🥃🥃 Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Deep amber with polished copper and mahogany highlights.
Aroma:
Bright, fruity, mature, and beautifully structured.
Sweet cherry provides immediate richness
Crisp green apple brings brightness
Apricot adds ripe stone-fruit character
Caramel provides sweetness
Honey develops underneath the fruit
Rye adds aromatic spice
Mature oak reveals the age of the older components
Baking spice gradually emerges as the bourbon opens
The fruit-forward character of the OESO remains particularly evident despite the considerable age and barrel strength.
Palate:
Rich, concentrated, fruity, and increasingly spicy:
Tart citrus creates an energetic opening
Sweet cherry provides richness
Apple contributes fresh fruit
Apricot adds depth
Sweet molasses develops through the mid-palate
Crème brûlée brings caramelized richness
Caramel provides additional sweetness
Rye spice creates structure
Pepper adds warmth
Baking spice reflects the OESK component
Mature oak provides depth
Honey softens the high proof
111.2 Proof delivers substantial concentration
The texture remains rich and remarkably balanced
Finish:
Long, gentle, sweet, and beautifully layered.
Honey, light mint, rye spice, seasoned oak, lingering fruit, and caramelized sweetness remain after the richer flavors begin to fade.
The contrast is particularly impressive: despite being bottled at barrel strength and containing bourbon as old as 16 years, the finish maintains freshness and delicacy rather than becoming excessively hot or oak-driven.
Four Roses 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch Barrel Strength Bourbon represents a particularly important vintage in the distillery's celebrated Limited Edition series.
Master Distiller Brent Elliott built the bourbon around an exceptionally fruity 12-Year OESO, then balanced it with 12-Year OBSV and 16-Year OESK to create a blend spanning two mash bills, three yeast-driven recipes, and 12 to 16 years of maturation.
Bottled at 111.2 Proof and limited to only 9,258 hand-numbered bottles in the United States, the release combined scarcity with an unusually sophisticated recipe.
Its subsequent recognition as America's Best Kentucky Bourbon at the 2017 World Whiskies Awards further cemented the 2016 release as an important chapter in Four Roses history.
For collectors and enthusiasts of Four Roses, barrel-strength bourbon, mature Kentucky whiskey, discontinued Limited Edition Small Batch releases, and vintage American whiskey, the 2016 Limited Edition is an exceptional opportunity to experience three of Four Roses' most distinctive recipes brought together at the height of their maturity.
Description
Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Barrel Strength Bourbon 2016 (750mL) — 12 to 16 Year | OESO, OBSV & OESK | 111.2 Proof | 9,258 Bottles
Experience one of the standout vintage releases from Four Roses with the 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, an exceptionally limited blend of three mature Four Roses bourbon recipes personally selected by Master Distiller Brent Elliott.
The 2016 release combines:
12-Year OESO
12-Year OBSV
16-Year OESK
The centerpiece is the 12-Year OESO, selected for its exceptional fruit character and appearing in a Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch for the first time in more than seven years.
Elliott balanced that fruit-forward bourbon with a 12-Year OBSV and considerably older 16-Year OESK, bringing additional rye character, baking spice, oak, and maturity into the final blend.
Bottled at barrel strength of 55.6% ABV (111.2 Proof), the 2016 Limited Edition delivers an extraordinary combination of sweet cherry, crisp green apple, apricot, citrus, molasses, crème brûlée, rye spice, pepper, honey, mint, caramel, and mature oak.
Only 9,258 hand-numbered bottles were released in the United States, making this a particularly desirable vintage for collectors of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon.
🥃 Product Details
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Brand: Four Roses
Distillery: Four Roses Distillery
Distillery Location: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Release: 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch
Release Year: 2016
Bottle Size: 750mL
Age Range: 12–16 Years
Youngest Bourbon: 12 Years
Oldest Bourbon: 16 Years
Recipes: OESO, OBSV & OESK
12-Year Component: OESO
12-Year Component: OBSV
16-Year Component: OESK
ABV: 55.6%
Proof: 111.2 Proof
Bottling: Barrel Strength
U.S. Production: 9,258 Hand-Numbered Bottles
Master Distiller: Brent Elliott
Major Recognition: America's Best Kentucky Bourbon — 2017 World Whiskies Awards
Character: Sweet Cherry, Green Apple, Apricot, Citrus, Molasses, Crème Brûlée, Rye Spice, Honey, Mint & Mature Oak
🥃 Three Four Roses Recipes in One Exceptional Bourbon
Four Roses has one of the most distinctive production systems in Kentucky bourbon.
The distillery combines two different mash bills with five proprietary yeast strains, giving Four Roses 10 individual bourbon recipes.
Each recipe develops its own personality.
For the 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch, Brent Elliott selected three:
OESO — 12 Years Old
OBSV — 12 Years Old
OESK — 16 Years Old
Rather than simply blending barrels of the same bourbon at different ages, Four Roses could combine genuinely different bourbon recipes, ages, mash bills, and yeast-driven flavor profiles.
That's what makes the Limited Edition Small Batch releases particularly fascinating.
🥃 12-Year OESO — The Heart of the Blend
The 12-Year OESO was selected to anchor the 2016 release.
Four Roses' E mash bill contains:
75% Corn
20% Rye
5% Malted Barley
The O yeast strain is associated with rich fruit character.
Together, OESO produces a bourbon capable of delivering substantial fruit and sweetness.
