D&M California ‘Producer Spotlight – Four Roses Bourbon’ – American Whiskey News
A BOUQUET OF DELICIOUS “ROSES”
Based in Lawrenceburg Kentucky, Four Roses Distillery is one of America’s oldest and most historic bourbon producers dating back to the late 19th century with the name trademarked way back in 1888. Over the decades, Four Roses changed owners, survived Prohibition by selling medicinal whiskey and rebounded through the 20th century after the end of prohibition. In 2002 the brand was purchased by Kirin Brewery company out of Japan and, just last week, ownership changed once again when it was acquired by Gallo Winery, which asserts its intention to maintain the overall focus on quality bourbon production that has earned the distillery its stellar reputation.
One of the main things that sets Four Roses apart in the world of bourbon is its unique approach to recipe variation and blending. The distillery produces ten distinct bourbon recipes by combining two mash bills — one higher in rye and one lower — with five proprietary yeast strains. Each recipe is encoded with a four-letter code, and these are aged in new charred American oak barrels for at least five years before bottling. The letter codes on the tag of each bottle tell you what yeast strain, recipe, and aging location were used.
