Four Roses Unveils a Honey Cask-Finished Bourbon

Four Roses is bringing a golden new dimension to Kentucky bourbon with Experimental Series No. 002 Honey Cask Finish, a limited release shaped by honey-seasoned barrels and the distillery’s distinctive 10-recipe approach.

The launch follows the brand’s first cask-finished expression, which explored Japanese mizunara oak earlier this year. This time, the result is warmer and more opulent: a 104-proof bourbon layered with floral sweetness, orchard fruit and signature spice.

A sweeter direction for Four Roses

For decades, Four Roses has built its character through two mash bills and five proprietary yeast strains. Experimental Series No. 002 draws on two of those recipes, OESQ and OBSK, blending bourbons matured for between six and eight years.

The whiskey then spends a further three to nine months in barrels supplied by Kentucky’s Bohman Bee Company. The casks had first matured bourbon before being used to age honey, then returned to Four Roses for this final stage — a beautifully circular journey that gives the finish its singular character.

What does Honey Cask Finish taste like?

Honey may lead the first impression, but this is no dessert pour. Expect a fragrant, polished profile in which floral notes meet vanilla, maple and brown sugar, followed by ripe stone fruit, seasoned oak and a flicker of black pepper. At 104 proof, the finish carries enough warmth to keep the sweetness in elegant balance.

Master distiller Brent Elliott describes the honey influence as natural rather than overpowering, allowing the barrels’ previous lives to reveal themselves without obscuring the bourbon beneath.

Four Roses Honey Cask Finish release date and price

Experimental Series No. 002 Honey Cask Finish will be available from 18 September 2026 at the Four Roses Distillery and the brand’s Cox’s Creek Visitor Centre in Kentucky. It will be offered in 375ml bottles with a suggested retail price of $55.

For collectors and curious bourbon drinkers alike, this is a compelling next chapter in Four Roses’ move into cask finishing, and a limited-edition whiskey worth seeking out for its balance of sweetness, spice and Kentucky provenance.