For the 2016 release, that mature OESO brought the bright fruit characteristics that define much of the final blend.
Think:
Sweet Cherry
Ripe Fruit
Apricot
Apple
Caramelized Sweetness
Its inclusion was also historically interesting.
The 2016 release marked the first appearance of OESO in a Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch in more than seven years.
🥃 12-Year OBSV — High-Rye Fruit & Structure
The second component is 12-Year OBSV.
Unlike OESO, OBSV uses Four Roses' higher-rye B mash bill:
60% Corn
35% Rye
5% Malted Barley
The V yeast strain contributes delicate fruit character.
That 35% rye content brings additional spice and structure while allowing the fruit-forward character of the yeast to remain evident.
In the final 2016 blend, OBSV helps provide the transition between the lush fruitiness of OESO and the deeper spice and oak of the older OESK.
🥃 16-Year OESK — Age & Baking Spice
The oldest component of the blend is 16-Year OESK.
OESK returns to the lower-rye E mash bill:
75% Corn
20% Rye
5% Malted Barley
But the K yeast strain is associated with baking-spice character.
After an extraordinary 16 years in new charred oak, the bourbon contributes significantly greater maturity to the final blend.
Expect deeper notes of:
Baking Spice
Cinnamon
Seasoned Oak
Caramel
Pepper
Vanilla
That older OESK provides a mature counterpoint to the brighter 12-year fruit components.
🥃 The Recipe Behind the Bottle
Put the three components together and the structure becomes easier to understand:
12-Year OESO
Fruit, richness and sweetness.
12-Year OBSV
Delicate fruit, high-rye structure and spice.
16-Year OESK
Mature oak, baking spice and additional depth.
Brent Elliott used the exceptional fruitiness of OESO as the foundation, then balanced it with the greater age and spice provided by OBSV and OESK.
The result is a bourbon that moves naturally from bright fruit toward citrus, caramelized sweetness, rye spice, mature oak, honey, and mint.
🥃 111.2 Proof — True Barrel Strength
The 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch was bottled at 111.2 Proof (55.6% ABV).
It is a true barrel-strength release.
That additional concentration gives the bourbon a rich texture and allows the distinctive personalities of its three recipes to remain clearly defined.
Despite the proof, balance is one of the defining characteristics of the release.
The fruit remains vibrant.
The rye spice remains structured.
The 16-year-old oak adds maturity without completely dominating the younger components.
For enthusiasts who enjoy exploring high-proof bourbon, several drops of water can reveal additional fruit, caramel, honey, and crème brûlée character.
🥃 Only 9,258 U.S. Bottles
Four Roses released only 9,258 hand-numbered bottles of the 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch in the United States.
That was already a small allocation when the bourbon was released.
Years later, unopened bottles have naturally become considerably more difficult to encounter.
Unlike an ongoing core expression, the exact combination of 12-Year OESO, 12-Year OBSV, and 16-Year OESK was created specifically for the 2016 vintage.
Once those bottles were released, that particular blend became part of Four Roses history.
🥃 An Important Brent Elliott Release
The 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch also represents an important period in Four Roses history.
Brent Elliott became Master Distiller in September 2015, succeeding legendary longtime Master Distiller Jim Rutledge.
Elliott had already worked on the selection of previous Limited Edition releases, but 2016 marked the first annual Limited Edition Small Batch released completely under his guidance as Master Distiller.
That gives the bottle additional significance for enthusiasts following the evolution of Four Roses from the Rutledge era into the Elliott era.
🥃 America's Best Kentucky Bourbon
The quality of the release was subsequently recognized internationally.
At the 2017 World Whiskies Awards, Four Roses 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch was named:
America's Best Kentucky Bourbon
The award added another important distinction to a release that was already notable for its mature age components, unusual return of OESO, barrel-strength presentation, and limited production.
⭐ Why You'll Love It
- Highly collectible vintage Four Roses
- 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch
- Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- True barrel-strength release
- 111.2 Proof
- 55.6% ABV
- Blend of three distinct Four Roses recipes
- 12-Year OESO
- 12-Year OBSV
- 16-Year OESK
- Bourbon aged between 12 and 16 years
- OESO returned to the Limited Edition Small Batch after more than seven years
- OESO provides exceptional fruit character
- OBSV contributes high-rye structure
- OESK contributes mature baking spice and oak
- Two different Four Roses mash bills
- Three different yeast-driven recipes
- Sweet cherry
- Crisp green apple
- Rich apricot
- Tart citrus
- Molasses
- Crème brûlée
- Caramel
- Rye spice
- Pepper
- Honey
- Light mint
- Mature oak
- Only 9,258 hand-numbered U.S. bottles
- Important early Brent Elliott Limited Edition
- America's Best Kentucky Bourbon at the 2017 World Whiskies Awards
- Excellent addition to a serious Four Roses collection
🍽️ How to Enjoy
A discontinued barrel-strength bourbon of this age and rarity deserves to be explored slowly:
- Serve neat at room temperature
- Use a Glencairn or Kentucky bourbon glass
- Allow 10–15 minutes to open
- Experience the first sip at full 111.2 Proof
- Add several drops of water and revisit
- Avoid excessive dilution
- Try alongside premium dark chocolate
- Pair with toasted pecans
- Excellent with crème brûlée
- Pair with caramelized apples
- Enjoy with smoked brisket
- Pair with aged cheddar
- Excellent as an after-dinner bourbon
- Compare with other vintage Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch releases
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