Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2024
Four Roses is my go-to distillery for that “I don’t drink them enough but when I do I love it” feeling. I can list off my favorite recipes and which yeast I prefer, and the Four Roses Small Batch Select is one of my top 5 must-haves for any serious starter bar.
Each year, though, Master Distiller Brent Elliot gets to take all those casks and blend something truly special, a blend that highlights a core component of Four Roses bourbon (I’ve never felt that any of the Small Batch Limited Editions were off-profile).
In 2023, Four Roses’ Small Batch Limited Edition was my bourbon of the year. It had everything I like in a bourbon - fruit, body, a bit of spice, and balance between sweet, savory, and everything in between. Perhaps most surprising, it had a 25-year-old component. Most - and I emphasize most - bourbons for me over 15 years let alone 25 years are wood bombs or oak water to me. I know others enjoy and even fawn over them, but for me, 12-15 years is the top end for most bourbons.
2023’s Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition defied the trend, balancing the body and cask influence into a truly wondrous experience.
It’s a tough act to follow, and not ever Small Batch Limited Edition is a home run - the 2019 was one of my few ever perfect scores while the 2020 fell flat for me, with the 2021 and 2022 great-to-excellent but not extraordinary.
The 2024 Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition takes a different tone, emphasizing the wood tones and dark notes not usually associated with Four Roses bourbon. The manuka honey and wood oil show a blend leaning into things I associate with “dusty” bourbons: varnish, a heavier mouthfeel for the proof, and a depth of flavor I love in those rare extra-aged bourbons that aren’t oak bombs (looking at you, Michter’s 20 and 25!)
The components are as follows (ratios not given):
OBSV - 12 Year Old
OESK - 15 Year Old
OESF - 16 Year Old
OBSV - 20 Year Old
Overall, this is an excellent bourbon, and it earns a 7.9. It doesn’t, however, cross over into the exceptional range of 8.0+ scores, mainly because I’m not one of those who goes crazy for the dusty profile. I have plenty of friends who go gaga over every bottle of pre-fire Heaven Hill and Ezra Brooks and anything even remotely related to Stitzel-Weller (pre-modern incarnation), and I will fully admit that Old Crow from the late 60s and early 70s - especially the Chessmen - might be my favorite bourbon of all time.
This is simply an excellent bourbon for me, but will be exceptional for others. If you like those dusty notes and the heavier wood profile, seek this out - you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you to Four Roses for providing this sample free of charge. All opinions are my own.
Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2024: Specs
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Producer: Four Roses Bourbon
Mashbill: Undisclosed, Bourbon
Proof: 108.2 (54.1% ABV)
Age: 12-, 15-, 16-, and 20-Year Old Components
Location: Kentucky
Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2024 Price: $150
Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2024: Tasting Notes
Eye: Fossilized amber. Thin, regular rims, singular drops slough off.
Nose: Walking into a rickhouse - all the scents of bourbon: oak, fruit, leather, the wood warmth on a hot summer day. Dark fired tobacco, pepper spice up the nose, definitely more oak than in recent years. Clove-studded black cherries.
Palate: Intense red fruit and white pepper on the front third of my tongue. Rolls into the corners of my mouth quickly while being full-bodied and just shy of syrupy (in texture, not flavor). Wood varnish emerges to counter the red fruit sweet/tart balance, adding astringency from some of the older stock. Tart, dark, intense, reminds me of Old Crow and dusties.
Finish: A “dusty” varnish continues to hold sway, the astringency rounds over the tongue with orange pith and flesh, slightly bitter. Really sticks on both flavor and feeling on a long finish.
Overall: The 2023 was more in line with my personal tastes, particularly the less intense wood profile, but this is still an excellent blend that will appeal to those interested in a more dusty-esque palate. Reminiscent of flavors and textures of pre-fire Heaven Hill and pre-Beam Old Crow. Full without being syrupy, bitter sweet, dark chocolaty, fruity, certainly quite complex. Points for blending skill for sure.
Final Rating: 7.9
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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