Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review
Four Roses is a reliable Kentucky straight bourbon that ticks all the right boxes: cheap, tasty, and versatile. Like many other whiskey fans, I’m always on the hunt for value. However, there are so many expensive limited-edition expressions out there these days. While many of them are in fact fantastic, when I happen upon a cheap bourbon like Four Roses that makes for a delicious neat whiskey or whiskey cocktail, it becomes a go-to bottle that earns a place on my home bar.
Four Roses has several other expressions to try in its lineup, but the core bourbon—which used to be referred to as yellow label—is one that bartenders and collectors turn to when they are looking for value over flash.
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“Four Roses is great because there is a whiskey [in the lineup] for every occasion,” says Ben Wald, spirits specialist and head of beverage programming at The Flatiron Room in New York City. “They continue to offer such amazing whiskeys at each price point.”
To learn more about Four Roses Bourbon, including its history, production process, and tasting notes, keep reading. And if you're interested in other bourbon reviews, check out our deep dives into Wild Turkey 101, Basil Hayden, and Woodford Reserve.
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Related: I Test Hundreds of Whiskeys per Year. This Cheap Bourbon Is a Modern Classic
Four Roses Bourbon at a Glance
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Bottom Line: Four Roses Bourbon is an affordable bourbon with a low ABV and a complex palate that has a nice amount of spice.
Type: Bourbon
Casks: New charred oak
Still: Column stills
ABV: 40 percent (80 proof)
Age: No age statement (minimum five years old)
Appearance: Light brown
Nose: Vanilla, brown sugar, pepper, baked apple
Mouthfeel: Thin with a touch of viscosity
Taste: Caramel, vanilla, butterscotch, molasses, stone fruit, black pepper
Finish: Lingering notes of sweet and spice
Pros and Cons of Four Roses Bourbon
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Great value bourbon | Low proof means the flavor isn’t as complex as others |
Balance of sweet and spice notes on the palate | The mouthfeel is a bit thin |
Works well in any whiskey cocktail |
Four Roses Bourbon Review
While there are certainly much more complex sippers in the Four Roses family, the core bourbon is a classic for a reason.
The whiskey combines the ten distinct recipes produced at the distillery, something that makes it stand out from its competitors like Evan Williams or Wild Turkey. Spend a little more money, and you can enjoy the Small Batch, Small Batch Select, or Single Barrel expressions, each of which use just a few of the recipes to create a more refined palate (or, in the case of the Single Barrel, just one individual recipe.
“Small Batch Select, my personal favorite of the core line, has an amazing depth,” says Wald. “I’m not sure I’ve ever put in anything more than a drop or two of water to unlock some of the more subtle notes. Their 100 proof Single Barrel is great for people who want to get into that next level of bourbon tasting, looking at what one single barrel tastes like as a component of a larger blend.”
Regular Four Roses Bourbon is a worthy whiskey in its own right. The ten recipes used to make it are a combination of two mash bills and five yeast strains. Each recipe has its own unique flavor profile, and they all come together harmoniously in the core expression.
Even though Four Roses Bourbon is bottled at the minimum 80 proof, which can feel a bit thin and diluted to seasoned whiskey drinkers, it's properly aged bourbon at a minimum of five years old. The distillery uses a bit more rye in its mash bills than others, so there is a nice spice component to balance the bourbon’s intrinsic sweetness. Look for notes of baked apple, vanilla, caramel, toffee, black and white pepper, cinnamon, and honey. Overall, it's a well-balanced bourbon that both beginners and experts can enjoy.
How to Drink Four Roses Bourbon
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You should drink whiskey how you like, no matter the style, proof, or age.
I recommend starting off with a neat pour first just to get to know this or any whiskey. Four Roses certainly isn’t going to bring much of an alcohol burn to the experience. But this bourbon is also a great cocktail component.
“The classic bourbon is a great house bottle,” says Wald. “Highballs, on the rocks, in a mint julep—the standard offering can do it all.”
