"There's no place like home — particularly, if it's your old Kentucky home. That's certainly the case if you're Four Roses Bourbon, once the preeminent Bourbon in the United States, which disappeared from the market 45 years ago. Four Roses made a grand homecoming in the Bourbon world when in 2002 it was re-introduced in Kentucky, quickly gaining a following and bringing back a Bluegrass success story.
But Four Roses is a belle who won't be kept down on the farm. In June of this year, reintroduction of the brand was expanded to its first new market outside the state, New York City. New Yorkers had their first opportunity to taste Four Roses Kentucky Bourbon at the Whiskey Live event held April 4 at Pier Sixty in Manhattan. Since then, demand for Four Roses products in New York City and surrounding areas have exceeded all expectations.
Now the Lawrenceburg distillery is determining the where and when of its next reintroduction, and Illinois, Texas, California and Colorado are all being considered.
At one time, from the 1930s through the 1950s, Four Roses Bourbon was the best-selling Bourbon in the country. In the 1950s, then-owner Seagram's Distilling Company pulled the Bourbon out of the U.S. market. While Four Roses disappeared from the American market, it continued to be a bestseller in Europe and became the #1 selling Bourbon in Japan.
A Japanese company, Kirin Brewery, bought Four Roses in 2002 and that same year brought it home, reintroducing the brand in the United States. Japanese executives of Four Roses, including current CEO Teruyuki Daino, showed their commitment by moving to Kentucky.
Every belle must have her beau, and Four Roses has hers in Jim Rutledge, master distiller and chief operating officer. Rutledge has 40 years of experience in the Bourbon-making business. His energy and enthusiasm for the growing success of Kentucky Four Roses Bourbon are contagious. It was in part due to his urging that Four Roses was reintroduced in Kentucky.
"We're on a roll," Rutledge said. The distillery is increasing barrel inventories to a level that would allow Four Roses to be introduced into other select markets. The company has seen double-digit growth every year since the 2002 reintroduction, which started with Four Roses Yellow, an 80-proof straight Bourbon whiskey. Next, the 100-proof, single-barrel, straight Bourbon whiskey was introduced in 2004. Whisky Magazine named Four Roses Single Barrel "Best American Whiskey Under 10 Years Old" in 2005. In 2006, Four Roses Small Batch was introduced at the Bourbon Festival in Kentucky and quickly sold out of its first bottling run.
Growth in the Bourbon industry has been fueled by growing demand for single-barrel and small-batch Bourbons, introduced by numerous distilleries in Kentucky, including Four Roses, Rutledge said. Whatever the reasons, Rutledge is pleased.
"I'm living a dream come true," Rutledge said. "I have loved every single day of my career. This is a people business, and the people here are great."
Rutledge started in the Bourbon-making business after graduation from the University of Louisville, where he majored in marketing and also studied chemistry. Both pursuits served him well in the Bourbon industry. He worked in research and development, marketing, manufacturing and sales before he was named master distiller at Four Roses in 1994.
Four Roses will celebrate Rutledge's 40-year anniversary in the industry by releasing its first limited edition Bourbon. Four Roses Barrel Strength Limited Edition Single Barrel will be introduced during the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival on September 14. Production will be limited to 1,700 bottles of the 13-year-old single barrel bourbon that is straight from the barrel and not chill filtered.
In addition, Four Roses will add to the momentum of this banner year by unveiling a new package design for Four Roses Yellow Label for the first time in a decade during the festival.
Rutledge is the only working master distiller of the three listed in the 40-year club. The other two are Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey and Parker Beam of Heaven Hill.
To be a master distiller, "you have to be pretty old," Rutledge joked. "You can't go to school and learn this. It takes time, learning and training." But, Rutledge added, "Passion is a big part of it."
It is also a matter of taste, Rutledge said. While there are devices that can measure parts per million in a beverage, the human senses can taste, smell and see in parts per billion.
Making great Bourbon is true science, he said. To be labeled as Bourbon, whiskey must contain natural grains of which at least 51 percent must be corn. Most Bourbons use about 10-percent rye, but Four Roses uses up to 35 percent. Four Roses has obtained grain from the same families for the past 45 years. Their rye comes from Canada, Sweden or Germany — wherever the best crop is for that year. Water to make the Bourbon comes from the spring-fed Salt River.
Four Roses also uses five proprietary yeasts and two mash bills to create 10 different flavors. A "mash bill" is the grain types and proportion of each used in a particular Bourbon's mash. In effect, it's the "recipe" for the Bourbon.
Four Roses Bourbons are often noted for their smooth and mellow taste. While many Bourbons are fermented in steel tanks, Four Roses mash spends time inside giant vats made from 150-year-old red cypress trees.
Four Roses has a history almost as old. In 1884, Paul Jones, Jr. opened an office in Louisville on a section of Main Street known as "Whiskey Row." He trademarked the name Four Roses, claiming production and sales back to the 1860s.
The name originated when Jones proposed to a beautiful Southern belle. He sent her a message asking her to wear a corsage of roses on her gown to the upcoming grand ball, if her answer was "yes." The night of the ball, she wore four red roses. Jones then named his Bourbon "Four Roses" as a symbol of his love for her.
Rutledge shares his love of all things Bourbon in his role as the Kentucky Bourbon Festival chairman, overseeing the five-day international event in Bardstown from Sept. 11-16. This marks the fourth consecutive year he has served as chair. Last year, the event drew 52,000 participants from 37 states and 13 countries. Expectations are for an even larger turnout this year.
He will also give a presentation on the history and process of making Kentucky Bourbon on Friday, Sept. 14, at The Four Roses Distillery. There will also be a tour of the historic distillery, built in 1911 in a unique Spanish mission-style architecture not often seen in Kentucky.
It's an opportunity to see why Kentucky is Bourbon's home, to hear Master Distiller Jim Rutledge and to become reacquainted with Four Roses.
The belle is back.