Each month, Flight Club selects a club-endorsed “Pick of the Month.” The parameters on the Pick of the Month are (a) locally available in Wichita, Kansas (b) under $40 and (c) something believed to be a good value or limited availability at the moment. We invite everyone (Club members or not) to break open a bottle and provide comment and feedback.
This month, we’ve selected a bottle that is also featured in Monarch’s Bourbon Heritage Month punch card: Four Roses Small Batch. While we have previously written about Four Roses’ private selection single barrel lineup and limited releases, the Small Batch is a mid-shelf staple.
An enjoyable pour, a good mixer, and priced to buy. We recommend it.
Bottle: Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
Age: Not age stated, but Four Roses ages every barrel at least 5 years prior to dumping.
Mash Bill: A combination of two – 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley; and 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley.
Proof: 90
Price: $32.99
Location: Available at most well-stocked liquor stores.
It’s not much of a secret that Four Roses is my jam. And I really like both of these yeast strains, the K and O, with their combination of fruit and spice. For the small batch, I get the fruit first on the nose, almost like opening a fresh bag of twizzlers. Then the rye spice, enveloped in a creamy puff pastry. This carries forward to the palate, where the fruit and rye are forefront, with vanilla and light toffee. The finish is medium-long, with the rye tingling and soft toffee lingering just long enough.
The bourbon works brilliantly in an old fashioned, if you like one with bourbon, a hearty slice of orange and maraschino cherry. Tough to find a 90 proof bourbon that packs more flavor than this.
This one outshines it’s price point. While many of the notes are quite mild, it has interesting depth and complexity that are not common with most other bourbons at this price. I attribute most of this complexity to the unique recipes that makeup up Small Batch.
Nose: Strawberry shortcake; floral; rye spice; light caramelized oak; vanilla.
Palate: Creamy and mild. Pie crust, vanilla; spice; oak.
Finish: Medium; Vanilla cream; cherry; oak; spice.
Arguably one of the tastiest bourbons at this price point. For some odd reason, I’ve not had much from the Four Roses roster. This Small Batch will definitely change this grievous oversight.
Nose: oak, citrus, and sweet
Palate: creamy, fruity, and spicy all rolled together.
Finish: long and complex…all the flavors coming out to play. The spice shines.
Good stuff! The price point will turn this into a daily drinker option.