🥃🥃 Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Deep amber with polished copper and mahogany highlights.
Aroma:
Warm, fruit-driven, spicy, and beautifully mature.
Allspice provides immediate aromatic warmth
Vanilla bean adds richness
Apricot introduces ripe stone fruit
Stewed fruit provides deeper sweetness
Caramel develops underneath the fruit
Baking spice reflects the OESK components
Mature oak adds structure
Subtle brown sugar emerges as the bourbon rests
The aroma demonstrates the balance between the fruit-forward OESV and baking-spice-driven OESK recipes.
Palate:
Rich, concentrated, fruity, and beautifully structured:
Bright raspberry creates an energetic opening
Maraschino cherry adds decadent sweetness
Apricot provides ripe fruit character
Vanilla bean adds creamy richness
Caramel develops through the mid-palate
Baking spice creates warmth
Allspice adds complexity
Light oak provides mature structure
Cinnamon develops toward the back of the palate
Brown sugar reinforces the bourbon's sweetness
Mature oak reflects the 12-to-15-year age range
107.3 Proof provides excellent concentration
The lower-rye E mash bill allows the fruit and yeast character to remain particularly expressive
Finish:
Long, rich, warming, and beautifully sweet.
Brown sugar and cinnamon become particularly prominent, accompanied by lingering fruit, vanilla, baking spice, and mature oak.
The finish maintains enough sweetness to balance the older oak, allowing the bourbon to remain rich and composed rather than becoming excessively dry.
Four Roses 2017 Limited Edition Small Batch Barrel Strength Bourbon represents a fascinating experiment within one of Kentucky's most sophisticated bourbon programs.
For the first time in the Limited Edition Small Batch series, Master Distiller Brent Elliott created the entire release from Four Roses' E mash bill, combining 15-Year OESK, 13-Year OESK, and 12-Year OESV.
The result demonstrates just how much variation Four Roses can create without changing the grain recipe.
Age and yeast do the work.
OESK contributes mature baking spice and structure.
OESV delivers bright fruit and caramel.
Together they create layers of allspice, vanilla bean, apricot, stewed fruit, raspberry, maraschino cherry, brown sugar, cinnamon, and mature oak.
Bottled at 107.3 Proof and limited to approximately 13,800 hand-numbered U.S. bottles, the 2017 Limited Edition has become an important vintage for enthusiasts following the evolution of Four Roses' annual barrel-strength releases.
For collectors of Four Roses, mature Kentucky bourbon, barrel-strength whiskey, vintage Limited Edition Small Batch releases, and Brent Elliott-era bottlings, the 2017 release offers a distinctive piece of Four Roses history built entirely around one mash bill—and the remarkable differences that age and yeast can create.
Description
Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Barrel Strength Bourbon 2017 (750mL) — 12 to 15 Year | OESK & OESV | 107.3 Proof | 13,800 Bottles
Experience a historically significant vintage from Four Roses with the 2017 Limited Edition Small Batch Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, an exceptionally limited blend of mature bourbon personally assembled by Master Distiller Brent Elliott.
The 2017 release combines three mature batches:
15-Year OESK
13-Year OESK
12-Year OESV
What makes this release particularly significant is what all three have in common.
Every component uses Four Roses' “E” mash bill.
That made the 2017 release the first Limited Edition Small Batch in Four Roses history composed entirely of its lower-rye mash bill.
The combination allows the differences between maturation and yeast strain to take center stage, creating an exceptionally fruit-driven bourbon layered with allspice, vanilla bean, apricot, stewed fruit, raspberry, maraschino cherry, brown sugar, cinnamon, caramel, and mature oak.
Bottled at barrel strength of 107.3 Proof, only approximately 13,800 hand-numbered bottles were distributed in the United States.
🥃 Product Details
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Brand: Four Roses
Distillery: Four Roses Distillery
Distillery Location: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Release: 2017 Limited Edition Small Batch
Release Year: 2017
Bottle Size: 750mL
Age Range: 12–15 Years
Youngest Bourbon: 12 Years
Oldest Bourbon: 15 Years
Recipes: OESK & OESV
Components: 15-Year OESK, 13-Year OESK & 12-Year OESV
Mash Bill: Four Roses “E” Mash Bill
E Mash Bill: 75% Corn, 20% Rye & 5% Malted Barley
ABV: 53.65%
Proof: 107.3 Proof
Bottling: Barrel Strength
U.S. Release: Approximately 13,800 Hand-Numbered Bottles
Master Distiller: Brent Elliott
Historic Distinction: First Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Made Entirely From the “E” Mash Bill
Character: Allspice, Vanilla Bean, Apricot, Stewed Fruit, Raspberry, Maraschino Cherry, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon & Light Oak
🥃 A First in Four Roses History
The 2017 Limited Edition Small Batch wasn't simply another annual release.
It represented a first for Four Roses.
For the first time in the history of the Limited Edition Small Batch series, every bourbon selected came from the same lower-rye E mash bill.
Four Roses produces bourbon using two mash bills:
B Mash Bill:
60% Corn
35% Rye
5% Malted Barley
E Mash Bill:
75% Corn
20% Rye
5% Malted Barley
Although Four Roses calls E its lower-rye recipe, 20% rye is still substantial by bourbon standards.
By eliminating the higher-rye B mash bill from the 2017 Limited Edition, Brent Elliott created an opportunity to explore how age and yeast influence bourbon even when the underlying grain recipe remains constant.
