Four Roses creates a new Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon

Four Roses is releasing a new Small Batch bourbon soon. What is it called? What ingredients are in this bourbon? When will it be released?

Photo courtesy of Four Roses social media

Four Roses has always been a fan favorite on the bourbon trail located in Lawrenceburg. Now, they have given bourbon fans another reason to come to their distillery. They had just completed their $55 million expansion and they will be releasing a new Small Batch Select.

Four Roses is known for their annual Limited Edition Small Batches. The distillery uses five proprietary yeast strains and two high rye mash bills to craft their ten popular recipes. Each yeast strain has its own distinct flavor profile and a mingling of two in particular is what brings about the idea for the new release. The new Small Batch has been dubbed Fourth Rose. It has been 12 years since they have released a new year-round bourbon.

“The combination of the F and the V yeast strain is the magic behind both the Al Young 50th Anniversary and the 130th Anniversary Small Batch. We really wanted to hit that flavor profile,” says Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot of their new Small Batch Select.

The “F” strain of yeast brings out herbal and mint quality to its whiskey while the “V” strain brings a delicate fruit flavor and adds a long finish. Elliot wanted to add a permanent offer that resembled these traits and has created the new Small Batch Select.

Photo courtesy of Four Roses social media

The featured line at Four Roses consists of Four Roses Bourbon (6 years old and 80 proof), Four Roses Small Batch (7 years old and 90 proof), and Four Roses Single Barrel (8 years old and 100 proof).

“The magic of this one is that it hits where there was a gap, both in flavor profile and in attributes like the proof and the non-chill filtration,” says Elliot. “The family of labels, they all share some similar characteristics. But if you look at each one, Small Batch Select is much different from Small Batch, from Single Barrel.”

The final blend of Fourth Rose includes OESF, OBSF, OESK, OESV, OBSK, and OBSV recipes. While the percentages of each will shift each year, they will tend heavy towards the 35 percent high rye B mash bill.

Not only will Four Roses release a new bourbon in decades, they just completed an expansion project worth $55 million. Joseph & Joseph is the firm that not only worked on this expansion, but also the original building in 1910.

Photo courtesy of Four Roses social media

“It’s an exciting time at Four Roses and we are proud to celebrate the next step in our effort to provide even more Bourbon to our consumers, while maintaining a commitment to produce the same premium quality that defines the brand,” said Four Roses Chief Operating Officer Ryan Ashley. “We welcome and encourage you to make the trip to our Distillery in Lawrenceburg to experience our continued growth first-hand.”

The Lawrenceburg Distillery had a $34 million expansion that added production to its lot. Going from 4 million proof gallons to 8 million. The expansion also came with a new column and doubler still and also 8 new fermenters. This increase is expected to fill another 130,000 barrels each year.

Cox’s Creek bottling facility took $21 million for their renovation to include two new bottling lines, office space, and a new single-rack warehouse. They are hoping the first of many.

Bottles will be available at the distillery in Lawrenceburg and also the bottling facility in Cox’s Creek on Wednesday, April 17 starting at 9 am. The release is limited and will only hit markets in Kentucky, New York, Atlanta, California, and Texas. It will begin to roll into other markets over the next year.

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