Four Roses 135th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch (2023) Review | Breaking Bourbon (2024)

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Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch releases are known for their uncompromising balance and refinement above all else. Often showcasing a marriage of oak driven by the higher age of the components along with fruit driven by their underlying component recipes, Four Roses releases tend to forgo the extremes bourbon can reach as a result. But what they lack in immediate wow factor, they often make up for with subtle nuance the more time you spend getting to know them.

This year’s Limited Edition Small Batch is about as good an example of an expertly blended straight bourbon as you’re going to find. While it’s made of four individual components, what’s interesting about Four Roses is not necessarily that the components are intended to reach bourbon extremes to achieve widely varying releases, rather they are created to find and control balance of the company's products, ultimately ensuring consistency. As an example, the distillery’s flagship product, which is simply named Four Roses Bourbon, combines all ten of their recipes to make what ends up being a very straightforward bourbon that you would never guess included 10 specific components simply by tasting it. Their standard Small Batch combines four recipes, Small Batch Select combines six recipes, and their standard Single Barrel is always one recipe, OBSV (not counting a small number of private single barrel selections that cover the remainder of the recipes, individually of course).

In creating Limited Edition Small Batch, master distiller Brent Elliott sets out to create something different each year. As bourbon blending tends to be, the process is partially defined by the availability of potential batches - they seek out batches in excess of 10 years old - and the art of blending. According to Elliott, this year, three base batches were identified early on - the 12, 14, and 16 year old batches. From that point, more attention was given to which additional component might be blended in, and to what extent. The 25 year old OBSV batch was identified as the fourth component, and ultimately it was decided that it would become 5% of the final blend.

I had the unique opportunity to taste each of the individual components this year, and it was interesting to compare how they tasted on their own against the final blend. The 25 year old bourbon as expected offers plenty of oak but it’s a bit too much on its own, the 16 year old offers balance but lacks notable uniqueness, the 14 year old offers lively spice notes and has nice caramel in the finish, and the 12 year old is bright and sweet with welcome fruit and caramel notes. Surprisingly, I preferred the 12 year OESV on its own compared to the others, but more importantly, this exercise highlights one key aspect of Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition - the final blend is greater than the sum of its parts.

Bourbon pricing has risen just like everything else, and across their product line Four Roses has remained fairly steadfast in offering really good bourbons at accessible prices. Small Batch Limited Edition is not one of their “always on the shelf” bourbons, and draws from lots of their oldest barrels. It’s meticulously curated by Elliott, and bottle counts are typically rather low. With a bottle count of just over 15,000 this year, it’s going to be difficult to find regardless of MSRP. At $200, which is a $20 increase over last year’s price, is not at all surprising and consistent with the industry.

As far as limited releases from major Kentucky distilleries go, it’s certainly not the lowest price, but often lower MSRP releases are not sold for MSRP as many see steep retailer markup consistent with demand, so that can be difficult to see as a consumer. In fact, we tend to see many non-major Kentucky distillers and producers pushing the price barrier, such as Barrell Craft Spirits, Kentucky Owl, and Chicken co*ck, so by that measure $200 may appear low.

Ultimately though, $200 is a lot for any bottle. With the exception of those who are fortunate enough to wield near unlimited budgets, most will give consideration to Limited Edition Small Batch’s $200 price tag. To that end, it comes down to whether the bourbon in the bottle supports the high ask, and in this case for an extremely well crafted bourbon commemorating Four Roses' 135th Anniversary that's limited to only about 15,000 bottles, it certainly does and then some.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is rarely a bourbon that hits with an immediate wow factor. Combining multiple recipes and striking balance yields bourbons that typically aren’t oak bombs, caramel bombs, cherry bombs, or any other kind of flavor bomb for that matter. While the releases are barrel proof, they typically have relatively low proofs compared to many other distilleries’ barrel proof bourbons that reach much higher and more attention-grabbing proof points. Four Roses doesn’t produce a rye, a malt, or any finished whiskeys. Unlike many distilleries of late, Four Roses has stuck to the basics. They make straight Kentucky bourbon, through and through.

Now master distiller for nearly a decade and tenured at Four Roses for nearly two decades, Brent Elliott has proven his ability to blend a wonderfully balanced bourbon. The flavors in the blend are apparent when tasting the components, but how they come together is where the magic really lies. The 2023 edition of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch showcases that magic, highlighting what Four Roses has become known for.