Wakey Whiskey: Four Roses 2017 Limited Edition Bourbon

by Eric Ducote

Good morning Tiger fans (well, LSU Tiger fans to be more specific) and a happy game day to you all! The Fighting Tigers of LSU came through big time last weekend. So, I'm going to stick with a bourbon this week, but still switch it up from Coopers' Craft. 

 Again, thanks to the power of the Bite and Booze brand, I have a limited edition media sample to taste. This week it's the Four Roses 2017 Limited Edition "50th Anniversary Al Young" Bourbon.

This limited edition spirit (approximately 10,000 bottles were produced) is a blend of 23, 15, 13, and 12 year old barrels from the Four Roses warehouse intended to invoke cinnamon, peaches, and cherries. It's bottled at barrel strength and comes in at 108.98 proof, or just under 55% alcohol. With the youngest barrel at 12 years old I would expect a dark bourbon and the appearance of this one doesn't let me down at all. It's a deep reddish-brown color and although sometimes I'll add some ice to open up the flavors of a whiskey, I decided to enjoy this one neat. 

The aroma is rich and complex and can be smelled from a few feet away! I'm not really getting any of the peach or cherry, but there is a strong vanilla flavor, a bit of toffee, definitely a hint of the cinnamon they were going for, and some floral notes. 

 My first thought upon tasting was that the alcohol content is very well masked. I know I'm drinking whiskey but some barrel strength bourbons out there can kick your ass and this one is more of a gentle push. The vanilla charred oak flavors are still strong, and some of those fruit notes they were going for come though -- although I'm getting more prunes and maybe apricot than peaches and cherries. The bourbon finishes with some sweet grain notes and leaves me wanting more... a lot more. This is definitely one of those times when I wish we had more than a media sample to share. 

 If you see a bottle of this one around town, don't hesitate to buy it. It's going to be expensive, but this one is worth the money. Now we just need the LSU Tigers to play up to the level of this whiskey, and we just might see another ranked team go down.

Happy #gameday everyone! #wakeywhiskey and #geauxtigers