Four Roses Distillery - Lawrenceburg, KY

When drinking whiskey, I used to be strictly a scotch man. But after being subjected to a steady stream of bourbon at virtually every LTH event I’ve attended this past year, I have to say that I was born again. A happy new beginning for my drinking career. I found that if I was to drink a whiskey, 9 times out of 10, I would prefer to be drinking bourbon over scotch even though that to this day, I heartily believe that bourbon can’t hold a candle to the complexities and nuances of a great scotch. I’ve always considered any alcoholic beverage with any notable sugar content to be intrinsically inferior to its not-so-sweet counterpart.
Needless to say, I’ve become extremely happy to have seen the light with bourbons (testify).
This newfound love was the impetus for our desire to visit just one of the many bourbon distilleries in the great state of Kentucky, creating a trifecta of Kentucky offerings: bourbon, country ham, and BBQ. After researching our options through a wonderful online bourbon site called straightbourbon.com, we decided to visit the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. It seemed to me that many of the bourbon aficionados on that site have a high regard for the Four Roses Single Barrel whiskey and since it isn’t exported anywhere outside Kentucky within the U.S, we unfortunately had not had a chance to try it. Four Roses, courtesy of Kirin Brewing Company, export the stuff like crazy all over Asia and Europe but for some reason or another hasn’t got their act together to provide it to their numerous domestic fans within the United States.

The following photos were taken at Four Roses on a private tour (private only because no one else was there). On this day, it certainly appeared that the Four Roses distillery is not on the tourist radar.
















I don’t have any other distilleries in Kentucky to compare this experience to but I will say that this is a first rate operation in every way. The facility top to bottom is immaculately clean and the tour was extremely informative about the procedure to making bourbon as well as telling us about the history of Four Roses. If you’re one who enjoys getting off the beaten path, I highly recommend this tour if you’re ever in the area.

Four Roses Distillery
1224 Bonds Mill Road
Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
Phone: (502) 839-3436
http://www.fourroses.us


Edited for photographic spacing to aid our elderly viewers

So what's it smell like when it's mashing or whatever it does in those big tanks?

Great pics, by the way, on this whole trip. Very atmospheric.

I personally love the smell. It smells like a brewery--those tanks are full of yeasts devouring sugar. That's how I'd describe it though...deeply yeasty.

It seemed to me that many of the bourbon aficionados on that site have a high regard for the Four Roses Single Barrel whiskey and since it isn’t exported anywhere outside Kentucky within the U.S, we unfortunately had not had a chance to try it.

Were you able to pick up a bottle or ....

I have become more interested in bourbons of late. I'm going to pick up a few bottles on my way through KY next month.

Mike G wrote:So what's it smell like when it's mashing or whatever it does in those big tanks?

From the time you get out of your car in their parking lot, you can easily pick up the very pleasant and strong aromas which are extremely similar to the hoppy smell you get at any brewery, however much more intense and sweet. If I'm not mistaken, it should smell pretty much the same since it is nothing more than the fermentation of 51%+ corn along with rye, and barley, and sometimes wheat.

It's an aroma that puts on smile your face.