Earlier this year, my wife and I paid a visit to the Four Roses Distillery while we were in Kentucky. Although the tour and the facilities were fantastic, unfortunately, the tasting part did nothing to change my mind about the brand: it’s “good,” but rarely “great” or “exciting.” I didn’t even pick up any “distillery exclusive” bottles at the time because the whiskies they had available were not on my list.
That list was culled from the 10 different bourbons that Four Roses makes on a regular basis, from 2 different mashbills and 5 different yeast strains. The four letter codes available in Single Barrel releases in the gift shop didn’t match the 3 ones I had recorded as being most interesting. So I was happy a few months later when they announced they were going to release all 10 and even happier when I found OESK, the highest on my list.
This release features their lower-rye mash bill (“E”) along with their “baking spice” yeast strains (“K”) that should result in a richer sweetness than practically any of their other releases. The reddish hue to the whiskey in the glass was remarkable, as it still was a medium-darkness, but just more red in the typical bourbon amber color than you would normally see.
I got floral notes alongside the baking spice notes on the nose. More minor notes of oak and vanilla were also there. It was light and clean on the tip of my tongue, imparting a nice caramel sweetness before drifting into cinnamon and allspice. The finish was lingering with a spicy buzz I felt on my tongue for a minute or two after a sip.
Truly this was everything I had hoped for in a Four Roses Single Barrel. I’ll try to score a couple more of these before they leave the shelves (3 of the single barrel expressions will be released every year on an ongoing basis)…I really don’t think any other Four Roses recipe will top this for me.
