Episode 117: Four Roses Bourbon

Episode 117 features Four Roses. Bottled in 750ml at 40% ABV, or 80 proof and it retails for about $25.

Enjoy this episode with a pour of Four Roses however you like.

Four Roses official website: https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com/

Brief Historical Timeline:

1860s - Paul Jones Sr. and Paul Jones Jr. get into the whiskey business in Atlanta, Georgia
1883 - Paul Jones Jr. moves to Louisville, Kentucky and builds his whiskey business there.
1888 - The brand of Four Roses is founded with a legend of a southern belle and a corsage of four red roses.
1894 - Paul Jones Jr. makes his nephews Lawrence Lavelle Jones and Saunders Paul equal partners in the Paul Jones Company.
1895 - Paul Jones Jr. dies.
Circa 1910 - Lawrence buys his brother Saunders out of the business
1922 - Lawrence buys the Frankfort Distilling Company during Prohibition and securing a rare license to sell whiskey for "Medicinal Purposes Only."
1941 - Lawrence dies, leaving the company to heirs would almost immediately sell it.
1943 - Seagrams headed by Samuel Bronfman purchases Four Roses and Frankfort Distilling Company for $42 million.
1950s - Seagrams converts Four Roses to a blended whiskey for the US market, reserving straight bourbon versions for export markets.
1990s - Master Distiller Jim Rutledge convinces Seagrams to bring the straight bourbon back to the USA, in Kentucky only.
2001 - Seagrams goes bankrupt and the beverage alcohol brands are sold off. Kirin Brewery Company, Ltd., Four Roses' Japanese distributor buys the brand.
2002 - Four Roses Straight Bourbon Whiskey is bak on US shelves.
2015 - Brent Elliott is named Master Distiller and a $55 million expansion of the distillery begins.
2019 - Distillery expansion is complete, doubling capacity to 130,000 barrels a year.

Key Cocktails:

Drink Four Roses as you like, it mixes well in any cocktail calling for bourbon.

References:

Wikipedia Article on Four Roses

Wikipedia Article on the Language of Flowers

Wikipedia Article on the Pure Food and Drug Act

Wikipedia Article on V-J Day in Times Square

Four Roses History Article

Four Roses History Article on SippingHistory.com

Difford's Guide Listing for Four Roses

Contact Information:

Official show website is: www.liquorandliqueurconnoisseur.com