Four Roses Single Barrel

Four Roses Single Barrel is an American bourbon, and the name tells you how it's bottled. Each release comes from one barrel rather than a blend of many, so expect small differences in sweetness, spice and oak from one bottle to the next. Bourbon is legally built on a corn-heavy mash and aged in new charred oak. Styles like this usually show caramel, vanilla and baking spice from the char, with a rye-driven peppery edge. Single-barrel bourbons also tend to be bottled at a fuller strength than standard blends, which gives them a richer, longer finish. Treat these as category expectations, not a measured profile of this bottle. For a first pour, go neat in a Glencairn glass. The tapered bowl gathers the aroma, so you can pick out the fruit, oak and spice before you taste. If the alcohol feels sharp on the nose, add a few drops of room-temperature water. A little dilution often loosens the aromas and softens the heat without flattening the flavor. A single large cube in a rocks glass is a good choice for slow sipping. It chills the bourbon gently and opens it up gradually as the ice melts. In cocktails, a single-barrel bourbon is best where the spirit stays at the front. An Old Fashioned made with a sugar cube, two or three dashes of Angostura bitters and an orange peel lets the barrel character come through. A Manhattan with sweet vermouth and a cherry suits a bourbon with some rye spice, since the spice holds up against the vermouth. In a Whiskey Sour, fresh lemon juice and a touch of simple syrup keep the oak and vanilla from being buried. For a highball, pour over plenty of ice and top with cold soda water and a lemon twist. That makes a dry, easy drink that still tastes of bourbon. At the table, bourbon like this goes well with grilled or smoked meats, aged cheddar, roasted nuts and dark chocolate. Each of these picks up the sweetness and char in the glass.