Four Roses Distillery LLC
Four Roses Distillery is a special place with a special page in history. One of only six distilleries that were permitted to operate during Prohibition to produce medicinal Bourbon, it has an intriguing history. Sitting on the banks of the Salt River in the serene rural part of Kentucky, it saw ups and downs, until it was resurrected in 2002.
It was founded by Paul Jones, Jr. in 1884. Legend has it that Mr. Jones came up with the name “Four Roses” as a result of a romantic interest. When Mr. Jones asked a young lady to the grand ball, the young lady advised Mr. Jones that he would know his answer if she wore a corsage of four roses to the ball. As it would turn out, the young lady did in fact accept Mr. Jones’ proposal, wore four roses, and the rest is history. He named the distillery after this fondest of memories.
In 1922, Mr. Jones would acquire the Frankfort Distilling Company. Business was roaring in the 1930’s and the company caught the attention of Seagram, who would purchase the distillery. Instead of continuing on with the success of Four Roses in the United States, Seagram made the decision to pull the Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon from the shelves and move the product to Europe and Asia.
In 2002, Japanese firm Kirin Brewery Company purchased Four Roses and all of its facilities. Under the leadership of Master Distiller Jim Rutledge, a 2001 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame inductee, Four Roses would make its return to the US markets. Rutledge continued to be Master Distiller up until his retirement in 2015. As of today, Master Distiller and bourbon superstar on the rise, Brent Elliott, leads the Four Roses Distillery.
Four Roses is the only distillery that combines five proprietary yeast strains with two separate mashbills to produce 10 distinct and handcrafted Bourbon recipes, each with its own unique character, spiciness, and rich fruity flavors. Each recipe, like all Four Roses Bourbons, is carefully aged to be very smooth and mellow with a finish that's long and soft. From time to time, a limited number of exceptionally smooth and complex barrels from the 10 recipes present themselves to our Master Distiller. After a private tasting, a selection of barrels is bottled in limited quantities of 250 or less.
