Sometimes, it’s a good thing to be in a Kentucky-adjacent state, and not just because that puts Tennessee only two states away from legal weed dispensaries. Often Kentucky distilleries will save some of their most special releases for in-state distribution only, leaving the rest of us out of luck or me having to make a dash for my secret honey-hole of a liquor store just across the border in Franklin, Ky. Dang, now I’ve told you all about it!
Last year, when Four Roses released their special Small Batch Select offering, Tennessee was not one of the four states other than Kentucky to be granted access to distribution. I mean, New York, California and even Texas I can understand, but to hop right over us to sell it in Georgia? That was cold.
But this year, we must have made the “good list,” because Tennessee Four Roses fans now have access to at least limited distribution of this fine product, along with a dozen other new markets. For years, when people ask me what my favorite bourbon is, I tend to waffle a bit. Instead, I list a few bottles that you can almost always find open on my home bar, and Four Roses Small Batch is always at the top of that list. A blend of four of Four Roses’ proprietary yeast and mashbill recipes, this excellent liquid is always aged for at least six years and demonstrates a complexity and character well beyond its affordable price point. It is definitely good enough to drink neat, but not so precious that it doesn’t belong in a cocktail. I appreciate that sort of versatility. At 90 proof, it has the backbone to hold up for mixology uses, but isn’t too hot to enjoy all by itself. So, yeah, I’m a fan.
Four Roses Small Batch Select is another animal altogether, however. Created from six of Four Roses’ 10 different blending recipes, including four that don’t even appear in the everyday Small Batch, the Select exhibits characters that are not present in its little brother.
Bottled at a robust 104 proof and skipping the normal chill-filtering process, Small Batch Select really lets the nuances of the various yeasts sing out. On the nose, the regular Small Batch shows off more barrel elements of oak and caramel, as opposed to the yeast-driven fruit and spice characteristics present in Small Batch Select. Fruit and berries also sing out in the Select, along with a late hint of oak and smoke that expands during the extra long finish. It may just be my palate, but I can always seem to detect more mint notes in higher-proof bourbons than in large-batch products, and Small Batch Select doesn’t disappoint, with a late hit of julep mint and cinnamon during the finish.
While it won’t supplant Small Batch as one of my everyday (OK, I guess I should say every night) bourbons because of its more limited availability and understandably elevated price point, it sure is nice to be able to do a search on Four Roses’ website and see that there are plenty of outlets carrying this delightful product with Nashville city limits. That drive to Franklin, Ky., was beginning to be a bear ...
