• Home
  • About This
  • Liquor Cabinet

Home Speakeasy

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Whiskey Trip part 3: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Our Man in Havana »

Whiskey Trip part 4: Four Roses Distillery

October 6, 2014 by Jon

Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-60

The final distillery we visited was Four Roses. I’ve been a fan of the Single Barrel for a while (and unsuccessfully tried to get my hands on the 2014 special release all year long), so this was another I was looking forward to. Somewhat disappointingly, Four Roses doesn’t age on-site, so we got to see the factory end with none of the sweet-smelling art portion of production.

Four Roses takes a somewhat different approach to aging than others. Unlike Buffalo Trace, who put the majority of their stock in where and how long the whiskey is aged, Four Roses produces 10 distinct distillates that are mixed after maturation. You can see the mix (which taste surprisingly different from one another in some cases) on the labels of the Single Barrel in the form of a 4-letter code (OESF, one of my favorites, for example).

They produce 2 different mashbills: E (75% corn, 20% rye, 5% barley) and B (60% corn, 35% rye, 5% barley). The “S” indicates the blend is a straight whiskey, and the final letter stands for one of 5 yeast strains Four Roses uses. Using the codes is a nice way to ensure the bottle you buy will taste just like the one you enjoyed last time.

This was the first distillery we visited that was actively working while we toured through, which was interesting. While it is fun to see in action, I have to say that seeing people eat a sandwich from a control booth while monitoring levels on screens takes a little of the magic out of the whole process.

Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-62

As the distillate is produced, it is shipped off in tanker trucks to the aging location to be barreled and aged in single-story rickhouses for consistency.

While it may not have been the most thrilling tour we went on, we did pick up a few fun facts along the way. The first of which being that the distillation process produces a chemical that turns the surrounding trees black. It’s harmless, but unmistakable, and was used during prohibition by agents looking for hidden stills. The other interesting fact that I didn’t know beforehand is that Bulleit, everyone’s favorite standby, doesn’t actually exist. For all the marketing and back-story, all their bourbon is Four Roses bourbon, and the rye comes from KDI in Indiana. purchased in bulk and bottled as their own. With the looming bourbon shortage, it is likely that Four Roses will cease bulk sales in order to keep their limited supply to themselves. With the mountains of money they must generate, I’m sure Bulleit will find a new source, but there are scenarios where the brand could simply vanish, or at the very least, taste completely different.

So, that was our trip. I have to say, it’s great to see where the stuff we love comes from. I’d even like to take a quick trip back down in the near future. Or perhaps the next trip should be to Scotland?

[Show as slideshow]
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-60b
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-61
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-62
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-63
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-64
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-65
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-66
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-67
Whiskey-Club-Bourbon-Trail-Trip-68

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • X
Share this post

Posted in Bourbon, Rye, Whiskey Club | Leave a Comment

  • Social

     Facebook Twitter Tumblr Foursquare Pinterest TasteSpotting RSS E-mail
  • Ingredients

