Of course, “lackluster” isn’t the worst verdict in the world, but it is when we had the same complaint with Four Roses Yellow Label. Especially when you consider that Small Batch is meant to be a step up in proof, price, and experience, but still fails to deliver. The odds aren’t looking great with only four signature bourbons.
Now it’s important to note that Four Roses was one of the first to dive into small batch bourbons back in the day. The bourbon sub-category gained popularity in the late 90s and only a few distilleries jumped on the trend. In fact, Four Roses was so on it that their small batch frequently sold out. But that was then and this is now. Today, a small batch offering is almost expected and distilleries really have to deliver something special in order to stand out. So the problem becomes: With small batches like Elijah Craig and Knob Creek floating out there with similar prices and better flavors – why reach for Four Roses?
We’d love to sit here and tell you that Four Roses Small Batch is a unique, flavor-packed bourbon in the small batch world, but that would be viewing the world through rose-colored glasses.
STATS: Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
- Price for us: $35 for 750 mL
- Proof: 90
- Aged: 6 – 7 Years
- Distillery: Four Roses, Owned by the Kirin Brewery Company
- Recommendation: Mixer