🥃 15-Year OESK
The oldest component in the blend is a 15-Year OESK.
Breaking down the Four Roses recipe code:
O — Produced at Four Roses Distillery
E — 75% Corn / 20% Rye / 5% Malted Barley Mash Bill
S — Straight Bourbon Whiskey
K — Yeast Strain Associated With Baking Spice
After 15 years in new charred oak, OESK contributes substantial maturity, structure, and spice.
Expect characteristics including:
Cinnamon
Allspice
Baking Spice
Vanilla
Seasoned Oak
Caramelized Sugar
The extended maturation provides an important backbone for the fruitier components of the blend.
🥃 13-Year OESK
Brent Elliott didn't rely on just one age of OESK.
A second OESK component was selected at 13 years old.
That may seem like a subtle distinction, but two additional years in Kentucky oak can significantly change bourbon.
The 13-Year OESK provides the same baking-spice-driven yeast character while retaining more youthful sweetness and fruit than its 15-year-old counterpart.
Blending two different ages of the same recipe allowed Elliott to build additional complexity without introducing another mash bill or yeast strain.
🥃 12-Year OESV
The youngest component is 12-Year OESV.
It uses the same E mash bill but changes the yeast.
The V yeast strain is associated with delicate fruit character.
That provides the bright fruit at the heart of the 2017 release:
Raspberry
Apricot
Cherry
Stewed Fruit
Caramel
The combination of OESV and OESK creates an interesting contrast.
One recipe emphasizes fruit.
The other emphasizes baking spice.
Both begin with exactly the same mash bill.
🥃 The Structure of the 2017 Blend
The architecture of the bourbon can therefore be understood through three components:
15-Year OESK
Deep maturity, baking spice and seasoned oak.
13-Year OESK
Spice, sweetness, vanilla and mature structure.
12-Year OESV
Bright fruit, caramel and freshness.
Together, they create a bourbon that begins with fruit and vanilla, moves toward cherry and oak, and finishes with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Master Distiller Brent Elliott described a particular synergy between the selected batches, finding greater depth, richness, and warmth after they were combined.
🥃 107.3 Proof — Barrel Strength
The 2017 Limited Edition Small Batch was bottled at 107.3 Proof (53.65% ABV).
It was released at barrel strength, preserving the concentration of the mature bourbon selected for the blend.
Interestingly, 107.3 proof is relatively restrained compared with many modern barrel-proof bourbons.
That gives the whisky substantial flavor intensity without requiring extreme proof.
The fruit remains clear.
The baking spice remains defined.
The mature oak provides structure without completely overwhelming the sweeter components.
A few drops of water can further reveal the bourbon's vanilla, apricot, raspberry, cherry, caramel, and brown sugar character.
🥃 Approximately 13,800 Hand-Numbered Bottles
Only approximately 13,800 hand-numbered bottles of the 2017 Limited Edition Small Batch were distributed in the United States.
The bourbon originally arrived in September 2017 as part of Four Roses' annual celebration of Bourbon Heritage Month.
Because each annual Limited Edition Small Batch uses specific mature stocks available to the blending team at that particular moment, the exact 2017 recipe cannot simply be reproduced.
The 15-Year OESK, 13-Year OESK, and 12-Year OESV components were selected specifically for this vintage.
Years later, surviving unopened bottles represent a snapshot of Four Roses' mature whiskey inventory from that period.
🥃 The Brent Elliott Era
The 2017 Limited Edition Small Batch also comes from an important period in Four Roses history.
Brent Elliott had become Master Distiller in 2015, succeeding longtime Master Distiller Jim Rutledge.
By 2017, Elliott was establishing his own identity through the distillery's annual limited releases.
The decision to construct the year's Limited Edition entirely around the E mash bill demonstrated the extraordinary flexibility of Four Roses' 10-recipe production system.
Instead of relying on dramatic differences in rye content, Elliott allowed age and yeast selection to drive the complexity of the final whiskey.
⭐ Why You'll Love It
- Highly collectible vintage Four Roses
- 2017 Limited Edition Small Batch
- Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Barrel-strength bottling
- 107.3 Proof
- 53.65% ABV
- Bourbon aged between 12 and 15 years
- 15-Year OESK
- 13-Year OESK
- 12-Year OESV
- Historic first for Four Roses
- First Limited Edition Small Batch made entirely from the E mash bill
- 75% corn
- 20% rye
- 5% malted barley
- OESK contributes baking spice
- OESV contributes delicate fruit
- Allspice
- Vanilla bean
- Rich apricot
- Stewed fruit
- Raspberry
- Maraschino cherry
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Caramel
- Light oak
- Mature Kentucky oak character
- Approximately 13,800 hand-numbered U.S. bottles
- Master Distiller Brent Elliott release
- Discontinued annual vintage
- Excellent addition to a Four Roses Limited Edition collection
🍽️ How to Enjoy
A discontinued barrel-strength Four Roses of this age 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 107.3 Proof
- Add several drops of water and revisit
- Avoid excessive dilution
- Pair with toasted pecans
- Excellent alongside dark chocolate
- Pair with cherry-based desserts
- Try with crème brûlée
- Pair with caramelized apples
- Excellent alongside aged cheddar
- Enjoy as an after-dinner bourbon
- Compare with the 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch
- Compare with other Four Roses vintages to explore changes in recipe composition
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Since alcohol deliveries require an adult signature, we recommend shipping to a business address to ensure the package is received without delays.
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