For its 2014 Limited Edition Single Barrel, Four Roses bottled 11 year old barrels of the OESF recipe at full strength. It was one of Jim Rutledge's last limited releases before he retired in 2015.
About This Bourbon
OESF combines the E mash bill (75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley) with the F yeast, which gives herbal, minty notes and a fuller body. Rutledge chose the barrels at around 11 years old and each was bottled on its own without water or chill filtration, so the ABV differs from bottle to bottle; reported examples sit in the mid-50s. Roughly 7,000 bottles were released. Reviewers at the time found it bolder and fruitier than the 2013 edition.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Dark fruit, cinnamon, vanilla and fresh mint, with roasted nuts in the background.
- Palate: Concentrated and spicy. Caramel, toasted almond and cherry, with herbal notes and pepper.
- Finish: Structured and lasting, with mint, oak and brown sugar.
Serving & Food
Serve unchilled in a Glencairn. One large ice cube calms the alcohol and lifts the fruit. Lamb chops with mint sauce, roast pork with fennel or a pear tart.
How to Enjoy
Four Roses fans, and anyone who likes the herbal, minty side of bourbon at full strength.
Product Details
Producer: Four Roses Distillery
Expression: Limited Edition Single Barrel
Release: 2014
Category: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
Country: USA
Region: Kentucky
Recipe: OESF
Mash Bill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley
Age: 11 years
Selected By: Jim Rutledge, Master Distiller
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.