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Bourbon Review: Rock Town Four Grain Sour Mash Arkansas Bourbon

We review Rock Town Four Grain Sour Mash Arkansas Bourbon, a four-year-old bourbon containing corn, barley, wheat, and rye.

OVERALL RATING

7
$50.00
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Tasting Notes

About:

Mash bill of 73% corn, 9% rye, 9% wheat, and 9% malted barley, and soured using some mash from the previous batch. Aged four years in new, charred oak barrels, 46%ABV and sold for about $50 per 750mL bottle.
Appearance:
Light bronze in color with a hue on par with a typical ale.
Nose:
The “sour” of this bourbon asserts itself from the first sniff with notes of lemon, green apple, hay, and a pinch of ginger. That eases into an earthier bouquet of oak, barley, bitter chocolate, and a touch of coffee.
Palate:
The first sip starts out like a an earthy, mellow caramel – sweet but much more restrained than many bourbons. That quickly develops a very gentle green apple-like tartness, which is then gradually superseded by a building spiciness that comes on its heels, primarily tasting of clove and a bit of cinnamon. That spicy flavor gently grows as a sip sits on the mouth. Swallowing creates a brief pause in flavor which then yields to a wave of spice that sweeps across the mouth, potent but not overwhelming. That leaves a coating of gentle spice that hums throughout the mouth for a minute alongside a faint flavor of sweet, slightly sour apples.
Finish:
Comments:
I find Rock Town’s Four Grain Sour Mash Bourbon hard to rate, because I like it in spite of itself. To break down that paradox, I found that the spicy characteristics of this whiskey tended to overwhelm the sweeter flavors too much for my taste. On the other hand, the dominant flavors did ebb and flow enough to make it a unique and engaging dram. While I give it points for that, it’s still not one I’d want to drink often.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Aaron Knapp

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