Review #179; Bourbon #68:Four Roses Private Select OESO 12yr

Four Roses Showdown!

I happen to have a few bottles and a number of samples of Four Roses Private Selects lying around, so why not pit them all against each other in a big review series!

Four Roses is known for their different yeasts and mash bills, which allow for 10 different recipes of bourbon. The bulk of these reviews will contain samples of their private select, which are single barrel offerings of individual recipes pulled from the 10 variations you can have.

All that being said lets dive in!

Four Roses Private Select

Recipe: OESO

Age: 12 Years

This will be the oldest 4R I’ve tried

ABV: 55.5%

Nose: Caramel, Toasted Marshmallows, Oak, Vanilla, black tea, pepper.

Palate: Thick Oily Mouthfeel, Oak, Tannins, Heat, Slight Black pepper and marshmallow.

Finish: Medium, oak, spice, pepper and fades away to nothing

Rating: 5/10

This is fine. The issue here is the age hurts this bottle. The oak is the dominant not throughout. I like oak as much as the next guy, but it overpowers the other flavors in here in a bad way.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect