Four Roses is one of those bottles that keeps showing up behind every decent bar I've ever worked at, and there's a good reason for that. At £24.95, this Kentucky Straight Bourbon punches well above its weight class, and it's been a staple recommendation of mine for years — whether someone's just getting into bourbon or they're looking for a reliable mixing base that won't break the bank.
What makes Four Roses interesting from a production standpoint is their approach to mashbills. They're one of the few distilleries that uses two distinct grain recipes combined with five proprietary yeast strains, giving them ten unique bourbon recipes to blend from. That's unusual in the bourbon world, where most producers work with one or two mashbills at most. The result is a bourbon that has more complexity than you'd expect at this price point — there's a layered quality to it that comes from that blending philosophy.
At 40% ABV, this is bottled at the legal minimum for bourbon, which means it's approachable but won't knock you sideways. It's a NAS expression, so we don't know the exact age, but the smoothness suggests a reasonable amount of time in those charred new oak barrels that American whiskey law demands. For anyone not familiar — bourbon must be aged in brand new charred oak containers, which is partly why even younger bourbons tend to carry a lot of vanilla and caramel character from the wood.
Tasting Notes
I won't pretend to give you a detailed breakdown of every flavour note here — that's best left to your own palate. What I will say is that Four Roses Bourbon sits in that sweet, mellow corner of the bourbon spectrum. It's not a high-rye firecracker and it's not a wheated sipper. Expect something balanced, with the kind of gentle warmth that makes it easy drinking neat but versatile enough to stand up in a cocktail.
The Verdict
At under £25, Four Roses Bourbon is genuinely hard to fault. It does exactly what a good entry-level bourbon should do — it's smooth enough to drink straight, interesting enough to make you pay attention, and sturdy enough to hold its own when you start mixing. I've poured hundreds of Old Fashioneds with this bottle behind the bar, and not once has anyone sent one back. It's not trying to be a premium sipper, and it doesn't need to be. It knows what it is, and it does it well. A 7.5 out of 10 feels right — this is a bourbon that earns its place on the shelf honestly, without any gimmicks or inflated marketing. If you're building a home bar, this should be one of your first purchases.
Best Served
This is a natural Old Fashioned bourbon. Two dashes of Angostura bitters, a barspoon of demerara syrup, stirred over a large ice cube with an orange peel expressed over the top. The sweetness of Four Roses pairs beautifully with the bitter notes, and at 40% ABV the dilution from the ice won't thin it out too quickly. It also makes a cracking Whiskey Sour if you're in the mood for something brighter — the bourbon's mellow character lets the citrus sing without fighting it.
