Four Roses Original Bourbon

Four Roses is one of those bourbon distilleries that whisky nerds love, but it’s also ridiculously easy to drink even if you’re not deep into American whiskey yet. While some bourbons go massively heavy on oak, sweetness and punch-you-in-the-face alcohol, Four Roses tends to be softer, spicier and a bit more elegant without losing any proper Kentucky character.

The distillery has been around since the late 1800s and is based in Kentucky, right in the middle of bourbon country. What makes Four Roses especially interesting is that they use two different mash bills and five yeast strains to create ten separate bourbon recipes. Which sounds slightly insane until you taste how balanced everything turns out.

The style here leans fruity and floral compared to a lot of bourbon. You still get all the good stuff like vanilla, caramel, cinnamon and toffee, but there’s usually loads of red fruit, orchard fruit and spice sitting underneath as well. It makes the whiskey feel lively rather than overly sweet or heavy, and dangerously easy to keep sipping.

For years Four Roses was actually better known outside the US than inside it, which now feels bizarre considering how respected the distillery has become. These days the Single Barrel and Small Batch releases are staples for bourbon fans, and the limited editions tend to disappear off shelves frighteningly quickly whenever they land.

What’s nice about Four Roses is that it never feels like it’s trying too hard. There’s no giant luxury image or over-the-top branding nonsense. Just properly well-made bourbon that manages to be approachable and seriously good at the same time.

If someone says they’re not really into bourbon yet, Four Roses is often one of the bottles that changes their mind pretty quickly.