I won’t go into a huge amount of detail about where Mrs. G-LO, the kids, and I went on our annual summer road trip since I plan on pulling together a blog post about it, but I will tell you this, we went back to Maine. This time around, we decided to go farther north and rented a cottage in a small community just north of Camden and just south of Belfast.
Although Maine brewed Craft Beer is my usual focus when we head up there, this time around I decided to pack a couple of whisky samples so that I could write up some reviews once the kids went to bed. The first whisky that I reviewed was The Glenlivet Alpha. The second was the Four Roses Single Barrel that you see in the above photo which is the subject of this review.
Let’s get down to business…
Here are a few words about this Bourbon taken directly from the Four Roses website:
A premium Single Barrel Bourbon with a taste you’ll want to savor again and again. Complex, full bodied and surprisingly smooth with a delicate long finish that’s unbelievably mellow. Contains hints of ripe plum and cherry tastes with fruity, spicy aromas including maple syrup and cocoa. Drink straight up or on the rocks.
Awards:
- 2012 Ultimate Recommendation, 95 Points; Ultimate Spirits Challenge
- 2012 Gold Medal; San Francisco World Spirits Competition
- 2010 Wine Enthusiast Best Buy: 96-100 Points
- 2010 Strongly Recommended, 89 Points; Ultimate Spirits Challenge
- 2010 & 2009, Double Gold Medal; San Francisco World Spirits Competition
- 2009 Number 1 Bourbon; F. Paul Pacult’s Spirit Journal
- 2009 Silver Award, No Age; International Wine & Spirits Competition
- 2008 Gold Medal, 94 Points, Exceptional; International Review of Spirits
And now for my appraisal of this highly regarded Kentucky Bourbon…
- Appearance: Maple syrup in a glass.
- Aroma: I get the feeling that there’s a good bit of rye in this whiskey (it turns out that this Bourbon is 35% rye). Smells like a medley of brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, allspice, and even a bit of wintergreen.
- Taste: This whiskey sure is tasty! Starts off with a good bit of brown sugar and vanilla sweetness with flavors that coat from the middle to the tip of my tongue. Some spiciness kicks in at mid palate which has a Hot Tamales / Wint-O-Green Lifesaver type of heat. Intensifies even further at the finish with a lovely balance of sweet / spicy flavors. The finish is long and lingering with a soothing herbal aftertaste.
- ABV: 50%
When I first poured my sample of Four Roses Single Barrel, all of the aromas and flavors were somewhat muted, but once I let it open up a bit in my glass, I was really able to appreciate the quality of this whisky. From the sweet and spicy balance of flavors to the long, lingering finish, this is a whiskey that is sure to please even the most finicky Bourbon drinker. Three words: a must buy!
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