The 2012 Limited Edition Single Barrel is one of Four Roses' spring barrel strength releases from the Jim Rutledge years. It is a 12 year old bourbon from the OESK recipe, bottled uncut and unfiltered, one barrel at a time.
About This Bourbon
For 2012 the distillery picked OESK: the E mash bill (75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley) with the K yeast, which is known for baking spice. The barrels were about 12 years old and were chosen by master distiller Jim Rutledge, who ran production at Four Roses from 1995 to 2015. Each bottle comes from a single barrel at its own strength, so the ABV on the label differs from bottle to bottle. It leans to a dry, spicy style.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice over barrel char, vanilla wafer and ripe peach.
- Palate: Firm and rich. Caramel corn, maple and candied almond, with oak spice building towards the back.
- Finish: Sweet at first, then drying neatly to cinnamon and oak.
Serving & Food
Serve it neat in a copita or Glencairn and let the spice settle. A little water brings out peach and vanilla. Five-spice roast duck or gingerbread both sit well beside it.
How to Enjoy
Four Roses collectors and anyone curious to taste a single, well-aged recipe at full strength.
Product Details
Producer: Four Roses Distillery
Expression: Limited Edition Single Barrel
Release: 2012
Category: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
Country: USA
Region: Kentucky
Recipe: OESK
Mash Bill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: 12 years
Strength: Barrel strength, varies by barrel (see label)
Filtration: Non-chill filtered
Volume: 750mL
About the Distillery
Four Roses was trademarked by Paul Jones Jr. in 1888. Its distillery at Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, a Spanish Mission style building from 1910, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and Japan's Kirin owned the company from 2002 until April 2026, when it passed to E. & J. Gallo of California. Barrels age in single-storey rack warehouses at Cox's Creek, where temperatures stay more even than in tall rickhouses.
The distillery works with two mash bills, B at 60% corn and 35% rye and E at 75% corn and 20% rye, and five house yeast strains coded F, K, O, Q and V. Crossing them gives ten recipes, each written as a four-letter code on the label, such as OBSV or OESK.