Four Roses Single Barrel Private Selection OESK
57.6% ABV - Kentucky, USA
Nose: Grasses, floral notes, lemon, and light honey are accompanied by an overall sweetness – like Demerara sugar.
Taste: This one is malty, with lots of cereal and wood influence. Roasted nuts best describes the slight toasting or char mulling about.
Finish: Surprisingly this is where the rye characteristics are most strongly expressed! Pepper and toasted wood, with some citrus mixed in – orange? An interesting bitterness lasts,... something akin to a liquorice candy.
Four Roses produces ten different "distinct Bourbon recipes" based on two unique mash bills and 5 proprietry yeast strains that are combined together. This bottling is OESK: 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley (the "E" mash bill) with the strain designated as "slight spice" (the "K" yeast strain). The only other single barrel I have tried is OBSV – which notably has a larger pie slice of rye at 35%.
I picked up this bottle blindly and have been mostly pleased – the taste is great, but poor value after buying in Washington State and converting to CAD$. And I should note that this whiskey holds very well with addition of water... Thank you cask strength!
Four Roses produces a tasty liquid and it is an easy recommendation. After reviewing what other malt aficionados have said about OESO, I wish to try and find that next!
Details: Bottled for Total Wine February 2018, Age: 9 Years 8 Months, Warehouse HW, Barrel 11-2J.
Tasted August 15 2018. (Posted 09 March 2019.)
