Four Roses Small Batch

Four Roses Small Batch is a Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 45% ABV, and its recipe is more specific than most. It blends four of the distillery's ten bourbon recipes. Those come from two mash bills, one of 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% malted barley, and one of 75% corn, 20% rye and 5% malted barley. The two are used in equal measure, each paired with a different yeast strain. One yeast is described as light and spicy and the other as rich and fruity. Because of this, the high-rye mash bill brings spice, and the lower-rye one adds a softer, corn-driven sweetness. The result tends to sit between a rye-forward pour and a mellow, sweet one. Expect the usual bourbon core of caramel, vanilla and toasted oak, with a rye-driven pepper and baking-spice edge and some fruit from the fuller yeast strain. Bourbons built this way often smell of ripe orchard fruit and light floral notes, then finish with gentle spice. These are category expectations, not a measured profile for this bottle, so taste it to confirm. At 45% it has a little more body and heat than a 40% bottling, and that extra strength helps it keep its flavor in a cocktail. For sipping, try it neat first to get a baseline. Then add a few drops of room-temperature water, which loosens the alcohol and lets the fruit and spice come forward. On the rocks works too, though a large single cube melts slowly enough to chill the bourbon without diluting it quickly. A Glencairn is the best glass for nosing, because its tapered rim concentrates the aromas. A rocks glass suits slower sipping and is the right choice if you're adding ice. In cocktails, the rye component makes it a good fit for an Old Fashioned, where the spice holds up against sugar and bitters. It also works in a Manhattan with sweet vermouth, where the fruit-leaning yeast character plays against the vermouth's richness. In a Whiskey Sour, the 45% strength keeps the whiskey from being swamped by lemon. For a long drink, a Highball with ginger ale or soda and a lemon peel lets the vanilla and spice come through without being masked. Pairings that suit it include smoked or barbecued meats, aged cheddar and dark chocolate.