Four Roses Yellow Label Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is made from a blend of ten different Kentucky straight Bourbons, each of which is distilled and aged at the Four Roses Distillery. While five of the Bourbons are made from a mashbill of 75% corn, 20% rye and 5% malted barley (the ‘E’ mash bill), the other five Bourbons are made from a mashbill of 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% malted barley (the ‘B’ mash bill). In addition, the distillery utilizes five different proprietary yeast cultures. “Most distilleries use one mashbill on a regular basis and one proprietary yeast culture,” says Jim Rutledge, the recently-retired master distiller at Four Roses Distillery. “Four Roses uses five yeast cultures in conjunction with the two mashbills. Hence, we have ten unique bourbon recipes.”  Phew. Thank you interwebs.

You can also reference my other Four Roses reviews, here and here. I figured I might as well review this to complete the trinity.

Company: Kirin

Distillery: Four Roses Distillery

Location: Near Lawrenceburg, KY

Mash Bill: ⬆️ Read up top ⬆️

Age: NAS

ABV: 40% (80 proof)

Released: Ongoing

Price: $15

Color: Golden Yellow Blonde

Nose: Ethanol, very light nose, light vanilla, light oak, sawdust/fresh cut wood or something, can’t quite nail it.

Taste: Cherry syrup flavor with a little heat, little bit of oak, a little vanilla.

Finish: Short finish with a little heat and warmth. Would be improved by a cherry, sweet vermouth, bitters, and orange peel. Mmmmmmm.

Overall: I’ve been on this cheaper Bourbon kick lately, and this is the cheapest I’ve reviewed so far. Out of all the cheap Bourbons I’ve used for my Bourbon Cherries (look for that post soon) I liked this one the best. I’ve actually never tried it neat until today. It’s always been my go-to mixer for cocktails, when we have it on hand.  It has good bones, I only wish they did it in 100 proof. And, really, I feel that $5 difference between this and Benchmark is a big difference for not much more money.

Rating: 2.5/5