Review #893 - Four Roses OBSQ Recipe

This review is one of a ten part series: the Four Roses Ten Recipe Tasting Experience. It's possible to taste each of the ten Four Roses bourbon recipes by tracking down different variations of their Single Barrel Barrel Strength bourbon, but that would be quite time consuming and expensive; finally, in 2023, the distillery produced a kit that allowed fans to try all ten recipes with the same specifications (52% ABV, aged 8 to 10 years).

This OBSQ bourbon recipe uses the high-rye 'B' mashbill of 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley; it pairs that with the 'Q' yeast strain, which is supposed to add floral flavors to the bourbon.

Four Roses OBSQ Recipe

USA - Bourbon

Price: USD 65 (2024)

Age Statement: ~8 years old

Strength: 52% ABV

Details: OBSQ recipe, bottled 2023

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times (all 3 blind) over 4 months from a mini-bottle; tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Leathery oak, tobacco and perfume, quite peppery and spicy - rye, then some vanilla and bruleed sugar

Palate: Rich caramel, a moderate amount of oak, hints of orange fruit, herbal rye, chocolate and cola

Finish: Strong oak and wood char, tobacco, spearmint, lots of rye spice, wood spice, demerara sugar

Final Note: A decent amount of oak influence here - the spirit signature is more subtle, allowing the oak to show through. Some rye spice as well, especially in the palate and finish.

Do we agree with the Four Roses description the profile? Four Roses describes OBSQ as "rye & lightly floral." Those floral notes were harder for us to detect, maybe because they're more subtle; the rye was definitely prominent, and we found the oak spice to be just as intense, along with some baking spices in the finish.

Our Rating: 7.3 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 7.30

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.