Dried apricot | Honey | Caramel | Green grape | Floral undertone

Light baking spices | Caramel | Honey | Vanilla custard | Brown sugar | Medium body

Flash of spice | Brown sugar | Stone fruit | Lingering baking spices

Building on its 138-year history, originally trademarked by Paul Jones Jr. in 1888, Four Roses recently changed hands from Kirin Holdings to Gallo in a deal that closed in April 2026 for $775 million.

Four Roses’ standard 100 proof single barrel has traditionally always been their OBSV recipe, which is one of ten recipes the distillery produces. However, at the end of 2024, the company announced that it would be releasing a new Single Barrel Collection to coincide with its 20th anniversary. Their intention is to expand on their current single barrel products. In addition to the standard OBSV, Four Roses also released OESO, OBSF, and OESK variations. Fast forward to 2026, and the company is highlighting three more recipes in addition to their standard offering: OESF, OESQ, and OBSK.  

These releases are differentiated by Four Roses’ two mashbills and five proprietary yeast strains that, when combined, create ten unique recipes with the components designated as follows:

Mashbills:

B: 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley
E: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley

Yeast Strains:
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V: Delicate fruit
K: Slight spice
O: Rich fruit
Q: Floral essence
F: Herbal notes
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‍Four Roses Bourbon, which is the company’s flagship product, utilizes up to all ten of the recipes blended together in an effort to create consistency from batch to batch, with some components making up a large portion of the blend and others added in smaller percentages in an effort to add accents of flavor and create consistency. Until recently, these individual recipes could only be tasted via the distillery’s single barrel program or their 10 recipe sample kit. Starting in 2024, Four Roses began dedicated releases of each of the recipes in single barrel format.

OESQ is one of my favorite recipes because Four Roses seems to have a knack for dialing in those floral notes. Dried apricot, honey, caramel, and green grape complement floral undertones on the nose, with vanilla custard, brown sugar, and a sweet mix of flavors integrating nicely into the rest of the sip. The floral aspect is most noticeable up front, but fades into the bourbon’s sweeter core as the sip progresses. Capitalizing on the sweetness of its 75% corn mashbill, OESQ carries a sugary sweetness throughout. This ultimately makes for a sip that’s easy to enjoy for those looking for a sweeter pour with floral undertones.