Four Roses Distillery, bourbon whiskey

Four Roses Distillery

Four Roses

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Four Roses Bourbon whiskey
Four Roses
Type	Bourbon whiskey
Manufacturer	Kirin Brewery Company
Country of origin	Kentucky, United States
Introduced	1888
Alcohol by volume	43.00%
Proof	86

Four Roses is a bourbon whiskey brand owned by the Kirin Brewery Company of Japanand was established in 1888. The trademark was probably named for company founder Rufus Mathewson Rose, his brother Origen, and their two sons,^[1] although it is somewhat unclear, as several different stories are told about where the name Four Roses comes from.^[2] The Lawrenceburg, Kentucky distillery was built in 1910 in Spanish Mission-style architecture and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Products

Four Roses distills ten separate bourbons using two mash recipes and five yeast strains. From combining these ten bourbons the Four Roses distillery creates the standard "yellow label" expression. Single Barrel is made with only one of those ten bourbons. The others are made with combinations of two or more of the ten. They are:

Four Roses Yellow Label 80°: Sold in U.S., Europe, and Japan
Four Roses Small Batch 90°: Sold in U.S., Europe, and Japan
Four Roses Single Barrel 100°: Sold in U.S., Europe, and Japan
Four Roses Single Barrel 86°: Sold only in Europe
Four Roses Super Premium 86°: Sold only in Japan
Four Roses Black Label 80°: Sold only in Japan
Four Roses Marriage Collection 100°: Introduced in 2008 (produced only seasonly)

Four Roses Super-Premium Small Batch Bourbon

Special and Limited Edition Releases

In September 2007 Four Roses released a limited edition barrel proof bottle celebrating master distiller Jim Rutledge's 40 years in the industry. This release was limited to 1,442 bottles, and was unfiltered and uncut. Each bottle was hand numbered in gold paint and labeled detailing the barrel number, warehouse number, and percent of alcohol by volume for that barrel. Because this is a barrel strength release, alcohol content ranges between roughly 98 and 110 proof.

Following the success of the 40th Anniversary bottle Four Roses released another limited edition bottle celebrating the 120th anniversary of the trademark of the Four Roses name. This release was scheduled for May 2008, and consisted of approximately 2,238 commemorative bottles. The age of the whiskey will be approximately 12 years, and will also be uncut and unfiltered. Alcohol content will range between roughly 103 and 116 proof.^[3]

During the September 2008 Kentucky Bourbon Festival Four Roses announced the release of the 2008 Four Roses Marriage Collection. With barrels selected by the master distiller, the limited-edition small batch bourbon marries two separate flavors (aged approximately 10 and 13 years respectively) of Four Roses in a barrel proof release of about 3,500 bottles. This release is scheduled to be the first of a series of small batch releases.^[4]