Episode 130 - Four Roses Barrel Strength OESK

A beat you can feel, a pour you can taste. We start with Outkast to set the mood, then turn to a Four Roses Single Barrel, Barrel Strength OESK that sparks a full-on exploration of how four letters can steer your bourbon journey. Our bottle is a 10-year, 4-month store pick at 116 proof, and it delivers the kind of balance that makes you sit up: maple and cherry on the nose, a first-hit pop of heat that settles into cinnamon-raisin toast, and a dry, mint-tinged finish that invites another sip.

We break down the Four Roses code so you can shop smarter. The second letter signals mash bill—E for higher rye, B for lower rye—while the fourth letter reveals the yeast strain—V, K, O, Q, or F—each pushing the whiskey toward fruit, spice, floral, or herbal notes. Our take may surprise you: yeast character often shapes the glass more than mash bill once you’re already in rye territory. That’s why K, often called the “spice anchor,” can make even a lower-rye bourbon feel lively. Pair that with a decade in oak and you get structure without harshness.

We also demystify store picks. These selections reflect a retailer’s palate and influence how consistent or special a bottle feels. We talk age windows—why OESK hits its stride around ten to eleven years—and value at the $100 mark, where transparency meets quality. If you want to build a palate rather than chase hype, Four Roses gives you the tools: read the letters, note the proof, consider the age, and discover what you actually like.

We close with straight ratings—4.0 and 3.75—and clear buying advice so you can find your own winner. If music that refuses a box is your soundtrack, this bourbon that refuses easy labels is your companion. Tune in, subscribe for more candid tastings and practical buying tips, and drop your favorite Four Roses recipe code in a review so we can chase it next.

Transcript

Outkast Sets The Vibe

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Dude, that little snare slap there. That simple beat. I fucking love the song. Thank you for playing it. I know I suggested it, recommended it, asked for it, and you don't always say yes. I think you know what? Okay. I don't know this song as well as I know some of Outcast's other songs, but I could get into this. I feel like oh, there's there's little big boy in the background. Andre and Big Boy. Um, it's like big green stuff. Yeah. I'm sure you'll on the going out, if we play Outcast again, I'm sure you'll hit some of the more Hey Yah or whatever that song is. There's there's a lot of popular ones. It won't be Hey Yah, but I already got it figured out. Hey Yah is the one everybody knows. That was their big dog. But yeah, this, I mean, it's you know, Outcast has got a lot more to them than people think. Just saying. I mean, they're they're up there in my in my uh in my list of uh artists, performers, uh just really like nearly really blend a lot of different types of music before everybody did that. Like that's why I stuttered. I was like, I don't want to call it hip hop, I don't want to call it rap, I don't want to call it like what is it? It's like from everywhere. They were their own fucking thing. Like, own thing. You listen to Hey Dow or Hey Yah or whatever it's called, that is not this same band. Like that this is not that same type of music. I could talk about it for a long time, but we don't want to go over on the music. I'm just saying listeners, if if if you got a review that we talk too much or too little about the music, or that you just hate the music, uh that'd be great. Instagram, Shy Tucky, just comment anywhere. I'll see it. Yeah, I promise we will see it. I might shed a tear if you're too means, so be careful. Uh Shy Tucky Bourbon Brothers. I love that song. And I also suggested the whiskey today, and and and I am very excited about it. This guy's like dancing in his chair over here. He's like, he's like got when you're one of these little kids and you can't sit still, and they put one of those little cushions under you so you can keep moving and keep moving. This is him in his chair over there today. He's just moving around. Whatever. Just keep it a high chair with a belt on it. That's I need to be held into my chair with a high chair because yes, I'm about to fall out of it or uh start dancing it. Okay, so today there's a lot of four roses out there. Who hasn't heard of four roses? Such a beautiful bottle. They make a few different bottles, but there's the etched roses on there. Such a great name for a whiskey. Always loved four roses. Uh, they make a lot of different, they have a lot of different expressions. And uh, I'm gonna go into it. This is a single barrel, tons of different single barrels. Uh, like I want to say there's this will there's 10, and then there's another 10. There's like dozens of single