Four Roses Distillery](https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com) is releasing Experimental Series No. 003: Chestnut on November 20, a limited-edition 375ml bourbon priced at $55 per bottle — the third successive drop in a program that has already tested Mizunara oak and honey-seasoned casks against the distillery's 10-recipe portfolio.
The Product
The expression is built on Four Roses' six-year OBSK mashbill, selected for its signature spice and layered complexity. Mature bourbon was transferred into 250-liter chestnut barrels — fabricated from wood sourced in Japan — across a range of toast and char specifications. The distillery sampled each barrel individually throughout the process, emptying them once they reached target profile; finishing windows ran from five to eleven weeks. The result is bottled at 104 proof (52% ABV), opening with apricot and vanilla aromatics and delivering a palate of vanilla bean, pear and ripe cherry underpinned by toasted wood and baking spice.
Commercial Terms
Inventory will be available exclusively at Four Roses' two Kentucky visitor centers — Lawrenceburg and Cox's Creek — while supplies last, beginning November 20. At $55 for a 375ml format, the per-liter equivalent sits at roughly $147, consistent with the premium positioning of limited distillery-direct releases in the current super-premium bourbon segment. No broader retail distribution has been announced.
The Experimental Series strategy reflects a broader industry pattern in American whiskey: distillers are using alternative wood finishing to command shelf differentiation and collector demand without altering core production infrastructure. Chestnut, rarely employed in bourbon finishing, represents a less-traveled path compared with the wine-cask and port-pipe finishes that have proliferated across the category over the past five years. For operators and on-premise buyers, alternative-wood expressions have demonstrated consistent pull at the high end of beverage programs, particularly during the fourth-quarter gifting window.
What's Next
Master Distiller Brent Elliott framed chestnut's appeal as its ability to surface rather than overwhelm the underlying spirit. "The OBSK recipe had the complexity and spice we were looking for to complement those flavors, creating a bourbon that feels familiar in its foundation but offers new, distinct flavors in the glass," Elliott said. Four Roses has not announced a fourth Experimental Series subject, but the cadence — three releases across successive seasons — suggests the program has become a fixture in the distillery's annual limited-edition calendar.
For trade buyers tracking the premium spirits segment, the Experimental Series sits within a competitive cluster of distillery-exclusive drops that drive visitor-center traffic and reinforce brand equity without drawing down allocated mainstream SKUs. Four Roses, established in 1888 and recognised as World's Best Single Barrel at the World Whiskies Awards, distributes its core portfolio globally; the Experimental releases remain a domestic, Kentucky-first proposition. Retailers and hospitality buyers seeking context on the broader bourbon market can find additional coverage in our spirits and beverages sector analysis and our recent look at premium limited-edition release strategies.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
