Four Roses has one of the most robust and established single barrel programs in bourbon. With 10 different mash bill and yeast combinations as well as single barrel variation, there’s seemingly limitless variety to discover. This is only the second Four Roses Private Select review that I’ve done. The first was a nearly 11 year old OESV picked by Jim Rutledge, the former master distiller. In this huge universe of Four Roses Private Selects, I purchased one bottle of Potomac Wine and Spirits’ Four Roses Private Select, a 10 year and 5 month old OESK bourbon, using the 20% rye mash (E) and yeast (K) that adds a light spice. This particular barrel, picked in July 2019 and released to the public in September 2019, comes from barrel 31-3N (might be 3I3N) and was aged in warehouse MW.
Gabe, one of the owners, told me that he and Al Young (yes THE Al Young) ultimately both agreed that this was the best barrel of the group. That honestly had me very intrigued. Funny thing is, Gabe admitted that he hasn’t always agreed with Al Young in prior barrel selections. Then again, smell and taste are very subjective, and Gabe ultimately is the one buying the barrel, not Al Young. It would have been quite the experience to be in the warehouse to sample all the barrels, but since I only have the end result, let’s find out much I agree with Gabe and Al Young in this Potomac Wine and Spirits Four Roses Private Select OESK review.