All 10 Four Roses Recipes With Master Distiller Brent Elliott

A local liquor store and bourbon enthusiast favorite, Frankfort Avenue Liquors (FAL), located in Louisville, Ky held a tasting event with Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott. FAL has live music at least a few nights a week, an outstanding selection of bourbon, beer and wine to purchase and one of the best bourbon bars you will ever find! It is a local favorite spot here in Louisville and when I heard they were going to have Brent Elliott coming to host a Four Roses tasting I had to take advantage. The ticket was $100 and it included Brent guiding us through tasting all 10 recipes along with heavy hors d’leurves.

An hour before the tasting FAL offered a special cocktail menu highlighted with Four Roses bourbon. Brent arrived a little early and was conversing with the patrons and as nice as a guy can be. When the tasting was about to begin we walked back to a private room which seated 16 people. Each place setting was prepped with all 10 Four Roses recipes set out on labeled mat and ready to sample.

Brent began with an introduction of himself, the Four Roses brand and a brief background of history of the 10 recipes. Brent also took some questions which lead to some interesting conversation. Brent briefly went over the sale of Four Roses to Kiran and the sale of the aging bourbon stock at the time to be split between Four Roses and Diagio (Crown Royal, Bulleit Bourbon). He even threw in a tidbit that certain older stocks of Crown Royal might have had some Four Roses in it from the sale to Diagio.

Four Roses Recipe Breakdown

All 10 of the Four Roses recipes are named with a different four letter code. Each recipe has the same first (O) and third (S) letter O_S_. The second letter will indicate the grain mashbill, either an E (20% rye mashbill) or a B (35% rye mashbill). The fourth letter signifies one of the five yeast strains Four Roses uses to ferment their bourbon, F (herbal notes), K (baking spices), O (fruit/red berries), Q (floral) and V (light fruit/berries). Every sample we tasted was from barrel strength single barrel and you can deep dive into reading a Four Roses Single Barrel if interested.

At my table I was seated with a local brewery owner who was super nice and two music professors from Bellermine University here in Louisville. The conversations were excellent and we were all bourbon enthusiasts which made the night very fun! Bourbon events can bring people together and you can meet others you might not converse with normally.

The first few recipes we talked through slowly and Brent gave in-depth opinions on. I asked if Brent had a certain age range sweet spot that he enjoyed the most. Brent explained that each recipe has a different sweet spot but his favorite recipe/age combo would be an OESV or OESK in the 14 year range. There are so many different variable that affect the final bourbon product like distillation, grains, yeast, barrel, the temperatures of the seasons, location in the warehouse.

After the first three or four recipes the room slowly grew louder and the conversation got more off topic. Everybody was having a good time and Brent tried to keep the group moving, but that became more difficult the more recipes we tasted. At the end of the tasting the group voted on our two favorite recipes. I really enjoyed the OESO and OESV, not surprisingly as those are some of my favorite recipes. Those were also Brent’s favorites but the majority of the group preferred the OBSV which was the first recipe we tasted.

The O and V recipes are normally fan favorites as they are more fruit forward because of the yeast strains. Those are my favorite recipes and I think fairly consistent. The F and Q recipes seem to have more variation from one barrel to the next and may not be as consistent. I really enjoy the extraordinary barrels the F and Q recipies because they are very different and unique compared to many other bourbons.

This was the first time that I had tasted through all 10 Four Roses recipes in one sitting. All 10 of the Four Roses recipes have a nice floral aroma with aged oak, caramel, vanilla, black pepper and cinnamon. I would attribute the overall tasting profile to having a 9-13 year age statement, a high rye mashbill and the Four Roses 5 yeast strains. There are obviously differences between each of the 10 recipes and even more differences when tasting single barrels. These are all just some of the reasons I enjoy Four Roses bourbon.

I loved this event and would love to sign up for another tasting with Brent. It was pricy at $100, but the company, food, presentation and bourbon were all enjoyable. Brent was so nice and personable and took time to speak with everybody that attended. I had tasted all 10 recipes before attending so I was more focused picking up on tidbits that Brent spoke about Four Roses history, maturation, blending and taste profiles.