Review: Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon Collection 2026 – OBSV, OBSF, OESK, and OESO

Last year, Four Roses rebooted its single barrel program with the launch of the Single Barrel Collection, a revolving set of whiskeys that highlight each of its 10 classic recipes, three bottles at a time.

Now under its new ownership (Gallo), the company is back with three more bottles for 2026, each 7 to 9 years old and comprising the recipes OESQ, OESF, and OBSK. As with last year’s releases, these are all bottled at 100 proof and presented at just $50 each. The standard-bearer OESV will also still be available, and a fresh look at this bottling appears below alongside the new trio.

Each 100 proof.

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon OBSV 2026 Review

A fresh look at the standard-bearer recipe reveals few changes and many charms. On the nose, it’s thick with rye spice and plenty of trail mix — nuts, dried apricot, and baking spice galore. The palate evokes banana and coconut before shifting gears into more stone fruit elements, with apricot again a centerpiece. Touches of tannic, often dusty oak give the finish a bit of gravity, but the whiskey always feels balanced and spry — though nothing that’s overtly complex. There’s a reason this recipe has been the standard for Single Barrel basically forever. A- [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT] [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon OESQ 2026 Review

This is a single barrel offering from Four Roses’ lower-rye mashbill, made with floral-forward yeast. It is indeed quite flowery from the start, a mix of roses and lilacs cut with vanilla and caramel. A layer of mint, later revealing eucalyptus, builds with time in glass. All of this coalesces on the palate to blend these floral and sweet notes somewhat fitfully, heavy apple pie and mint notes becoming layered with perfume that lasts well into a finish that evokes potpourri to an extreme. While initially intriguing, this is one of those whiskeys that wears out its welcome fairly quickly. That might be why I could only find two Four Roses Single Barrel offerings of this recipe, including this one from 2009. B [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon OESF 2026 Review

This is an instant charmer, the lower rye recipe made with herbal-forward yeast. The nose has a nutty, somewhat corny character that’s actually quite enchanting, and with time in glass those herbal notes really take hold. OESF is another rarity in the Four Roses collection, and that’s a shame, because the combination of the 20% rye recipe and a spice-forward yeast creates a curiously balanced, delightful whole. It’s big with mint up top, followed by Maraska cherry, orange peel, and a hint of tea. Lip-smackingly exuberant, with just about the right amount of sweetness to keep you coming back for more, this is one of the best $50 bourbons you’re likely to find — though, sadly, it’ll probably require a trip to Kentucky to grab it at that price. A [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon OBSK 2026 Review

The sole high-rye whiskey in the lineup, paired with “slight spice” yeast. There’s a significant youthful character visible here, with more corn than expected on the nose along with a bready, almost yeasty quality. The baking spice is more obvious than the “slight spice” moniker would suggest, though it’s tempered by some industrial elements, approximating furniture polish at times. The palate again feels quite young and bready and simply underdeveloped. Notes of crushed red hots and some cherry are immediately agreeable but soon find themselves buried beneath a rather gummy palate that culminates in notes of peanut butter and sesame oil. OBSK has been an almost ubiquitous ingredient in Four Roses Small Batch releases but it’s a rarity as a single barrel — and our lone encounter with it previously was far more successful thanks to its fruit-forward palate. Sadly, this one lands much flatter and disappears just as quickly. B- [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

each $50

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