Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon Details
Distillery: Four Roses
Type & Region: Bourbon, Kentucky, USA
Alcohol: 50%
Composition: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% barley
Aged: 7-9 years
Color: 1.2/2.0 on the color scale (chestnut, oloroso sherry)
Price: $50
From the company website:
One of three new single barrels, this bottle’s baking spices introduce a gentle heat complemented by mellow oak and earthy tea leaves. Rich caramel rounds out the profile, creating a bourbon with a smooth, lasting finish whether it’s enjoyed neat or on the rocks. It’s a refined yet approachable pour that elevates and invites aromatic notes to bourbon-forward cocktails.
Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon overview
Hopefully you’ve already read one / some of my reviews of the other Four Roses Single Barrel bourbons that were released alongside this OESK, intended to expand the lineup of single barrel bourbons outside of just the OBSV that they did for years. Whether or not you have, I’ll keep this intro fairly short so you can get to the bulk of the review.
For years, Four Roses only released the OBSV mashbill and yeast mix for everyday consumption, leaving everything else, like this OBSF mashbill, to the very limited and expensive Private Selection single barrel program. It’s not easy to find.
Now, they’ve graciously expanded to include OBSF (herbal yeast), the subject of this review – OESK (slight spice), and OESO (rich fruit). As a reminder, B means 35% rye in the mashbill and E means 20% rye in the mashbill. But unlike the Private Selects, which are cask strength and 9-12 years old, these more affordable versions are all 100 proof and 7-9 years old, so younger and lower ABV.
As a reminder, this review covers a single barrel of ESK, which is supposed to emphasize baking spices.
An important disclaimer, your mileage with this review may vary because this review covers a particular single barrel. The bottle that you see / buy will most likely come from a different barrel, so I cannot guarantee that your experience will be the same as mine. That is the double edged blessing and curse of single barrel whiskey. It is what it is.
Let’s find out what this mashbill is like in this Four Roses OESK Single Barrel bourbon review.
This sample was provided to me at no cost. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon smell
The scents are brighter and more herbal than I expected, with honey, fennel, white peach, clove, brighter red apple, lightly toasted oak, and a little bit of cinnamon, green grape, and darker peach jam.
It’s not nearly as dark and oaky as the three other versions that I reviewed, although it does become a bit darker as I smell it more. It’s not super bright by any means, but it doesn’t have the same brooding darkness of what feels like a 12+ year old bourbon.
Not as deep and complex as the others as well, but still smells really nice
I don’t remember what OESK means, but if I had to guess (and probably be wrong) it would be herbal and spicy.
After swirling and 15 or so minutes of rest, I smell honey, candied orange peel, fennel, white peach, toasted oak, clove, candied pineapple, mint, caraway seed, and a bit more heat than before.
This is still a sweet and herbal forward bourbon with some dark oak, but it still feels like it’s missing some low end fullness, range, and complexity.
This smells good, but I’m not all that impressed by it.
Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon taste and aftertaste
I taste darker honey, fennel, white peach, green grapes, vanilla, roasted oak, clove, cinnamon, caraway, candied pineapple, mint, and a little more of something earthy. Compared to the scents, the flavors come off darker, rounder, and more complex with darker, richer, and more expressive sweetness, herbalness, and oak.
To reiterate, OESK feels right to be called oak and spice, or even herbal spice. Where were all these darker oak and spice notes in the scents? Weird. This already tastes better than it smells, which I can never complain about. I’m optimistic about what comes next.
With vigorous “chewing”, I taste a bigger rush of dense honey, candied pineapple and fennel, white peach, roasted oak, clove, caraway seed, cinnamon, dried cherry, and some mint. The flavors carry the experience, and “chewing” pulls out much richer and more expressive sweetness, herbalness, fruitiness, oakiness, and spiciness.
The range of flavors jump around nicely and with good vibrance and character, which reinforce the maturity and great barrel selection.
The finish leaves honey, fennel, toasted oak, clove, dried pineapple, and white peach. Over time it leaves a refreshing mix of dried pineapple, licorice, clove, and earthy caraway seed. “Chewing” just emphasizes everything and leaves an even more pleasant and refreshing finish.
This drinks like an herbal high rye bourbon, and possibly even a lower-rye rye whiskey. At least when I’m writing this review, I don’t remember what OESK means (turns out it means baking spice), so this is just based on the flavors. If you don’t like herbal bourbons, then this likely isn’t for you. Otherwise, I think you’ll enjoy this a lot
Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon is delicious.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon Rating
Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon earns its “Top Shelf” rating mostly on flavor. The scents are pretty good, but that alone is just a solid “Mid Shelf+”. There’s a non-zero chance that my nose is a little off, but it’s not enough to impact my sense of taste because this is delicious.
This isn’t quite to the level of some of the amazing other single barrels that I reviewed (although this is “Top Shelf” yet clearly ranks #3 out of the 4 that I’ve reviewed from this set), but this is still clearly masterfully distilled, aged, and selected bourbon from some true masters. And as the four letter mashbill and yeast code suggests, this has a very different personality than the other ones that I’ve tried.
This OESK is far more herbal than the OESO and OBSV single barrels, although to be fair barrel selection may also have a big part in the personality. It’s a reminder that Four Roses, and many other distilleries for that matter, can conjure up a lot of different profiles that keep me on my toes. There can be so much variety from making just a few changes.
This particular barrel of Four Roses OESK Single Barrel Bourbon is yet another winner that’s very easy to recommend. It’s relatively affordable too, at around $50, so the value is unreal as well.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
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