New bourbon coming from 2020 distiller of the year, and it might be a tough find
When Whisky Magazine’s distiller of the year releases a new bourbon, you want to pay attention: Brent Elliott, the 2020 honoree, is launching his first selection since winning the award in February.
Elliott, an Owensboro native who has been at Four Roses Distillery since 2005, was named distiller/blender of the year after only a few years on the job. He was named master distillery in September 2015 after longtime distiller Jim Rutledge retired.
Four Roses 2020 Limited Edition Small Batch will be hitting shelves in late September. The non-chill filtered, 111.4-proof release also will be available at the Lawrenceburg distillery but you will need to register for a lottery to have a chance to buy one of the bottles there.
About 14,040 bottles will be sold in the U.S., making it a tough find; the suggested retail price is $150.
Normally the small batch bourbon would be one fans coming for the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown would be trying to find. But the coronavirus pandemic has shut down the festival and much of bourbon tourism, including tastings and tours at Four Roses.
That’s made this year’s release even more of a love letter to bourbon lovers.
“Each year the goal is to not only make something smooth and mellow, which is the benchmark of all Four Roses products, but to make it unique and different from years past,” Elliott said during an online tasting session with journalists and bloggers.
This version is a blend of four hand-selected batches, aged 12 to 19 years.
“In this case the sum is even greater than the parts – as together these bring a perfect balance of bright, vibrant flavors and aromas from the 12- and 16-year-old barrels combined with the oak tones and aged expressions from the 19-year-old batch,” Elliott said.
As fans of Four Roses bourbon know, the unique distillery uses 10 different recipes, involving five yeast strains and two mashbills. By blending the variations, Four Roses can create nearly infinite flavors. This one is four different recipes and four different batches.
“As I was narrowing it down, every one that ended up going in was robust, complex, and elegant enough that could have stood alone as a single-barrel offering,” he said. “Each had characteristics I didn’t want to mute out … well, the 19-year-old was a little on the oaky side. There the challenge there was to not mute any of the other characteristics.”
The result in this case: A bourbon with a nose of apple, orange peel, honey and vanilla. On the palate, the bourbon delivers apricot, pear, and hints of red berries leading to a rich, soft and lasting finish boasting rye spice, light oak and refreshing fruit, according to the tasting notes.
“This is one we’re very proud of,” Elliott said.
To register for a chance to buy this bourbon at the distillery, go to the Four Roses website, fourrosesbourbon.com, before Sept. 9. If you’re selected by random draw, you can schedule an appointment to pick up your purchase at the Four Roses Distillery.
