Four Roses Small Batch 750ML

Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 750ML is an ultra-premium, expertly balanced American spirit bottled at 45% ABV (90 proof). Handcrafted at the historic Spanish Mission-style distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, this flagship expression is a masterclass in the art of blending. It consistently captures major critical acclaim—regularly earning 95-point ratings at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge and sweeping consistent Gold Medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the World Whiskies Awards. Explicitly engineered to offer impeccable symmetry, it delivers a silky, cream-textured palate that marries rich red fruits with a bright, peppery rye spice backbone.

• Quick Facts: ABV: 45% (90 proof) | Origin: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, USA | Style: Balanced, Fruity, and Silky Small Batch Bourbon | Age: Matured 6 to 7 Years in New Charred Oak | Size: 750ML

Production & Heritage

• The Master Blending Blueprint: What technically distinguishes Four Roses from every other bourbon distillery in the world is its unique production matrix. The house utilizes two distinct grain mash bills paired with five proprietary wild yeast strains to continuously distil ten entirely unique bourbon recipes.

• The Four-Recipe Marriage: While the standard single-barrel expressions highlight just one recipe, Small Batch is engineered by masterfully blending four of these distinct liquid components together: OBSK, OBSO, OESK, and OESO. The "B" recipes introduce a punchy 35% rye structure; the "E" recipes provide a softer 20% rye and sweet corn cushion; the "K" yeast adds rich baking spice; and the "O" yeast injects luscious red fruit profiles.

• The Single-Story Aging Advantage: Unlike multi-story warehouses that experience extreme temperature swings between the roof and the floor, Four Roses ages its barrels exclusively inside single-story, double-insulated concrete rickhouses. This ensures an incredibly uniform barrel-maturation process, preventing the whiskey from taking on overly aggressive or bitter oak wood tannins.

• A True 250-Barrel Selection: The term "Small Batch" is often abused in the liquor industry, but Four Roses maintains a strict standard. Every bottling run is restricted to an average of just 250 selected barrels cellared for 6 to 7 years, allowing the master distiller to ensure lot-to-lot flavor consistency.

Tasting Notes

• Aroma: Layered, highly elegant, and dessert-forward. The nose opens with an immediate wave of brown butter cookies, rich caramel molasses, and sweet oak, beautifully decorated by secondary top notes of fresh raspberries, dark cherries, and a fragrant hint of wild mint.

• Taste: Medium-to-full-bodied, silky, and remarkably soft on the entry. The palate is treated to an immediate coating of sweet honey, vanilla bean custard, and cookie dough. Across the mid-palate, the high-rye mash bills assert control, expanding into a warming, structural matrix of grated nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper.

• Finish: Long, smooth, and beautifully balanced. The initial caramel sweetness tapers off cleanly without leaving a heavy film, concluding with a persistent, signature wintergreen freshness, toasted oak staves, and a final hint of Christmas baking spices.

How to Drink Four Roses Small Batch

• The Definitive Neat Sipper: Thanks to its multi-recipe architecture and patient 6 to 7-year barrel rest, this bourbon completely bypasses the harsh alcohol sting common to younger spirits. Enjoying it entirely neat in a tulip glass or a Glencairn at room temperature is the gold standard for experiencing its delicate raspberry and baking-spice notes.

• Bartender-Grade Classic Cocktails: Its robust rye integration guarantees that the whiskey will hold its identity against sweeteners and citrus. It acts as a magnificent backbone for a classic Bourbon Old Fashioned (muddled with a sugar cube and Angostura bitters) or a velvety, rich Whiskey Sour.

Best For

• Stocking a premium home bar rail with an incredibly reliable, award-winning daily sipper that transitions seamlessly from mixing to neat pouring.

• Gifting discerning whiskey enthusiasts who appreciate high-rye bourbons, old-school blending methodologies, and elegant bottle design.

• Serving as a versatile, crowd-pleasing anchor for holiday cocktail setups, dinner parties, and casual weekend gatherings.

• Bourbon drinkers who want a softer, more fruit-forward alternative to heavy, oak-dominated craft whiskeys.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What does Four Roses Small Batch taste like? It features an incredibly balanced, smooth profile that leads with upfront flavors of caramel, vanilla, and ripe red berries, develops a silky middle marked by cinnamon and baking clove, and concludes with a clean, lingering finish of soft oak and fresh mint.

• How does it compare to Four Roses Single Barrel? Four Roses Single Barrel is bottled at a higher 100 proof and drawn entirely from a single barrel of a single recipe (OBSV), emphasizing an intensely punchy, robustly spicy, and deeply concentrated profile heavy on rye pepper and dry oak. The 90-proof Small Batch is a masterfully balanced blend of four separate recipes, yielding a noticeably softer mouthfeel, a sweeter, creamier body, and a vastly heavier focus on rich red fruits and vanilla.

• What do the recipe codes (like OBSK) actually mean? Every code is a four-letter structural map: O designates the Four Roses Distillery; B or E indicates the mash bill (B is 35% rye, E is 20% rye); S simply means Straight Bourbon; and the final letter represents the yeast strain (K for slight spice, O for rich fruit). By marrying these profiles, the distiller locks in a multi-dimensional flavor experience.

• Where is this bourbon produced? Every single drop of the mash is fermented and copper pot-distilled at the historic Four Roses Distillery site in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, before being trucked down to Cox's Creek to mature in their single-story rickhouses.

• What foods pair well with this expression? The bourbon’s natural vanilla and berry characteristics match beautifully next to rich holiday desserts like pecan pie, dark chocolate truffles, or a dish of warm gingerbread cake. On a savory menu, its rye-spice structure cuts beautifully through heavy fats, making it a magnificent companion to slow-smoked pork ribs, grilled ribeye steak, or sharp, mature white cheddar cheese.

Why Four Roses Small Batch?

The primary technical advantage of Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon lies in its calculation of a four-recipe, dual-mash-bill blending process combined with single-story oak maturation, providing a structural harmony, texturally rich mouthfeel, and deep red-fruit tracking that standard single-recipe table bourbons cannot replicate. It stands securely on an undisputed throne in the mid-tier spirits market, universally celebrated by professional bartenders and critics as one of the finest value-to-quality propositions in the industry. Delivering a deeply satisfying tasting experience inside a statuesque, wood-corked bottle with a custom embossed rose window cutout, this 750ml format represents an essential asset for any thoughtful collection.

Specifications

• Varietal/Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

• Product of: United States (Lawrenceburg, Kentucky)

• Size: 750ML

• Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

• Brand: Four Roses Distillery (Kirin Brewery Company)