Four Roses Mash Bill Breakdown
…And Limited Edition Cheat Sheet
This is an updated version of the previous Four Roses by Mash Bill post. The new version is easier to read and also includes the years for each limited edition release. If you’re interested in a PDF copy you can download it for free in the Bourbonr Store.
First, let’s decipher the four letters that make up a Four Roses mash bill.
The first letter for every recipe is “O”. The “O” indicates that it was produced at the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY.
Four Roses mash bill is the second letter.
E = The mash bill that is 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley. B = The mash bill that is 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley.
The third letter will always be “S”, which designates straight whiskey distillation. That means every recipe will be “O_S_”. The recipes become a lot clearer when you realize there are only two variables in each recipe, the mash bill, and the yeast.
The strand of yeast used in the mash is the fourth letter. Four Roses uses five different strands with their two different mash bills to create 10 unique recipes.
K = Yeast K: Light spice, light caramel and full bodied
Q = Yeast Q: Floral (rose petal), spicy, medium bodied
O = Yeast O: Rich in spiciness, medium bodied
F = Yeast F: Predominantly herbal
V = Yeast V: Delicate fruit, spicy and creamy
Final note: I’ve heard rumors of a Four Roses 10 recipe sampler pack. I’m praying this happens one day! Until then I will continue to try to collect all 10 recipes from private barrels.
Four Roses Limited Edition Cheat Sheet
If you’re really ready to take your Four Roses knowledge to the next level check out Sipp’n Corn’s post about deciphering warehouse location. Here’s an explanation of a barrel purchase I did for Bourbonr. This barrel was the from the east side of warehouse “M” (ME barrels have gained their own loyal following). It was aged on the 29th rack (180 racks in total) and the 1st tier of the rack. It was the 16th barrel of the “P” barrel. The more you know!
25 comments
What is the mashbill for the standard Single Barrel, the one widely available at ~$35 or so? It *seems* to be OBSV but the chart above confuses me a bit.
OBSV
If you would like to talk to the Four Roses distillery rep. come to the convention in Philadelphia on March 25th. They will be there, along with 26+ other distilleries. Check out the page. http://www.americanwhiskeyconvention.com
I’m considering going to the event, but I’m not going to plunk down $150 without a whiskey list.
There will be multiple tastings there Tim!
Total wine in Washington has a selection of various mash bill bottles but at $79 plus tax each, it’s a little difficult to try them all. A sample pack would be awesome.
Yeah, a sampler pack would be great! I think 275ml bottle sizes would be nice! We better start saving up for it NOW because I’m sure when and if it becomes available, it won’t be “reasonably priced”. What would you consider a fair price for the sampler pack, if it was to come to fruition?
Small batch from Four Roses use how many barrels?
They don’t say.
I’ve got two,
When they used to do the single barrel store pick program that I heard they discontinued were they all OBSV or could they choose another strain?
I’ve only recently gotten into the varieties and have so far only tried 3 different types. Are some harder to find or produced less?
They were all obsv. The only way to choose your recipe is doing barrel strength barrels….
Cool, thanks.
Any idea if some are harder to find than others. I have passed on a couple of the BP’s due to price but I might think more about it if I probably wont find it again for a while…
Hey!….when was the barrel selected for the “bourbonr.com” community, how long ago? I would have loved to have purchased a bottle……(sigh).
Most everyone seem to favor the FRsmbLE’s ….then their FRSBLE’s expressions. Will they be releasing any new offerings this quarter (spring)? I’m gonna try hardER to get a LE small batch this year…..if there’s one to be had.
They stopped releasing SBLEs this past year, maybe in the future they’ll start back up but there is no time table for return. As far as the SmBLEs, that will be released in the Fall when we all go on our bourbon hunt.
Alex, thanx for the reply! Yeah, I was running around towns like an idiot asking if 4 Roses were going to be releasing anything thisquarter…of course, no one knew anything….However; I see plenty of FRSB bottles out on shelves around VA…I didn’t know the 4 Roses Small batch LE was a “once a year” release….now I know! Sure hope I can get a bottle this year!
Novice question, but my bottles of Small Batch and Single Barrel have no recipe designations on them. What is the mash bill of my Small Batch and how do I know what it is for the Single Barrel?
Hi,
the number under the letter (yeast) means?
It’s the year
The year? Under the “V” of 2010 Single Barrel LE I see a 17…