Four Roses Small Batch, 2017 Limited Edition Barrel Strength, Al Young 50th Anniversary, 53.8% abv.

More commonly referred to as 4RAY or FRAY, this bottling is supposedly the best product Four Roses has released in the modern age. Dedicated to Senior Brand Manager Al Young, Master Distiller Brent Elliott constructed 4RAY by blending 5% 23-year OBSV, 25% 15-year OBSK, 50% 13-year OESV, and 20% 12-year OBSF. Those letter "acronyms" is Four Roses nomenclature for their mash bills and yeast strains used. Four Roses supposedly made about 10,000 bottles and called it a limited release, which in my opinion is huge, but I guess the American bourbon market is much bigger than the European Scotch market.

Nose: mostly vanilla, light sherry, light cherry.

Palate: very meaty, sweet, sour, intense bourbon flavor and feel.

Finish: moderate, a slight non-abv sting, breathing old cherries.

Hmmm... what do I say... It's good, but not amazing. The nose is very nice and smooth, but the CEHTBP I just had was much better. Maybe the proofing sequence was bad? Maybe a bad bottle? Maybe some other factor, I mean I was drinking this in the middle of a casino. Again, I am not sure why this bottle disappears the instant it is posted on secondary. Interestingly, the bartender thought I needed something with more body in the flavor profile, which is why he recommended the next bourbon I'm about to post.

Grade: C

Thewhiskeywash, Jim Bonomo, 4.5/5 stars (I find it funny that their website users rate it at 3/5 stars... making a huge difference in opinion)
Whisky advocate, Fred Minnick, 96 points

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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