We've got all 10 recipes lined up here for a really fun tasting! Alan Starr put these together and the bottle labels are really something special! He took the time to transfer all the original bottle details to these 2oz jars. Now even from the get go there's some caveats to this tasting - this is only one expression of each recipe... now there may be better or worse barrels of each recipe out there too so this is just my first opportunity to really explore differences in the recipes. I will be revisiting bottles and other samples of these for a long time because Four Roses just makes damn good bourbon in general. But I thought this would be fun to explore, so here we are!
I am going to be tasting all of these blind thanks to my lovely significant other, Brittany. I will be working on a standard head-to-head random matchup bracket for this.
If you want to see what each letter corresponds to... Brittany has provided an answer key here that I will refrain from clicking! Notice it is hosted on Imgur not on my website so I don't accidentally stumble upon it!
Before you read on! Please let me preface this bracket by saying what I am tasting here is one example of the brand that was curated by someone other than myself. I had no control over the outcome of what I experienced tonight and my opinions expressed here likely do not directly correlate to my opinions of Four Roses in general. Now... read on if you are into train wrecks! If you want the TL;DR, I have bolded the suspicious notes that highlight what will later become the "Sandalwood Scandal" experiment.
Company on Label: Four Roses
Whiskey Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Mash Bill Percentages: See table below
Proof: Varies by barrel - see the answer key for barrel details
Age: Varies by barrel - see the answer key for barrel details
Further identification: These are all store pick single barrel selects
Round 1: A vs B!
Glass A Nose:
Sweet, strawberry
Touch of ethanol
Vanilla forward
Maple sugar
Oily nose-feel
Coffee bean and confectioners sugar; yum
Glass A Palate:
Huh.. tastes a lot like B at the start
Deep sandalwood funk
Over-oaked
Perfume floral
Glass B Nose:
Linen
Floral
Smells like camping; citronella candle
In the same vein a bit waxy on the nose-feel
Rubbing some spilled whiskey on my hands gives off rich milk chocolate
Lighter than A
Glass B Palate:
Eugh; musty spice all over this
Tastes like old carpets smell
Dusty
Slightly synthetic
I'm deeply confused about what I'm tasting
Ranking: A > B
Fern knew I wasn't going to miss B and bumped the table and spilled half the glass on me. Good thing it didn't advance! I was deeply confused by both of these that tasted very similar.
Round 2: C vs D!
Glass C Nose:
Sweet and creamy
Candy forward
Lovely softness to the nose feel with an abundance of aroma behind it
Lovely bright florals
Airy vanilla bean
Light butterscotch
Glass C Palate:
Mmm, yup a lot of that vanilla sweetness up front
Soft cherry syrup follows
Nerds candy
Great profile but linger is quite soft and fairly short
Another sip builds in molasses and shortbread cookie
Sugary sweets much like the nose
Delicious, delicious, delicious and the clear winner here
Glass D Nose:
Caramel forward nose
Heavier bakery scents
Lighter but more dessert savory overall
Great nose
Glass D Palate:
Oak forward with distinct spice
Slight touch of sandalwood like A and B had but less intense
A bit dry
Tastes like someone tipped the baking spice rack over and everything jumbled together
Longer linger of earthy, musky exotic spices
Ranking: C>D
There's a clear winner on C on this matchup! The only one to not have any of the funky sandalwood note I've found on everything thus far.
Round 3: F vs G !
Glass F Nose:
Youthful, floral
Light citrus
Minerality on the nose-feel
Chalky, drying
Glass F Palate:
Sandalwood again...
Funky molasses
Eugh, heavy on that incense feel; maybe it has a touch of Nag Champa incense alongside the sandalwood
More offensive than G
Glass G Nose:
Rich fruit sweetness
Level oak and airy vanilla
Slight nuttiness; almonds come to mind
Molasses, funk
Oily marshmallow sweetness
Citrus tobacco like some shishas I experienced back in the day
Glass G Palate:
Yummy cherry
Aaaand then more fucking sandalwood
Less so spicy and some nice chocolate shows up on the back end
Ranking: G>F
Am I going crazy with this sandalwood note? I am really not digging it. It's possible that this is a particularly curated list that leans towards some of the worst single barrels out there, or some kind of environmental storage issue, because there are a lot of these single barrels that are tasting very similar so far. I confirmed and trust that Alan did everything properly with his storage techniques and do believe the latter is the case - as I have had samples from other people who also go through meticulous cleaning techniques that have also been affected by this "sandalwood infection".
Round 4: I vs J!
Glass I Nose:
Woah, highest feeling proof thus far
Plum
Softer than J in aroma intensity
Creamy vanilla
Glass I Palate:
Yuck - the most intense sandalwood flavor so far
Working past it.. I can't
There might be some fruity sweetness in the back but this one is almost making me gag
Incredibly dry, chalky mouth feel
The only glass I didn't want to finish (drain pour)
Glass J Nose:
Woah, savory red pasta sauce
Slight bit of anise like a sausage-based meat sauce
Definitive herbal characteristics to this nose
Bright and also proofy feeling
Glass J Palate:
Softer sandalwood
Caramel drizzle
More typical bourbon profile
Nice cherry flashes up before more sandalwood smacks me in the tongue
Ranking: J>I
The lesser of two evils.
Round 5: A vs E
Glass A Nose:
Rich, tannic sweetness
Malt forward
Cinnamon pancakes
Maple syrup
Still definitely a lovely nose experience
Glass A Palate:
Creamy caramel forward
Ooh citrus zesty but definitely still tinged with the sandalwood infection
Definitely feels the hottest proof of them all so far
Maraschino cherry
Glass E Nose:
Woah - spot on cherry Kool Aid
Bits of weathered metal atop solid oak; much like the whole experience of a barrel sitting in front of you
Slight effervescence
Light nerds candy
Glass E Palate:
My first sip started sweet and cherry forward but then the sandalwood kicked in again
3rd closest to the lightest sandalwood influence
Plum and black pepper blend well
Yummy ignoring the weird sandalwood influence
Creamy caramel linger is such a nice reprieve
Ranking: A>E
This one was surprisingly close! A had some real sweetness I could get behind.
Round 6: C vs H!
Glass C Nose:
Tannic red berry medley
Funky oak
Black pepper
Raisin sweetness
Glass C Palate:
Lovely cherry juice on first sip
Soft pear sweetness
Slightly starchy
Delicious punchy vanilla
Yum, yum, yum, yum!
Slight floral zest with a sweet grapefruit backbone
Lovely all the way through
Glass H Nose:
Sweet angel food cake
Vanilla frosting
Marbled rye bread
Creamy butterscotch
This just came around strongly towards something I can really enjoy on the nose
Glass H Palate:
Yuck; sandalwood is back on this one; I cringe horrifically as I re-experience it
Yeah, I'm out; I can't keep tasting this flavor - C moves on and H goes down the drain!
Ranking: C>H
I am growing every more wary of this flavor. I've tasted it many times in brief passing on many whiskeys... particularly some American single malts. I believe I tasted it on Amrut where I thought it fit in well. It does not fit in well tonight. C moves on!
Semi-Final Round 7: A vs G!
Glass A Nose:
Lighter than previous glasses of A
Confectioners sugar
Light fried dough
Metallic
Glass A Palate:
Sandalwood wanted to come into this glass but fell short
Peanut nutty
Hot, hot, hot!
Big cinnamon hots
Funky oak
Funky spices on the back end put this a bit below G
Glass G Nose:
Malty forward
Caramel popcorn
Savory
Black peppercorn
Rich molasses
Glass G Palate:
Vanilla forward
Long linger of marshmallow sweets
Hints of bright Spring florals
Rather plain
Bigger sip and swish shows off a light nuttiness
Zero sandalwood this time, which is strange, but lovely
Long linger of vague rice crispy sweetness
Ranking: G>A
I think we are finally entering a space free of sandalwood and I am here for it!
Semi-Final Round 8: C vs J!
Glass C Nose:
Mmm; it reminds me of a candy shop - so many sweets
Delicate but delectable
Glass C Palate:
Vanilla explosion
Mineral strawberry
Cherry, plum - all the red fruit
Very berry
Lovely mouth feel and a long linger
Glass J Nose:
Not even close to the nose on C
Slight savory note
Iron metallic
Awkward spices
Glass J Palate:
Drain pour next to C
Ranking: C>J
... by a landslide. C is crushing it by just being normal.
The Finals - Round 9: C vs G!
For the final round I moved away from the wee glens and tasted out of full size glencairn glasses.
Glass C Nose:
The nose on C makes me smile
Soft chamomile tea
Honeysuckle
Glass C Palate:
Syrupy sweet fruit parfait!
This is king shit; none of the other samples even come close to this one
This is such a lovely fruit parfait
Honey sweetness greets the palate as well
Just. Good. Bourbon!
Incredibly long linger of amaretto and perfect stone fruit
Glass G Nose:
The nose on G smells like cardboard (a typical note experience on corked whiskies)
It smells like a wet concrete basement; (how did this make it this far?)
Level oak and a halfway decent late nose remind me of why this whiskey advanced
Glass G Palate:
It sips fine if not a little messy
Dark, rich tones all through this
Musty oak
Meh.
Ranking: C>G
Okay.... So I really only liked ONE sample out of the TEN?!
Well this was a crazy disaster. Have you ever experienced this sandalwood note? I'd hate for good brands to be getting earmarked with this flavor profile because of the method of sample sharing that is very commonplace in the whiskey community. I'll be diving in on a deeper investigation...
the war of the roses. Wow. That took some serious time. I love it. The creativity in the mini bottles is fantastic as are all your notes. Great work ! 🥃💪🏼🥃