barrels, but this is the single barrel barrel strength, which is very important, makes it a little bit more uh higher retail price, but then it goes into to be specific, what its yeast strain is, which is complicated. I know, let's just blast right past it. So it's the barrel strength, blast right past it. OES K. I'm gonna let Tony not blast right past it, but if you're looking for a single barrel, barrel strength for roses, I am taking uh I've tasted this. That's why I'm so excited. It is called the OES K. O E-S-K. This is actually the 2022, so it's uh a little over three years old. Uh what? So most of these, most of these are are barrel picks, right? So OE, all of the four barrel, these, these what do they call them? The um barrel strength, single barrel strength, uh the majority of these are picks. These are not they're very few of these are put out by four roses. Almost all of them are picks by somebody, which puts them all in this seven to ten year range. So we happen to have one that's 10 years, four months at the top of the age bracket of these, which even makes it better. Okay, so what does Tony mean by a pick? Some people call them store picks because it's usually a store, a liquor store that goes to Four Roses or is invited to Four Roses to pick their barrel or barrels. And then the Four Roses even puts their label on the bottle. This is from a liquor store in Los Angeles, California. It's called Ramirez Beverage Center. I did a little looking up uh Ramirez because it's a liquor store in Los Angeles. No, no, no. The barrel. Like, how'd you find the barrel? Bought it online, knew very little about it, but I like that it was a 10-year, four-month. Uh, I like the proof, which is uh we haven't gotten into is 116 proof. Uh OESK is known to be spicy and full-bodied. And trust me, it is all of that. A really great rye flavor. Uh, back to Ramirez Beverage Center, 1900 beers, 800 whiskeys, 250 Mazcell, 700 tequila's family owned and operated, know nothing about this place, have never been there, but I'm gonna tell you when they pick Four Roses bourbon whiskey, they do a great fucking job because I think this one is spectacular. So tons to analyze, uh, or tons that we've gotten into. If your head is spinning, go to your liquor store, ask if they have four roses, single barrel, barrel strength. Very important. Uh not the red label. Not the red label. They have those are cheaper different. These should run about$99.99.$100. And it's gonna have the four letters on there somewhere. On the side. This one's O-E-S-K. There's a little label on the top, which you can read the letters and what they are. Like O B S V is delicate and fruity. So you can kind of, I think it's so cool. You can pick what you think before you even taste it is gonna hit your palate and what you typically like. Mine is spicy, full body. Uh, and again, we'll get into that later, but uh, that's how you should find it. Yeah, when you're at the store. The four letters are are there's a lot of information. There's really two letters that matter the second letter and the fourth letter. The second letter is an E or a B. Okay. E is their higher Rye, B is their lower rye mesh bill. Okay. And we're on a higher rye here. Higher Rye. There's five letters. K-O-V-K. I'm sorry, K-O-V. Um, I don't know what it was. Anyway, there's five letters for yeast. I can't remember them all off the top of my head. I'm so sorry. And anyway, they can you apologize? I just did. I'm sorry. That was bad. I should know them. It's V K O Q and F. I couldn't remember Q. Anyway, each one of them matter, but people talk about this particular version, the K version, the O E S K, as their best version. It's considered their spice anchor, in quotes. Like that is what they say. So all the stuff you want to talk about. If you care about different flavors, you want to try stuff. If you like stuff that's sweeter, you probably like the B better than the E. If you like more cinnamon spice, high rye, you probably like the E. The five letters on the back, look them up online. It's super easy to find. Some are floral, some are minty, some are some are fruity, some are spicy, some are whatever. Like there's all kinds of stuff. And again, you pick what you like, and they say that there's hundreds, if not thousands, of these store picks and these liquor stores that go out there and get to pick their own stuff. And it's great because then it they sell it in their store, they probably get a little bit of a discount on it. Four roses is happy to sell it to them. And then people go into their liquor store, have people are very particular to their store, and then they look and they're like, Oh, not only this is a four roses, but you guys pick this. How cool is that? Yeah, and then you try it, and if you like it, you have more respect for that. And honestly, for stores, they do it because