Four Roses

Four Roses is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced by the Kirin Brewery Company of Japan. The brand's distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, was built in 1910 with Spanish Mission-style architecture, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The company's warehouse for aging and bottling operations is in Cox's Creek, Kentucky. The brand and its products have evolved and transformed since the company's founding in the late 19th century, and especially since the firm's acquisition at the beginning of the 21st century.[1]

Four Roses Bourbon
Four Roses Bourbon
TypeBourbon Whiskey
ManufacturerKirin Brewery Company
Country of originUnited States
Introduced1888
Alcohol by volume40% Four Roses Bourbon
45% Small Batch
50% Single Barrel
52% Small Batch Select
Proof (US)80 Four Roses Bourbon
90 Small Batch
100 Single Barrel
104 Small Batch Select
Websitewww.fourrosesbourbon.com

History

By some accounts, the brand was founded by Rufus Mathewson Rose and was probably named in honor of him, his brother Origen, and their two sons.[2] However, several different stories have been told about the name's origin.[3] Owner Kirin Brewery does not mention Rufus M. Rose in its version of the history, and refers instead to Paul Jones Jr. as the founder of the brand.[3][4] The company says the brand name was trademarked in 1888 by Jones, who claimed it had been produced and sold as early as the 1860s.[4] The brand's distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, was built in 1910 with Spanish Mission-style architecture, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[5] It was originally called the Old Prentice distillery and was owned by J.T.S. Brown.[6] It was designed by Joseph & Joseph Architects, a firm with a history that has spanned more than a century in distillery design.[6]

The brand was purchased by Seagram in 1943. Around the end of the 1950s, Seagram discontinued the sale of Four Roses bourbon within the United States in order to focus on sales of blended whiskey, although it introduced other brands of straight bourbons in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Benchmark and Eagle Rare.[7] Four Roses Kentucky straight bourbon marketing was shifted to Europe and Asia, which were rapidly growing markets at the time. In the United States during this period, the Four Roses name was used on a blended whiskey, made mostly of neutral grain spirits and commonly seen as a sub-par brand.[8][9] Four Roses continued to be unavailable as a straight bourbon in the US market until late 1994, a period of nearly 40 years. In 1999, Four Roses brand ownership passed from Seagram to Vivendi/Universal, then in 2001 to Pernod Ricard and Diageo before being purchased by The Kirin Brewery in 2002. Kirin discontinued the sale of blended whiskey to focus exclusively on Four Roses Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.

The brand's master distiller during 1995–2015 was Jim Rutledge, who had started working for Seagram in 1966. The previous master distiller was Ova Haney. Since Rutledge's retirement in 2015, the master distiller has been Brent Elliott, who had worked with Rutledge for the preceding 10 years.[1] Elliot is originally from Owensboro, Kentucky, and has a degree in chemistry from the University of Kentucky.[10]

In April 2019, the Four Roses distillery completed a $55 million expansion project that coincided with the official launch of Small Batch Select – the first permanent addition to the distillery's bourbon lineup in 12 years.[11][12] The distillery's expansion project began in 2015 and resulted in the ability to double production capacity.[11][13]

The expansion project invested $34 million into the Four Roses distillery in Lawrenceburg, and $21 million at the Warehouse & Bottling facility in Cox's Creek. At the distillery, Four Roses added two new buildings and equipment, including a new column and doubler still and more fermenters.[11]

With the duplicate column and doubler still, production capacity is scheduled to increase from 4 million to 8 million proof gallons, enough to fill more than 130,000 barrels per year (261,000 hectolitres).[11] The Louisville-based architecture firm Joseph & Joseph designed the original distillery in 1910, and modeled the new buildings after the existing Spanish mission-style structures.[14]

Products

The company distills ten separate bourbons using two mash recipes and five yeast strains. From combining these ten bourbons, the Four Roses distillery creates their standard bourbon. The single barrel bottlings are made with only one of those ten bourbons. The brand's regular bottlings are:

  • Four Roses Bourbon: 80 U.S. proof;[15] sold in U.S., Europe and Japan
  • Four Roses Small Batch: 90 proof;[15] sold in U.S. and Europe
  • Four Roses Single Barrel: 100 proof;[15] sold in U.S., Europe, and in small volumes in Japan
  • Four Roses Small Batch Select: 104 proof; aged at least six years;[15] non-chill-filtered; sold in U.S.
  • Four Roses Black: 80 proof; sold in Japan
  • Four Roses Super Premium: 86 proof; sold in Japan

The company also produces special limited-production commemorative releases. These are often non-chill-filtered and bottled at barrel proof.[15]

The Four Roses distillery has also produced Bulleit Bourbon for the Diageo beverage conglomerate.

Awards and accolades
  • Four Roses Small Batch
    • World Whiskies Awards 2019 – Gold Medal – Taste[16]
    • Whiskey Magazine Editor's Choice August–September 2015[17]
  • Four Roses Single Barrel
    • World Whiskies Awards 2019 – Gold Medal – Taste[18]
  • Four Roses 130th Anniversary 2018 Limited Edition Small Batch
    • World Whiskies Awards 2019 – World's Best Bourbon and Best Kentucky Bourbon[19][20][21]
  • Brand expressions
  • Decorative stack of whiskey barrels with Four Roses logos
  • Four Roses main building
  • 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch
  • Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Ky.
  • Four Roses Small Batch Select
  • Four Roses Small Batch
  • Four Roses Small Batch, 90 proof Bourbon
  • Various historical bottlings

See also
  • List of historic whiskey distilleries

References
  1. "The History". Four Roses bourbon official website. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  2. Atlanta Urban Design Commission. "Rufus M. Rose House". Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  3. Lipman, John. "American Whiskey: A Visit to the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky". Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  4. Four Roses Bourbon History page on Four Roses brand website.
  5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  6. "100+ Years of Distillery Design". Joseph & Joseph Architects. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  7. "Frequently Asked Questions". Four Roses bourbon official website.
  8. Risen, Clay (May 7, 2009). "Domestic Whiskey's Best Kept Secret". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  9. Pyle, Jason (February 15, 2011). "The Four Roses Story". Sour Mash Manifesto. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  10. "Meet the Master Distiller". Four Roses bourbon official website. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  11. Schreiner, Bruce (April 16, 2019). "Four Roses eyes expanded US sales with distillery expansion". Fox Business. Associated Press. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  12. Micaleffe, Joseph V. (June 8, 2019). "Four Roses Small Batch Select Is A Must Try Addition To The Distillery's Core Range". Forbes. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  13. Havens, Sara (April 16, 2019). "Four Roses reopens distillery after $34 million expansion and celebrates release of Small Batch Select". Insider Louisville. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  14. "Four Roses reopens distillery after expansion". Joseph & Joseph Architects. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  15. "The Bourbons". Four Roses bourbon official website. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  16. "World Whiskies Awards 2019 – Gold Medal – Taste – Four Roses Small Batch". World Whiskies Awards. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  17. "Four Roses / Small Batch". Whisky Magazine (129). August–September 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  18. "World Whisky awards 2019 – Gold Medal – Taste – Four Roses Single Barrel". World Whiskies Awards. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  19. "APA Division 51: About Us: Division Awards". 2012. doi:10.1037/e670562012-001. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. "World Whiskies Awards 2019 – Winners – Best Kentucky Bourbon". World Whiskies Awards. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  21. "World Whiskies Awards 2019 – Winners – World's Best Bourbon". World Whiskies Awards. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
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