Four Roses is giving bourbon enthusiasts another reason to make the trip to Lawrenceburg. The Kentucky distillery has announced Experimental Series No. 001, the first release in a new limited-edition line designed to push beyond the brand’s familiar 10-recipe framework. Rather than slotting neatly into the regular portfolio, the inaugural bottle focuses on one very specific variable: the flavor contribution of rare Japanese Mizunara oak.
Experimental Series No. 001 is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in Mizunara oak barrels, a wood prized in whiskey circles for its scarcity and expressive character. Four Roses says the release was developed through extensive trials across recipes, yeast strains, barrel specifications, and toast and char combinations before Master Distiller Brent Elliott selected a six-year-old OBSK recipe. That choice gives the whiskey a spice-forward foundation while allowing Mizunara’s sweeter and more nuanced notes to come through.
The process was not treated as a simple finishing exercise. During maturation, the Four Roses team pulled samples almost weekly to track each barrel’s development and determine the right balance point before blending the final liquid. That level of attention fits the premise of the new series, which is less about novelty for its own sake and more about showing how far the Four Roses house style can stretch without losing its identity.
The packaging also connects experimentation back to place. The front label draws from the Spanish Mission-style architecture of the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, while the reverse label reveals one of the brand’s historic single-story rickhouses. Bottled in a 375 mL format, Experimental Series No. 001 will be sold exclusively at the Four Roses Distillery Visitor Center beginning July 30 for $55.
For collectors, the appeal is straightforward. This is not simply another national limited edition competing for shelf space. It is a site-specific release from one of Kentucky bourbon’s most recognizable producers, built around a clearly defined experiment in wood, recipe, and balance.
