Four Roses vs Old Grand Dad: Discover the Better!

Discover the differences between Four Roses vs Old Grand Dad in this head to head comparison and decide which bourbon is better for You!

Four Roses Bourbon

• Nose: Sweet, with hints of honey and pear.
• Palate: Honeyed with hints of apple, cinnamon, citrus and oak.
• Finish: Long and fruity.

The nose is sweet with hints of honey and pear.

On the palate, the Four Roses is sweet at first giving way to a crisp apple flavor with hints of citrus, cinnamon and a tad of oak.

The finish in long, rich is fruity notes, with a bit of oak spice and very little warmth.

The body is lacking in texture, but offers very little heat and almost no oak spice making an easy sipper.

It drinks OK neat or rocks although the lack of proof does not make it a good mixer. As a general rule stick to high proof spirits if you want a tasty cocktail.

Four Roses is quite competent, it does not have any memorable or remarkable note but nothing off-putting in a price range in which bourbons tend to have nail polish notes.

This is the right bourbon for newbies as it offers a nice tasting profile along a price that makes it quite attractive.

Four Roses makes a nice and easy “everyday whiskey” as it provides an uncomplicated night cap.

Learn how it compares to the Bulleit Bourbon!

There are a few facts worth knowing about the Four Roses:

• Bottled at 80 proof.

• This bourbon is made from a blend of ten different whiskies, all are distilled and aged at the Four Roses Distillery.

• Five of the bourbons are made from a mash bill of 75% corn, 20% rye and 5% malted barley, while the other five are made from a mash of 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% malted barley.

• The distillery utilizes five different proprietary yeast cultures to ferment the mash bills.

• The bourbons are aged individually in new, American oak casks in a single story warehouse minimizing weather variations providing a a more consistent aging process.

• The distillery was established in 1910 in Lawrenceburg, KY and is part of the National Register of Historic Places.

Old Grand Dad Bourbon

• Nose: Vanilla, oak and rye spice.
• Palate: Rye spice, oak, sweet corn, brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Finish: Short-lived, moderately warm and oak spice.

The nose has a sweet scent, with a hint of vanilla, followed by oak and rye spice.

On the palate, Old Grand Dad hits you with rye spice up-front. As you let it develop it provides oak, along a sweet corn note, brown sugar and cinnamon.

The finish is short-lived, with some warmth to it but not much. There is some oak spice bitterness to it but nothing off-putting.

Old Grand Dad is affordable and drinkable as it’s smooth, with very little heat, although it feels thin and watered down lacking in body.

Easy to sip but nothing memorable about it… Throw it with Coke and call it a day.

Old Grand Dad was better when bottled at 86 proof as it had more body and flavor, but is now offered at a mere 80 proof and you can tell the difference.

Learn how it compares to the Evan Williams!

There are a few facts worth knowing about the Old Grand Dad:

• Bottled at 80 proof.

• It does not have an age statement.

• The mash bill is 63% corn, 27% rye and 10% malted barley.

• Old Grand Dad was founded in 1882 but has changed ownership several times throughout its history.

• The man on the label is Basil Hayden, the guy who came up with the idea of adding rye to the mash bill.

• Crafted at the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, KY along the Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden’s, Booker’s, Old Crow.

Four Roses vs Old Grand Dad: Price comparison

Prices are approximate and stated in USD:

Bourbon	Price
Four Roses Yellow Label	$25
Old Grand Dad Bourbon	$20

Four Roses vs Old Grand Dad: Which is better?

Four Roses a nicer sipper than the Old Grand Dad

Whiskey	Four Roses	Old Grand Dad
Nose	✅	✅
Body	✅	✅
Palate	✅
Finish	✅
Value	✅

• The Four Roses is a nice and easy bourbon. Nothing remarkable about, but nothing wrong as it does not have harsh notes.

• It goes down nicely neat or rocks, although somewhat weak to make good cocktails.

• The Old Grand Dad was a better bourbon when bottled at 86 proof, unfortunately due to cost-cutting it was watered-down and you can tell the difference as it feels weak and still with some rough edges.