The deep copper color of these bourbons all but screams, “I’m 7 to 9 years old and one heck of a bargain at $49.” It’s a good visual reminder of the high-quality product in the glass and the fact that Four Roses simply never disappoints.
This tastes like too many other 90-proof American whiskies on the market: ordinary and even cautious. This tastes as if it was made to risk offending no one. It’s inoffensive in every way possible, but that also renders it quite plain.
This year’s port note is more wine like that’s driven by the addition of tawny port barrels to the finishing regime. Where earlier port notes were sweeter and pleasantly candied, this is more intriguing: fermented, tarter, angular and dark cherry-candied.
A first sip serves up fruit and spice: golden apples, ripe banana, cinnamon, cocoa and a bit of black pepper. Keep after it and you get a bourbon toddy that, given its high corn and wheat mashbill, needs no warming or honey; it’s sweet and subtle enough on its own.
It’s truly dynamic on the palate, shifting from toasted oak to baked fruit then twisting sideways to toasted cinnamon bread and poached spiced apples. Every sip lays down another layer of dark flavors (tobacco, fig a little leather) to build up the rich finish.
The product development team at Chattanooga is a prolific bunch, churning out endless experiments with–based on those I’ve tasted–terrific outcomes.
The 2024 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is back, and yeah, we know—it’s been talked about more than your buddy’s “secret” bourbon stash. So, we’re flipping the script.
There is zero, zip, nada to dislike about this whiskey except for the egregious price. If you’ve got the money to get it, get it. You’ll thank me for it.
Campari could have easily made this another three-figure limited edition like Generations, but they didn’t. I’m not sure who we thank for that, but I’d like to think Jimmy had some input.
The whiskey is light on the nose and not overly complex, which belies its high rye content. Still, there are pleasant aromas to savor. Honey, cherry blossom, maple syrup and toasted oak lead the way with some pleasant powdered donut notes bringing up the rear.
