Today we have a battle for the ages! A 6-year vertical of 4R Small Batch Limited Editions to compare… Let’s dive in!

🌹2021) $150, 114.2 proof. A blend of 16 year-old OBSV, 14 year-old OBSQ, 12 year-old OESK, and 16 year-old OESV.
-The Nose starts with sweet ripe berries (strawberry, raspberry, cherry) and vanilla, then some floral notes along with old oak, and dusty books… Beautiful!
-The Palate is rich and has that slight dustiness translated from the nose that I love, it starts with caramel and vanilla, but it’s accompanied by bright fruit flavors of plum, dark cherries, and orange peel. Then some delicate baking spice (cinnamon, clove) appears on the mid-palate.
-The Finish is long with lingering red fruits, leather, and musty oak.
⭐️Overall this is an absolutely world-class pour that hits almost every note I could ask for in a premium bourbon!

🌹2020) Overall, another world-class pour with all the beautiful fruit notes, but less dusty, and more black pepper.

🌹2019) One of the best. Very similar to the 2021, but has a honey sweetness that really makes the berry notes pop.

🌹2018) 130th anniversary: Overall, more caramel sweetness, but less red-fruit, and less complexity with a slight lingering bitterness.

🌹2017) Another amazing release with all those qualities I love about the 2021, but has more black pepper spice on the finish, and not quite the dusty complexity.

🌹2016) Fun Fact: This is the only LE that has ever had OESO in the blend.
To say this is world-class is selling it short. This takes the fruity-dusty-oak qualities of the 2021 and 2019, and adds sweet dark cherries, green apples, and subtle tart citrus wrapped in honey. The finish has delicate pepper spice that turns into never-ending sweet honey oak.

🏆VERDICT) The 2021 batch is absolutely incredible, up there with the best of the past 6 years. It was the number one release I was most hoping to find this year.

HOWEVER!… We have to have an official ranking so here it goes:

🏆2016>2019>2021>2017>2020>2018

The 2016 is my favorite bourbon pour of all time, but I’d still take the 2018 over 99% of other allocated bottles out there ;)

Let me know what you guys think!