Four Roses 2011 Limited Edition Single Barrel, 12 year old, 50.9%, $90
Very floral and fragrant. Gently sweet, too: apple tart laced with cinnamon, pancakes drizzled with maple syrup. Well-defined oak and crisp, dry spice (cinnamon, anise, cocoa, nutmeg) balance the sweetness. An interesting whiskey: big in some ways, yet elegant in others.
Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 90
Pricey.
Kirin Holdings posted huge quarterly (post-quake) losses last Friday.
I often find these FR limited releases to be both big and elegant.
I love all of the Limited Releases by Four Roses. Can’t wait to get my hands on this. Tasted it at WhiskyFest in Chicago and thought it was very complex.
Is this just one barrel for the entire country/world?
I’ve read 3600 bottles-approximately. That’d be one big barrel:)
Yeah, this is just one of many single barrels being bottled.
I tried this at WhiskyFest -Chicago and thought it was one of the standouts of the event. I think John and then Red said it best, and I would expand that out on the entire Four Roses range. They seem to have figured out how to straddle the line of understated elegance while still having some big bold flavors shine through. The floral aromas and flavors of this one in particular are very unique.
$90?! Whoa Nelly! We’re getting in to Scotch crazy-pricing now. I’m sure it’s good stuff but c’mon.
..if we are giving Bowmore grief for one that is imported, I think $90 for a 12 year even if it is a limited edition is excessive, after all 4R isn’t importing this to the U.S.
I just think these companies are doing themselves a disservice. The number of people that can or will pay these kinds of prices is only going to go down over the next few years.
One of the things that I find interesting is that it is barrel strength yet only 50.9% ABV. The normal Single Barrel is 50% ABV. In addition, most of their past limited releases have come in around 58%-62% ABV (I believe, I could be wrong on this).
It appears as if they may have barrelled this at a lower proof 12 years ago…interesting
I noticed one of their various 10-recipe, single barrel, barrel proof, retail expressions bottled at 98 proof. And several others like it just barely over 100 proof. I’ve heard (have not verified) they do a lot of low entry proof stuff and then age it in single story structures. Sounds cool.
John, is the % alcohol mentioned on the review a mistype? I believe this is 59 proof correct? I’m sure they will vary some, but that’s a lot of variance right there. The one at WhiskeyFest was at 59%, about where their other barrel proof offerings have been – 55-62%.
Ryan, to my knowledge Four Roses doesn’t do a low entry proof. I think there stuff goes into the barrel at 120-125-ish. It comes off the second run at 140+ proof. At least I believe that to be correct.
Jason, I am out of town but will check when I get back. You may be right. Thanks!
Like I said Jason, that’s just anecdotal info I hadn’t verified. I have no idea what their typical barrel entry is. But I do know it is unusual to offer 8-yr-old, 98 proof, bottled at cask, retail exclusives.
I was at K&L Wines in Redwood City, CA (they also have a great blog) and happened to notice this bottling on the shelf. However their bottles says 60.4% ABV.
I am pretty positive it is 59% ABV, doesnt make sense at 50.9%. Ryan, I have never heard of a 98 Proof barrel strength Four Roses. Doesnt make any sense since you can get the single barrel at 100 proof all the time.
Wild Turkey barrels at the lowest proof I am aware of and there Rare Breed comes in at about 108 proof
Never claimed to know neither the entry proof of this stuff, nor whether if it is 59% or 50.9%. Really does not matter to me either. When I expanded on your earlier comment by adding (anecdotally) that I’d heard Four Roses also tinkers with lower barrel entry proof stuff, I was not attempting to modify your remarks, nor stake-out new claims. I was attempting to expand the discussion and add that if Four Roses varies the barrel entry proof of some distillate, then I think that’s great.
I’ll leave it to you to decide if a 98 proof cask strength single barrel bottling makes any sense: http://www.thepartysource.com/whiskey/shop_whiskey.php?Id=297
How is this single barrel more limited than the usual single barrel?
Also tried this at WhiskyFest Chicago. This was a great whisky, not sure I would splurge to buy it myself for the price, but the flavor was wonderfully bold. However, my brother and I had to take a food break to cleanse our pallets after this one.
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