Review #990 - Four Roses 10 Year OBSO Single Barrel Barrel Strength

In these final 10 reviews leading up to review #1000, we've decided to take a look at whiskies from distilleries which, at one point or another in our exploration of whisky, have become more meaningful to us than most others. These 10 distilleries had impacts on journey for a variety of reasons, reasons which we'll dig into in each review.

First up in this series of 10 is Four Roses. This was one of the first distilleries we visited, and ever since, it's been one of our favorite producers. We love the profile that their bourbons showcase, and we have really enjoyed exploring their 10 different bourbon recipes and the nuances that each one brings.

This distillery also taught us the importance of both yeast choice and mashbill when making a whisky, especially in the realm of bourbon. From most distilleries, you don't get the chance to try several different combinations of these factors with similar specifications, which can make it harder to nail down the effect each has; when comparing different mashbills with different distilleries, there are so many other factors (still size, temperatures, yeast choice, grain varietals, barrel specifications, etc.) that cause flavor differences, it can be challenging to decipher the nuances cause by certain grain ratios.

We're always amazed by how big the difference is between these Four Roses bourbon recipes - the fruit of the 'O' yeast strain vs. the sugar and spice of the 'K' yeast strain, for instance, or the boldness that comes with the 'B' high-rye mashbill vs. the subtlety and oak dominance that sometimes follows the 'E' low-rye mashbill.

In this review, we're looking at a Single Barrel Barrel Strength bourbon, which is our favorite product line from the distillery. This is also the first time we're reviewing one of these 'SBBS' bourbon which was made using our favorite of the Four Roses recipes: OBSO. When we worked our way through 30 blind tastings as a part of the Four Roses Ten Recipe Tasting Experience, this recipe ended up winning by a nice margin; our other anecdotal experience with this recipe in single barrel versions of Four Roses bourbons has only reinforced that preference. We love that dark fruit and intense spice profile that it often brings to the table.

This bourbon comes from a barrel that spent its time maturing on the coveted 6th tier of the Four Roses warehouses; specifically, it was warehouse PS, and barrel 49-6L. We generally haven't put a lot of stock into the tier favoritism that sometimes comes with Four Roses single barrel discussions, as we've had plenty of bourbons with naturally 'low' barrel proof strength (in the 50% to 55% range) that have been superb. That said, these high tier, high strength versions do really pack a ton of flavor, even if they don't always have a lot of subtlety. This barrel yielded spirit at a strength of 62.8% ABV (125.6 proof) when it was bottled back in 2024, and it was aged for a total of 10 years and 5 months.

Four Roses 10 Year OBSO Single Barrel Barrel Strength - Mega Package Store Pick

USA - Bourbon

Price: USD 90 (2025)

Age Statement: 10 Years

Strength: 62.8% ABV

Details: OBSO recipe, bottled June 2024, warehouse PS, barrel 49-6L

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 2 months; bottles at 100%, 90%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Dark and rich - intense sweetness from molasses, ripe plum, and dark cherry notes, but also a bit of leather and sweet tobacco accenting the oak profile. It's dense, and we get subtleties of caramel, clove, oranges, and a hint of cardamom; it becomes more syrupy with time, and Christmas fruitcake, pomander, and chocolate were one-off notes.

Palate: Very spicy and oaky up front - tannic prickle, leather, cayenne, and cinnamon. Syrupy fruit follows that, almost a medicinal cherry cough syrupy, along with grape juice, tart plum, and Luxardo cherry. Brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, and nutty oak bring a baking side; this has a medium-thick mouthfeel.

Finish: Grapes, oranges, blackberry, acidic plum, and cherry jam - quite fruity at this point, nice sweetness combating the spice. Cayenne, tannins, red pepper flakes, and brown sugar mingle with charred wood, white pepper, and a hint of rye on the back end; the complexion is still quite dark, and this is a medium-long finish.

Final Note: Wow, this is a punchy bottle - very fruity, very spicy, just a dark and intense bourbon overall. It does have a strong oak influence across the tasting experience, and we especially enjoyed those tobacco notes in the nose; that said, it doesn't quite have that same 'old oak' character that you get from bourbons that have been aged 13, 14, 15+ years. Decent maturity, but this isn't quite into that ultra-aged bourbon category which carries the huge price tags.

All of that said, it's a very good bourbon, one that we're savoring and hope to keep around for a while. This single barrel reinforces why we enjoy the OBSO recipe so much, and at this point, we'll probably keep one of these single barrels with this recipe on our shelf at all times.

When we move on to the value calculation, we think this is very good there, too. Depending on where you buy them, these single barrel, barrel strength versions of Four Roses can cost anywhere from $80 to $120 for the typical store picks (not the extra-aged special editions from the distillery); with whisky prices dropping in recent times, we're seeing them in the $90 to $100 range most often. That's a very fair price in our opinion for a bottle that packs this much flavor.

Our Rating: 8.1 / 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: 7.14

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.