Review #371 - Four Roses 9 Year OESK Single Barrel Barrel Strength - Wiseguy Lounge Pick
Wiseguy Lounge Barrel Pick Series: Part 3 of 20
The Wiseguy Lounge's OESK pick from Four Roses - this bourbon uses a mashbill of 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley. That's actually a decent amount of rye grain, but it's Four Roses 'low rye' mashbill - the 'B' variety uses 35% rye. Paired with the yeast strain 'K,' we could see some lighter spice notes and some caramel flavors.
This barrel pick was aged for 9 years and 6 months before bottling, falling into the low to middle of the range for Four Roses SBBS picks. It comes with a nice strength of 57.4% ABV (114.8 proof); based on our previous experience with OESK barrels, we think that some stronger oaky, smoky notes might be possible.
Four Roses 9 Year OESK Single Barrel Barrel Strength - Wiseguy Lounge Pick
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 120 (2024, estimated)
Age Statement: 9 Years
Strength: 57.4% ABV
Details: OESK recipe, warehouse LW, barrel 61-30
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 9 months; bottles at 80% and 20% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Soft grainy notes and dusty oak start us off, and there's a decent amount of rich baking spice - mildly sweet. Barbecued wood brings a bit of maturity, then more sweetness arrives: medicinal cherries, brown sugar, and candied pecans come to mind. Later, there's a hint of balsamic glaze.
Palate: A medium-thick mouthfeel - quite syrupy, with lots of sweet, juicy cherries and some brown sugar or caramel. Fresh oak, almost sawn lumber, and then some old furniture oak arrives; there are little hints of leather, and the complexion is quite dark. Later, baking notes like cardamom appear.
Finish: Medium-long, quite oily and oaky, and there's a bit of smokiness now in the oak. Sweet aftertastes of cherry, caramel, and cinnamon are balanced by a bit of tobacco smoke; the aftertaste is boozy maple syrup.
Final Note: Quite a tasty single barrel variant of Four Roses - aged enough for a well-rounded, sweet palate, just not quite long enough to get those stronger, more mature oak notes. It did have a great cherry fruit flavor, and plenty of caramel and baking spice, and the texture was great with the higher strength.
Value-wise, these single barrels often end up around average on our scale - they're a little bit expensive, at $100+, but they generally offer a lot of punchy flavor. This one falls right in line.
Our Average Rating: 7.8 / 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: 6.07
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.
