Four Roses Single Barrel Private Selection
Recipe OESK, 9 years and 7 months old
58.2% ABV
$55 – $80
Website
What the Distiller Says
The Recipe:
OESK is currently only available as a private selection bottling at the distillery gift shop or possibly at a local liquor store near you. This particular bottle was a Liquor Barn selection, bottled 8/12/2013.
Unlocking the recipe codes goes like this…
“O” starts all of Four Roses’ recipes and only means that it is made by Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.
“E” mean that this is the lower rye content of the two mashbills that Four Roses uses, specifically 75% Corn, 20% Rye, and 5% Malted Barley
“S” means that it is Straight Whiskey by U.S. Regulatory definition, again all their products carry this designation
“K” distinguishes the yeast strain used. This specific one impacts more of a slightly spicy character onto the distillate
What Gary Says:
Nose: Vanilla, caramel, cinnamon dusted creme brluee, oak, cigar paper and sublte hints of fruit salad; a tad hot/harsh neat.
Palate: Warm sweetness that sharpens quickly, tart cherries on vanilla wafers with cinnamon and honey, a spicy pepper bite at the end.
Finish: Moderately long with trailing pepper spice.
Comments: This bourbon definitely improves with water. The nose still has oak, but the cinnamon is tamped down and I get an interesting malted milkball note. This bottle is a solid representative of the K yeast. Personally I prefer the OB mashbill over the OE mashbill (more rye, less corn), but there isn’t anything objectionable about this pour. I bought this bottle as part of my quest to own one bottle of all 10 possible recipes, and I’m glad I did that. With any single barrel, there will be a some variation – although this is the only OESK I’ve ever owned. I’ve had several OBSO and OBSV picks over the years, and while the recipe does stands out – some are better than others.