    • Bar Reviews (10)
    • Base Liquors (98)
      • Blackstrap Rum (2)
      • Bourbon (20)
      • Brandy (9)
      • Canadian Whiskey (2)
      • Corn Whiskey (3)
      • Gin (15)
      • Irish Whiskey (6)
      • Mezcal (7)
      • Rhum Agrocole (2)
      • Rhum Barbancourt (2)
      • Rum (22)
      • Rye (12)
      • Scotch (12)
      • Single Malt (2)
      • Tequila (8)
      • Vodka (8)
    • Bitters & Tinctures (59)
      • Angostura (4)
      • Autumn Spice Bitters (2)
      • Aztec Chocolate Bitters (7)
      • Black Pepper Tincture (1)
      • Bolivar Bitters (1)
      • Burlesque Bitters (3)
      • Cardamom Bitters (1)
      • Celery Bitters (1)
      • Cinnamon Tincture (5)
      • Creole Bitters (1)
      • Jalapeno Tincture (1)
      • Jerry Thomas Bitters (1)
      • Lemon Clove Tincture (3)
      • Lime Bitters (2)
      • Mint Tincture (2)
      • Molasses Bitters (3)
      • Orange Bitters (6)
      • Peychaud (3)
      • Plum Bitters (1)
      • Rhubarb Bitters (4)
      • Rosemary Tincture (1)
      • Shoofly Bitters (1)
      • Whiskey Barrel Bitters (5)
      • Wormwood Bitters (1)
    • Giveaways (2)
    • Miscellany (22)
    • Other Ingredients (27)
      • Apple Cider Vinegar (1)
      • Beer (3)
      • Cantaloupe (1)
      • Cider (2)
      • Coconut Cream (1)
      • Condensed Milk (1)
      • Egg White (6)
      • Grapefruit Juice (1)
      • Heavy Cream (3)
      • Ice (1)
      • Maraschino Cherries (3)
      • Peaches (1)
      • Peppermint Tea (1)
      • Pineapple Juice (1)
      • Rosewater (1)
      • Strawberries (1)
      • Watermelon Juice (1)
      • Whole Egg (1)
    • Reviews (1)
    • Secondary Liquors (73)
      • Absinthe (6)
      • Akvavit (1)
      • Amaretto (1)
      • Amaro Abano (2)
      • Amaro Montenegro (1)
      • Aperol (3)
      • Apple Brandy (3)
      • Applejack (4)
      • Apricot Liqueur (3)
      • Armagnac (1)
      • Becherovka (3)
      • Benedictine (8)
      • Blue Curacao (1)
      • Cachaça (1)
      • Calvados (2)
      • Cherry Heering (4)
      • Creme de Cacao (3)
      • Creme de Cassis (1)
      • Creme de Violette (4)
      • Creme Yvette (2)
      • Domaine de Canton (4)
      • Frangelico (3)
      • Getreide Kummel (2)
      • Grand Marnier (3)
      • Green Chartreuse (2)
      • Grenadine (4)
      • Herbsaint (1)
      • Limoncello (3)
      • Luxardo (6)
      • Orange Curacao (1)
      • Pama (1)
      • Pimento Dram (1)
      • Pimm's (1)
      • Ramazzotti (2)
      • Rhuby (8)
      • Root Liquor (4)
      • Sage (3)
      • Snap (3)
      • Spodee (4)
      • St Germain (9)
      • Strega (3)
      • Vermouth (6)
      • Walnut Liqueur (2)
    • Syrups & Shrubs (45)
      • Apple Cinnamon Syrup (1)
      • Apple Clove Shrub (1)
      • Bell Pepper Syrup (1)
      • Blackberry Jalapeno (1)
      • Burnt Peach Syrup (1)
      • Chai Syrup (2)
      • Corn Syrup (1)
      • Cranberry Brown Sugar Syrup (1)
      • Earl Grey Syrup (4)
      • Falernum (3)
      • Ginger Syrup (4)
      • Grapefruit Clove Syrup (1)
      • Honey Syrup (9)
      • Mango Lime Shrub (1)
      • Mint Cinnamon Syrup (1)
      • Orgeat (2)
      • Passion Fruit Syrup (3)
      • Pear Vanilla Shrub (2)
      • Pineapple Basil Shrub (1)
      • Raspberry Syrup (2)
      • Raspberry Vanilla Syrup (2)
      • Spicy Peanut Syrup (1)
      • Strawberry Basil Syrup (3)
      • Strawberry Mint Syrup (2)
      • Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup (2)
      • Sweet Potato Shrub (3)
      • Vanilla Pumpkin Syrup (2)
      • Vanilla Syrup (2)
    • Whiskey Club (10)
    • Whiskey Reviews (3)
  • Booze Links

    • 12 Bottle Bar
    • A Mountain of Crushed Ice
    • Bridges, Burgers and Beer
    • Drink Philly
    • Drink Up Columbus
    • Foobooz
    • Imbibe Magazine
    • In Search of Beer
    • Inu A Kena
    • Liquor.com
    • Phoodie
    • Shake, Strain and Sip
    • TasteSpotting
    • The Drink Nation
    • Whisky Business
  • Sites We Like

    • Cleaning Plates
    • Federal Donuts
    • Fried Wontons For You
    • Joy the Baker
    • Married to a Meat Eater
    • Meal Ticket
    • Show + Tell
    • The Busty Baker
    • The Cozy Herbivore
    • This Is a Hot Jam
    • Why'd You Eat That?
    • Zen and Potatoes
  • Archive

    • May 2015 (2)
    • April 2015 (1)
    • February 2015 (1)
    • November 2014 (1)
    • October 2014 (3)
    • July 2014 (1)
    • June 2014 (3)
    • April 2014 (1)
    • February 2014 (1)
    • January 2014 (1)
    • March 2013 (1)
    • February 2013 (5)
    • January 2013 (1)
    • December 2012 (1)
    • November 2012 (3)
    • August 2012 (2)
    • June 2012 (4)
    • May 2012 (3)
    • April 2012 (5)
    • March 2012 (6)
    • February 2012 (3)
    • January 2012 (5)
    • December 2011 (4)
    • November 2011 (12)
    • October 2011 (13)
    • September 2011 (11)
    • August 2011 (13)
    • July 2011 (13)
    • June 2011 (2)
    • May 2011 (8)
    • April 2011 (6)
  • All images © Jen Killius

    All recipes belong to nobody and we encourage anyone to try them, unless you're making money off it, in which case it'd be a pretty dick move to just pretend you made it up yourself without so much as a nod to the source material.

Get a free blog at WordPress.com

Theme: MistyLook by Sadish.