I recommend trying it in classics like an old fashioned or Manhattan, because the spice from the rye gives it some heft when mixed with sweeter ingredients. It also works well in newer cocktails like the amaro-forward paper plane or black Manhattan, a spicier version of the classic.
History of Four Roses Bourbon
The origin story of Four Roses varies a bit, but many trace it back to businessman Paul Jones Jr., who trademarked the name in 1888.
A distillery was built in Lawrenceburg, KY, where the modern version stands today, which was owned by J.T.S. Brown. In 1922, Jones’ company bought the Frankfort Distilling Company and was granted a license to make medicinal whiskey during Prohibition, one of just a few that were allowed to do so.
In 1943, drinks giant Seagram purchased the company, but decided to sell Four Roses as a blend in the U.S. For decades, it was relegated to being a bottom shelf bottle.
The straight bourbon continued to be sold overseas and was very popular, particularly in Japan. In 1995, Jim Rutledge became Four Roses master distiller, and was determined to bring the straight bourbon back home.
The brand changed hands a few more times until finally, in 2002, Japanese company Kirin acquired it, and Rutledge’s dream became reality. In 2015, Brent Elliott took over as master distiller, and has been at the helm ever since.
Related: Cloudy Ice Can Ruin Your Cocktails. Follow This Method to Make Perfect Ice Cubes at Home
How Four Roses Bourbon Is Made
Four Roses stands out for its use of ten different recipes to make its bourbon, which it blends together in various ways for its expressions.
The distillery uses five different yeast strains, each of which is said to bring a unique flavor, and two different mash bills: B, which has a high rye content of 35 percent, and E which is still pretty rye-forward at 20 percent.
The recipes are always designated with four letters. OESV, for example, means the bourbon is made at the Four Roses distillery (O) using the E mashbill, and it’s a straight whiskey (S) that uses the V yeast strain.
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All of the bourbon is aged in new charred oak barrels, as required by law, for a minimum of five years in warehouses in different locations. More recently, two new mash bills were added to the mix, which will show up in future releases.
“The work that Brent Elliott and the team at Four Roses continues to do is amazing,” says Wald. “The distillery itself is absolutely gorgeous, built in the Spanish Mission style, and they make some great bourbon for every price point. In the wider whiskey world, Four Roses is historically so important.”
If You Like Four Roses You’ll Also Like…
WIld Turkey 101
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Wild Turkey 101 is bottled at a much higher 101 proof, but like Four Roses, the bourbon has a higher rye content than others. Wild Turkey 101 is an assertive classic, with notes of spice and oak to complement the signature Wild Turkey toasted nut and grain flavor.
Four Roses Limited-Edition Small Batch
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Four Roses Limited-Edition Small Batch is an annually released blend of older bourbons that master distiller Brent Elliott assembles from just a few of the distillery’s ten recipes. Each year is different, but they are consistently good—but, given the limited nature of this release, consistently expensive. If you find a bottle of the Limited-Edition Small Batch for a reasonable price, go ahead and buy it.
Bulleit Bourbon
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Bulleit Bourbon is another whiskey that's made with a relatively high-rye mash bill. Owned by drinks giant Diageo, Bulleit can be found in nearly every bar and liquor store around the country. It’s an easy drinking whiskey that is relatively affordable, although it’s usually a bit more expensive than Four Roses. Give this a try to see how it compares.
Why You Should Trust Me
I've written about spirits for numerous publications for a decade. Throughout that time, I've sampled thousands of bottles in every category of spirits, visited distilleries across the world to see how the juice is made, and honed my palate and nose.
I'm also a judge for two spirits competitions, the John Barleycorn Awards and the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, for which I blind taste hundreds of spirits to determine what stands out based on flavor, mouthfeel, color, and aroma.
For this review, I sampled Four Roses neat, over ice, and in cocktails, and talked to some experts to provide some insight and context about the brand.
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