Skip to main content

Four Roses Small Batch Select Is the Newest Permanent Expression

For the first time in more than 12 years, Four Roses is adding a new permanent expression to its line in the form of Small Batch Select, making the total of four permanent expressions.

Small Batch Select is a blend of six of Four Roses’ 10 recipes, non-chill filtered, and bottled at 104 proof, making the highest-proof permanent release from the brand, edging out Four Roses Single Barrel by 4 proof points. The bourbons used in the final product are, according to master distiller Brent Elliott, a mix of six- and seven-year-old spirits. The brand has yet to release which recipes are used in the final product. When it launches this spring, it will be available in Kentucky, New York, California, Texas, and Georgia; the distillery has plans to expands to other states after the initial launch.

Four Roses Small Batch Select
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“We wanted to add something to our lineup that brings that pure experience you get with a non-chill filtered bourbon, while also showcasing some of our recipes and flavors that aren’t as forward facing in our other existing bottles,” Elliott said in a statement.

  • Nose: Raspberries, clove, and nutmeg
  • Palate: Apricot, ripe berries, vanilla, and light oak
  • Finish: Cinnamon and spearmint

According to the brand, Four Roses Small Batch Select will have a nose of raspberries, clove, and nutmeg and a palate that will feature flavors of apricot, ripe berries, vanilla, and light oak. You’ll be able to find cinnamon and spearmint on the finish.

Elliott called this new released the “biggest addition” to Four Roses in its history (he became master distiller in 2015).

“Small Batch Select certainly can be one of your special occasion bourbons, but we want it to be more accessible so you don’t hesitate to open up that bottle and enjoy it any time,” he added.

“Small Batch Select certainly can be one of your special occasion bourbons, but we want it to be more accessible.”

Outside of the states that it is being released in, there haven’t been many other details released about Small Batch Select. The price, for example, we can assume will be around or above that of Four Roses Single Barrel (which sells for upwards of $40, depending on where you are). The actual release date is also up in the air.

If any of Elliott’s previous special edition releases are used to gauge to quality of what we’re about to get our hands on, then there are many things to look forward to in Four Roses Small Batch Select (especially when you consider Elliott himself considers this the biggest addition to the lineup since he came on board.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
How to make Frosé for a heat wave cool off
Your guide to making this staple summer drink
Bar Primi Frose

It's hot out there, people. And one of the absolute best ways to cool off is by way of a great frozen cocktail. So, let us introduce you to the pink wine-inspired Frosé, an ideal drink for the next heat wave.

But first, a little history. The Frosé was allegedly born at Bar Primi in NYC. The drink is very much as advertised, a rosé wine-centric frozen cocktail (hence, the name). The Italian joint's general manager, Justin Sievers, came up with the drink, treating guests to an ice-cold pink concoction that's all the better during the middle of summer.
How to make Frosé

Read more
Dry aged steak: Everything you need to know
Just like wine and cheese, steak just gets better with age.
Dry aged steak

 

If you're anything like us, one of your go-to happy places is likely a dark and moody gourmet steakhouse, complete with mustachio'd barkeeps and their impressive list of extravagant steak and bourbon pairings. If this is a scene that sounds familiar to you, you probably know a little something about dry-aged steaks. Until just recently, these incredible pieces of meat were only available in upscale steakhouses, very high-end grocers, and specialty butcheries. Thanks to the passage of time and whispers of praise, however, word eventually got out about how incredible dry-aged steaks are, and now they're much more widely accessible online and even at some mid-level grocery stores.

Read more
Fat Tire teams up with skatewear brand Vans for its summer packaging
It's also creating a pair of Fat Tire branded Vans slip-ons
fat tire vans collab social tool with hands 0486 jpg

One of the OGs of the U.S. craft beer scene, Fat Tire, is teaming up with skateboard brand Vans to create new summer packaging for its beer and a range of merch including some branded Vans slip-ons. Known originally for its amber ale which has been reformulated (somewhat contentiously) over the years, Fat Tire is one of the important brands in craft beer history and has recently pushed for a more sustainable approach to its beer brewing.

The brand is partnering with Vans to use its iconic checkboard pattern, known as "Off the Wall" on cans of its ale for the summer. The merch collection being released alongside the limited edition packaging includes hats, shirts, a cooler, and most enticingly, a pair of slip-ons that have the Fat Tire logo and slogan on the back of the heel.

Read more