Four Roses 2025 Limited Edition vs OBSK NC Store Pick

Jan 6

A Deep Dive Into Recipes, Age, and Barrel Strength Bourbon

If you spend any time in bourbon circles, you already know one thing to be true: Four Roses doesn’t make “simple” bourbon. Between multiple mash bills, proprietary yeast strains, and intentional blending, this distillery operates on an entirely different level of precision.

In this episode of Tortured Bourbon, we put two standout bottles head-to-head:

Four Roses 2025 Limited Edition Small Batch Barrel Strength
Four Roses Single Barrel Barrel Strength OBSK — North Carolina Store Pick

One is a highly allocated annual release already selling for double MSRP.

The other is a bold, spicy, single-barrel OBSK, selected locally and bottled at a higher proof.

👉 Watch the full episode here:

https://youtu.be/B-jYsvW1Dz4

The Bottles We’re Drinking

🥃 Four Roses 2025 Limited Edition Small Batch Barrel Strength

Each year, Brent Elliott, Master Distiller at Four Roses, releases a carefully constructed Limited Edition that showcases the distillery’s recipe system at its best.

2025 Release Details

Barrel Strength: 109 proof
Aged: 13 & 19 years (average ~15 years)
Multiple Four Roses recipes blended intentionally
MSRP: ~$250 (when you can find it)

According to Four Roses, the 2025 Limited Edition is built around:

Two standout 13-year-old “V” yeast batches bringing apricot, vanilla, and caramel
Older 19-year OBSK and OESV components adding antique oak, rye spice, and depth

This isn’t just an old bourbon — it’s a designed bourbon, built to balance fruit, spice, and mature oak.

🥃 Four Roses Single Barrel Barrel Strength OBSK (NC Store Pick)

For comparison, we revisited a bottle featured in a previous episode:

Recipe: OBSK
Mash Bill: B (High Rye)
Yeast: K (Spice-forward)
Age: 9 years, 3 months
Proof: 120
Picked by: Youngsville ABC

OBSK is known for baking spice, structure, and intensity, making it the perfect counterpoint to a blended Limited Edition that includes OBSK as part of its DNA.

Understanding Four Roses Recipes (Why This Matters)

To truly understand Four Roses bourbon, you have to understand their recipe system. Unlike most distilleries, Four Roses uses:

2 mash bills
5 proprietary yeast strains
Combined into 10 distinct bourbon recipes

Mash Bills

B Mash Bill (High Rye):
60% corn | 35% rye | 5% malted barley
Spicy, structured, bold
E Mash Bill (Low Rye):
75% corn | 20% rye | 5% malted barley
Softer, sweeter, rounder