Review 197: Four Roses Yellow Label

I'm a big fan of some of the fancier releases from Four Roses, like the Small Batch or the various Single Barrels (gotta try 'em all!). So, let's see how the "standard" Yellow Label offering ranks against that high standard!

Four Roses Yellow Label

Color: Amber +0

ABV:  40%

Aroma Neat:
Vanilla, Toffee, Fresh Cornbread, Toasted Oak, Baking Chocolate, English Breakfast Tea, Cola, Cheap Beer (in a good way!), Fermenting Yeast/Sour Mash, Honey/Caramel, Cooking Cereal Grains.

A solid nose for a 20 USD bourbon! It has the trademark Four Roses softness, which is great, but also a sour note in the background which is very reminiscent of Elmer T Lee.

Aroma Water:
Honey on Fresh Corn Bread, Cola, Black Tea, Oxidized Chocolate, Golden Syrup, Sugared Raisins/Dates, Vanilla Crème Brûlée, Mature Jamaican Rum (dundery ie: fermenting fruit).

Even better with a small splash of water! A surprise at only 40%. There is more fruit to enjoy and sweet sugary creaminess to boot. I give high marks for this category.
 
Taste Neat:
Chocolate Cola, Oversteeped Black Tea, Honeyed Oak, Stale Lager, Barrel Char (medium tannins), Hershey's Chocolate, Rum Raisin, Dried Dates.

Not as impressive as the nose, but decent. Dried fruit notes save this from being too... I don't know, "burnt" tasting.

Taste Water:
Fresh Caramel, Buttery, Ashy/Smoky Barrel Char, Dried Cherries (maybe cordials?), Maduro Cigars, Smoked Honey, Brown Sugar.

Interesting mix of sweet and bitter. Again, I would say this is a noticeable improvement over neat in terms of balance, but some complexity is lost. 

Finish:
Cola, Barrel Char (slightly sweet, but also ashy and bitter), Black Cherry (at the tail end), Hoppy Bitterness (am I losing it?).

Not a long finish, but very interesting for an inexpensive bourbon. The cherry was a welcome surprise.
 
Conclusion:
Well balanced, not merely oak juice. If you like very sweet bourbons, this may not be for you.

About right for the price tier.


Would be better at 45%+ (as is true for all whiskies!)

Rating: 80/100

Yellow Label is a perfectly acceptable bourbon and, for 20 USD, I doubt you would regret purchasing it. However, I would recommend you just buy the truly excellent Four Roses Small Batch for 35 USD. Sure, it's almost twice the price of ole' Yellow here, but it's a truly great whisk(e)y.

Four Roses Single Barrel
Four Roses Small Batch


Cheers!
Josh