Head to head · unusually close flavour match
Four Roses Small Batch vs Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond
No flavour axis separates them, so the difference on record is disclosure: Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond states 4 years, Four Roses Small Batch states no age.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Four Roses Small Batch | Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Bourbon | Rye |
| Origin | Kentucky, United States | Kentucky, United States |
| Age | No age statement | 4 years |
| Strength | 45% ABV | 50% ABV |
| Cask | New charred oak barrel | New charred oak barrel |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 750 ml |
| RRP observed | £34 | £32 |
| Per 10cl | £4.86 | £4.27 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £108 | £85 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both Kentucky whiskies, from different distilleries.
Four Roses Small Batch is a bourbon, Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond a rye.
Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond states 4 years; Four Roses Small Batch states none.
Both matured in new charred oak barrel; nothing further disclosed.
Neither states chill filtration.
Colour: Four Roses Small Batch natural colour, Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond silent.
What the price buys
Four Roses Small Batch is £2.00 dearer a bottle than Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond.
Different bottle sizes, 700 ml against 750 ml, so per 10cl it is £4.86 against £4.27.
Strength keeps that ordering: £85 a litre of pure alcohol for Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond against £108.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Four Roses Small Batch is 7th cheapest and Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond the cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Four Roses Small Batch | Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 6 | 5 |
| Fruity | 5 | 4 |
| Spicy | 7 | 9 |
| Woody | 6 | 6 |
| Sherried | 1 | 1 |
| Cereal | 4 | 4 |
| Oily | 6 | 7 |
No axis reaches the 3-point gap we call meaningful. Widest is spicy, 7 against 9.
Identical on peaty, woody, sherried and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
Four Roses Small Batch
Red fruit and rye spice, cleanly made. One of the few bourbons that tells you its recipe.
Four Roses is one of the very few American distillers to publish actual mash bills: this blends recipes B (60% corn / 35% rye / 5% barley) and E (75% / 20% / 5%). Its single-storey rack warehouses vary only about 8°F from top rack to bottom.
Full record →Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond
Sharp rye spice and cinnamon at 100 proof. The bartender's rye, and rightly so.
Bottled-in-Bond legally requires exactly 100 proof and at least four years in a federally supervised warehouse, so the 4-year figure may be the statutory floor rather than a distinct age statement. It also keeps the Scottish spelling 'whisky' despite being Kentucky rye.
Full record →Both listed for value and cocktails; only Four Roses Small Batch for transparency; only Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond for manhattan.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Four Roses Small Batch and Rittenhouse Straight Rye Bottled-in-Bond: fourrosesbourbon.com, heavenhilldistillery.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.