Four Roses

We have had a special relationship with Four Roses Distillery for many years. During the infancy of our spirits program their former Master Distiller Jim Rutledge acted as our Sherpa and moved mountains to guide us to some of the finest single barrel whiskeys in the rack houses. The program has grown beyond our wildest imagination, thanks to you, and we continue to be inspired by the unique character from the Four Roses stable of offerings. Thus, our spirits buyers continue to make the annual pilgrimage to the Four Roses Distillery in Kentucky to select barrels for our private selection program. These days the guidance comes from the likes of Master Distiller Brent Elliott and Distillery Manager Emeritus/Four Roses Historian Al Young (who has been with the company for more than 50 years.)

What makes Four Roses so unique is the ten different mash bills produced by the distillery. The single barrels are produced from just one of these recipes. We have, in the past, managed to get our hands on all 10 recipes at once, though there are a few that are widely used in Four Roses core bottlings so they remain elusive on the single barrel market.

Four Roses uses two different grain bills, designated by a "B" or "E" in their recipe code, and have five propriety yeast strains designated by the letters "F, K, O, Q, or V." For example the recipe OBSF is a bourbon produced at their distillery (O for Originally produced at Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, KY) with the B grain bill (60% Corn, 35% Rye, 5% Malted Barley) and is a Straight Whiskey (S) made with the F yeast strain. Each yeast strain offers a different general character description to what’s in your glass, and we’ve found that many folks enjoy trying a variety of these cask strength bottlings.

The barrels are chosen between 8 – 12 years aged, and that depends entirely on the folks at Four Roses agreeing that the spirit is ready to drink.

Take a look at what we have currently available below.