if they pick a couple good ones and you like what their store picks are, you're more likely to come back and buy other store picks. And that's just not only really a way for them to make more money, but it's a way for them to get a name out there that they they do good stuff. I would put little behind the store that it is. If you're buying these online or finding it somewhere, um, because they say that a lot of them, wherever they picked it from, wherever the barrel was in the warehouse, a lot of them um are very similar. So I picked this one again because uh I liked the proof, which is 116, and I like that it broke the 10-year mark. This is 10 years and four months. So they say OESK hits its stride between 10 and 11 years. So you nailed it, man. You nailed it. That's what they're saying is the best OESKs are between 10 and 12, 10 and 11 years. So I know you're really happy about this one, and we've we've spoken about this a lot offline. And I'm excited to be. Tony doesn't like rye as much. Tony doesn't like spice as much. So Tony will probably not like this as much, and I will disagree with him and I will argue with him. And cheers. Let's smell it. Let's do it. Let's do it. And if you're driving, you're probably already buckled in. So I hope so. The nose comes off full, doesn't it? Oh, yeah. Like it's not, you're not there, there's nothing wimpy about this. No, no, this is typical, typical maple syrup sweetness, typical vanilla. Lots of maple syrup cherry-in this. I would say I would agree with cherry and pretty fruity. What do you say? There's um what do you got? There's something else. Do you get a smite a spice on the nose? Uh a little. I usually don't. A little, but to me, it's more of a cinnamon, because to me, the spice and cinnamon kind of blend together. Sorry. I would say this. I would say that an alcohol makes sometimes makes my nose burn. Cinnamon makes me think of a burning sensation. But really, that's not right. Uh my brain takes it the wrong uh the wrong route, and uh really what I'm getting here is like a smell of like a charred wood. Um I think the cinnamon, there's I think I know I don't I don't smell cinnamon. I to me it's a cinnamon. To me, cinnamon is a flavor, not a smell. I know, but but people can disagree. Maybe I just put them together. Maybe I put them together. Sorry. Right of me, I always start thinking of uh those cinnamon red hot. Good or bad is what I do. Mouthfeel. It's all over, it's oil over, it's in there. I know I say that a lot, but that is like my A number one. I think that happens more in a higher age, definitely, and when it's a higher rhyme. Um I've been waiting to say this because I read it somewhere. But I think when I describe a s whiskey as cinnamon, I feel like that comes off as like like a spicy cinnamon, like a like a bad or a poor flavor. But then if you say cinnamon raisin, and then if you say cinnamon raisin toast, oh like who doesn't like there's then it the then cinnamon raisin, take cinnamon and then take cinnamon, raisin toast. Two very different cinnamon. Well, cinnamon raisin toast to me gets really like they that's when you get the sugar mixed in. Sweeter. Yeah, dude. So all of a sudden, I know exactly what you're saying. That is this like the cinnamon isn't really like spicy, it's like a sweet, spicy. That's all I gotta say. It's gotta I actually agree with all of that. I would say that there's a there's a little bit of when you take your first taste, it's almost like having a little bit of red pepper. It's like you get this this instant boost of something. And I I don't know if I hate to use the red red, it pops, yes. It hits you. I don't want to scare somebody away from it, but like the first sip of it is it's intense. It's it's it's got a it's got an intensity almost like drink, like having some red pepper. And again, back to four roses and the 10 different yeast strains that you can pick. And if you're rolling your eyes because you're like, God, we already went through this, Mike. This is a great way. It's almost like, yeah, it's a hundred bucks a bottle, but these are like great learning and beginning whiskeys. Do you like high rye or you do you not? Do you like more sweetness or do you not? And maybe you you're like totally disagree, Mike, because I hate four roses. That could totally be it too. But like, get a four roses single barrel, barrel strength. Look at the label, get one of the four letters, and see if you like it. And I have a really good feeling if you go high rye or not, like me or Tony, high rye, me, Tony not. Uh I'm gonna end with something you really, really, really like. I think done. I honestly think that the yeast string matters more than the high rye or low rye. I think that when you start dealing with 20% rye or 35% rye, it sounds like a lot and there is some spice effect to it, but I feel like the