At Last, The Fourth Rose Has Landed!

Two years after it launched Stateside, Four Roses Small Batch Select has made it to the UK, completing the brand’s permanent line-up as the ‘Fourth Rose’.

The UK is the only market outside the US where the bourbon is available. Limited to just 3,000 bottles, it arrives 15 years after Four Roses’ last line extension (Small Batch). It’s also the first non-chill filtered bourbon to be added to the distillery’s permanent line-up. Previously, only Limited Editions were non-chill filtered.

It will be distributed, as ever, by long-standing UK partner and 2021 IWSC Spirits Distributor of the Year, Spirit Cartel.

133-year-old Four Roses remains the only bourbon distillery that combines two mash bills with five proprietary yeast strains to produce 10 distinct recipes. Six of these – all aged for between six and seven years – were selected and mingled by Master Distiller Brent Elliott to create Small Batch Select.

Four Roses recipes are described by a four letter ‘code’ – each indicating the production facility, the mash bill, the spirit (always straight whiskey) and the yeast strain. In this instance, they are: OBSV, OBSK, OBSF, OESV, OESK AND OESF (see notes below).

Select represents the most significant addition to Four Roses since Elliott took the position in 2015. Named Master Distiller/Blender of the year at 2020’s ‘Icons of American Whiskey’ awards, Elliott says he’s crafted a bourbon that: “Showcases bourbon recipes and flavours that aren’t as forward-facing in the rest of our line-up. It’s an extension of what we do well at Four Roses – balancing candied fruit with warmth and spice and enjoyable to both connoisseurs and casual drinkers alike.”

Tasting notes: On the nose, raspberries, clove and nutmeg. As it hits the palate, it opens into flavours of apricot, ripe berries, vanilla and light oak. The finish lingers with notes of spearmint and a touch of cinnamon.

Weighing in at 52% ABV, Small Batch Select has an RRP of £58.00/75cl. 

Wholesalers/Trade suppliers: Amathus, HT Drinks & Co., Hammonds of Knutsford, Master of Malt, Speciality Drinks. Enquiries: info@spiritcartel.com.

Available at various retail and online outlets including: Harvey Nichols, Gerry’s of Soho, Hedonism, Master of Malt, Milroy’s, Selfridges and Spirits Kiosk. 

Source: Four Roses

  Brent Elliott, Four Roses, Small Batch Select