yeast strength is what's changing it. We have a K right now. K is known to be spicy. Well, if you put a spice on a low rye, it's gonna feel like a high rye, maybe. They're not gonna be as far off as you think. I'm just saying. So I think the yeast is what's gonna make more. I think the last letter, there's really five of them, matter more than the second, first, second, or third letter. What I will also say is um straight rye, straight rye whiskies are known to have a little minty, a little uh menthol, a little um that kind of flavor. Uh which is sometimes it can be like a like kind of a biting mint, or it can be kind of like a soothing menthol mint, and this definitely has that. You you get this kind of like I don't know if it's like an effervescence, but you get kind of like you take a deep breath afterwards and you're like, did I just get it? But you know what? This has got a little bit of a drier finish than than some. This has got like a quicker, drier finish with with the mint that you're getting exactly what you're getting is because of that drier finish. I think if it's a prolonged finish, you're not gonna get that that exclamation point at the end where you're like taking a breath. Agreed. The very, very, very end. Correct. Not just the finish. No, no, no, no. The end end. Like five seconds, eight seconds down the line. Yeah. It's very like dry, and you wanna you don't want to wetten it up again with another step. No, this is this is excellent. This is a very, very good. I this OESK, you should if you want to try some some very, very good bourbon, that's a good one. Um, I mean, it's hitting the sweet spot. You got to be careful with some of these bottles. Some of these bottles are gonna come in at eight year and nine year, and I don't think nine years that far off, but if you can get something over 10, now I one thing about this OESK, I think that Four Roses knows what they have with OEK. And the reason I say this is because that in 2024, their OESK, they're not arrow pick, but they're one that Four Roses put out, was a 15-year, and it was one of the best they've ever done. Not the red label. No, no, no, no. Just like the bottle we have, but not from a store or a group or whatever. Her version. So, you know, younger-ish stuff to the stores. I've never seen something over 12 years in one of these. And for them to put out a 15-year for them probably was super special. That's something we should probably try to look for. I want to buy that. We should take a picture, whatever you're looking at, take a picture. I'm gonna find it. It'll probably be like I'm not looking at anything. I just I did a bunch of research on because you said we had the 2022. So I did some research on hey, what did the 2022 OES K 23, 24, 25, and to kind of compare them? 2024 came out with like stars around it. Like it was a 15-year, which is like some special, I don't know, it's like seeing an alien or something. Do you feel that um a higher rye at any different proof gives you a different buzz? No. Like I don't know, I don't know, like from this, and I don't know if it's that like engulfing mouthfeel, and I I haven't had that much of it, but I'm kind of like I don't know. I'm not gonna say like I'm drunk or I like totally feel different different, but I never really thought about it, so I would ask you again. It should be the proof. The proof, the alcohol content, I don't size of the person, those kind of things. 116 proof, we've had way higher. This should not be like, oh man, this is making me tipsy, but I feel like I'll go on record to say that like higher rise, maybe they just go down easier. I don't know, but something about it is like it just it just uh faster and harder. I don't know. For me, it's not proof on rise, it's the age. If the older age is is, in my opinion, like an easier drinker, um, and I feel like I can drink them quicker. The younger ries seem to have a lot more spice, and they seem to be like more long, prolonged finish that kind of keep me from drinking more. That was beautiful. That's what I was just I'm not reading that from anywhere. I just thought of that. Like that's what it is for me. That really came from the Kentucky. It came from my heart. Oh, now we're having fun. Okay, so the rye has kicked in and uh we're gonna do the sip method. Uh, am I sharing this? Damn right I am. Influence, come on, it's four roses and price. I actually found this online. Retail is a hundred bucks. Yeah, and if you buy it, you gotta drive to the liquor store, pay tax and pay tax. So let's call it like 110, 115, depending on your state. Some guy, I didn't have to do any of that, and he sold to me for 85 bucks. What a deal! Oh, maybe well, you know what? Maybe it was less, maybe it was less than 22. The hundred bucks is this year. Oh, maybe he bought it back then and it was it was only seven. I think it was collecting dust. He wanted to get rid of it. Anyway, uh for these to be under 100. I think uh anything can always be cheaper, but like I think this is uh these should be 150 bucks, and maybe they will be here in the future. So grab not grab. Actually, I don't think they will because I think the market is changing to the point where they're not gonna raise the price on this. Your turn. Shareable, yes. Influence, I love four roses, price at 100, hair higher than I'd like to spend, but for really good bourbon, that's what you pay now. Did you know that uh they're for sale? The distillery? They are owned by, I'm not, I'm not even gonna look this up. They are owned by a Japanese Kieran. Kieran. Yes. I love Kieran, that's that's their beer. Yeah, they usually have it at sushi restaurants, uh, hence the Japanese. And they did go for sale for how much shut up, but they did go for sale for how many billion? One. One billion? Yeah, but who cares? Just a B, baby. Just a one thousand millions. Oh man. All right, I got a million. I just need 999 friends so I can have all the OES K I want. Rating. Hope you're ready, Tony. I hope you're ready. Do you are you gonna go? Are you going first? 2026, and you're gonna have to remind me because I have a you know, my attention span comes sometimes kind of wavers. So because it's the beginning of 26, at the end of 26, when we start like doing our ratings, remind me that I gave this a four and that I'm gonna say, again, it's it's a 2022 that I'm tasting in 2026, but it's gonna be really hard for me to taste whiskeys that I like this much. It just hits on all cylinders. And if you're like, well, Mike, if it hits on all of them, it should be a five, but it's not a five, it's not a five. Thank you for helping. I was like, but how do I close that statement? It's not a five, but it's just not. No, it's not. And honestly, I mean, I think some of our higher, our mid-fours are some of these crazy picks, and I I I'd love to find something that we would think is a five. I'm not sure if that even exists. Um, I'll put it this way Four Roses just doesn't put out stuff. They put out spectacular stuff. I don't think, and I haven't had some of the really rare stuff. I own some of it, but I haven't opened it. And none there's none of the you have some of your own bunker at your house? What? None of it. Uh very, very, very little, not hundreds of bottles like you. Uh, I don't think any of it hits five. Like there's uh I will never hill bottles that hit fives for me or close to it. Really? Um, there's Buffalo Trace products that hit almost five. There's wild turkey products that almost hit five. There's a lot of roses. It's just like four is a spectacular four roses for me. So there. I don't have our chart in front of us, but out of 130, whatever podcasts we have, I don't think we've done but maybe 15 that have been a four or higher. I'm just saying. You know it's good, bro. I know. You know it's good. I'm not giving it a four, sorry. I think it's excellent. Um but I I will give it a three seven five. Nice. I will give it a three seven five. It's not a four to me, but it's better than a three and a half. All right, let's see if your our uh our outro of Outcast uh is gonna be better than our intro. I don't think you go intro. I think that the intro song's called Aquemini. And uh so go download it. Go find it. It's Outcast. Oh, dude, I think Outcast was ahead of their time back then. They they were mixing music and doing samples and things that people weren't doing. This particular song, you know, it's just everybody knows this one, man. Here it is. Guys, thanks for listening. Shot Tucky Bourbon Brothers, Mike and Tony. We take care of the whiskey so you can focus on with whom you share it. Four roses. Write this down. Single barrel barrel strength. Single barrel barrel strength. Square bottle. Square ish bottle, not a red label. It's got four letters on the side. Pick the one you like. Take it home. If you see OES, give it a shot. Pat yourself on the fucking back because I'm pretty sure you're gonna pick something you just are gonna love. Sorry, Miss Jackson. Good pick. This is probably my second favorite. Is it really? Yeah, it's great. You thought I was gonna go with hey now or hey mon or hey, whatever we're talking about. Hey ya, hey ya. Yeah, it's that's I mean that's good, but that's like just a you're dancing around throwing your arms. If you like outcast and you like, what's his name? Andre 3000, this is the rap that you like. This is what he does. This is why people say he's a great rapper. I gave four roses a 4.0. Hey, so can we find a whole lot of friends in bio? If you have anything north of a million, which will help us get to a billion, let's buy four roses together. Let's do it. Call us. Tony's number is so good. All right, peace out, guys. Thanks for listening. Bye.