Four Roses

Type: Distillery and brand

In 1959, Four Roses turned towards export markets, with Japan its principal focus. American drinkers knew the name, but the whiskey sold to them became a blend while the straight bourbon went overseas.[5][12] That split, and the bourbon’s eventual return, is central to the story of this Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, distillery.

Today, Four Roses is known for a different kind of distinction: two grain recipes combined with five proprietary yeast strains to make ten bourbon recipes.[2][8]

What makes Four Roses distinctive

Ten recipes sit behind the Four Roses name. The starting point is the mash bill, the grain recipe used to make whiskey. One contains 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% barley; the other contains 75% corn, 20% rye and 5% barley. Each can be fermented with one of five proprietary yeast strains, identified as V, K, O, Q and F.[2]

Here, yeast is part of a recipe’s identity, not an anonymous production ingredient. Four Roses gives the resulting bourbons four-letter codes, including OBSV and OESF.[2][11] Those letters offer a precise way into the range: follow the named expression, its grain recipe where disclosed, and its yeast code.

The distillery itself is equally distinctive. Its Spanish Mission architecture, dating from 1910, is unusual in Kentucky. Joseph and Joseph designed both the original building and the later expansion.[6][7] Four Roses also reports that the distillery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[6]

Two mash bills, five yeasts, ten recipes

Each Four Roses recipe code has four positions. The initial O identifies the distillery; the second letter identifies mash bill B or E; S stands for straight; and the final letter identifies the yeast strain.[2]

That makes a label such as OBSV useful rather than cryptic. Four Roses identifies its core Single Barrel expression with this code, giving readers a production detail beyond “single barrel”.[2] Anthology Chapter One: Origin, by contrast, was identified as OBSF, another expression described through the same recipe language.[11]

Read these codes as a guide to production choices, rather than as tasting notes. They identify the components Four Roses distinguishes; they do not, by themselves, describe how a recipe tastes.

From fermentation to Cox’s Creek

Salt River water begins the process, followed by a fermentation lasting at least three days, according to Four Roses. The producer gives a spirit strength of about 66% ABV (132 US proof) after the column still, rising to about 69 to 70% ABV (138 to 140 US proof) after the doubler, a second distillation vessel.[2][6]

The spirit enters barrels at 60% ABV (120 US proof). Four Roses specifies barrels of about 200 litres (53 US gallons).[2] These figures describe production, rather than the bottling strengths of the finished range.

Maturation and bottling take place at Cox’s Creek, where Four Roses uses single-storey warehouses fitted with racks.[1][2][6] The producer says temperatures vary by about 4.4°C (8°F), compared with differences of up to about 16.7°C (30°F) in taller warehouses. Those figures are Four Roses’ explanation of its warehouse approach, rather than an independently measured comparison.[2][6]

The name, the founder and the legend

Paul Jones Jr. trademarked Four Roses in 1888, claiming production and sales reaching back to the 1860s.[1][5] The distinction matters: 1888 is the documented trademark year, not an established first year of distillation.

Jones was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1840 and moved to Atlanta after the Civil War. In 1884 he moved his business to Louisville’s Whiskey Row, where the producer records an office at 136 East Main Street.[1][4][5]

The story of the name is more romantic, though less firmly rooted in the historical record.

Story box: A trademark and a corsage

Verdict: Legend

Claim: Four Roses was named after four red roses worn to accept Paul Jones Jr.’s proposal. The producer introduces the story with “Legend has it”. The supplied sources do not substantiate the proposal as the historical origin of the name, and the earliest telling remains unestablished.[3][4]

Last checked: November 2026; the day is not established in the supplied record.

How American Four Roses became a different whiskey

Verdict: Disputed

Claim: A transaction joined the Paul Jones Company and Frankfort Distilling in 1922, but producer accounts disagree about who bought whom. One says the Paul Jones Company bought Frankfort Distilling; another says Frankfort Distilling bought the Paul Jones Company. The direction remains unresolved.[4][5]

Earliest known source: Not established in the supplied record. Sources: Bourbon Heritage Month and Celebrate National Bourbon Day with the Whole Family. Checked November 2026; the day is not established.

Seagram bought Frankfort Distilling in 1943, principally to acquire the Four Roses name, according to the producer’s history.[5] Four Roses was a leading American seller from the 1930s into the 1950s. Seagram subsequently withdrew its straight bourbon from the United States and directed it towards Europe and Asia.[1][5]

VinePair dates the export shift to 1959, with Japan the principal focus. In America, Four Roses became a blended whiskey made in Indiana and Maryland. Lawrenceburg, meanwhile, mainly produced blending whiskey for Seagram’s Seven Crown, Crown Royal and Seagram VO.[12]

The same name could therefore mean substantially different whiskeys to American and overseas drinkers. Bringing Four Roses bourbon back to America would be much more than a change of packaging.

Jim Rutledge became Master Distiller in 1995, succeeding Ova Haney.[1] VinePair records that Seagram threatened to dismiss the distillery staff over new make quality in 1995. It also reports the first four rated distillate in more than three years in January 1995; the record does not establish when during that year the threat occurred.[12]

By 1999, Four Roses Single Barrel was being sold in 20 states.[12]

Verdict: Documented

Claim: In January 2002, Kirin and Four Roses executives spent a week at Lawrenceburg and accepted Rutledge’s plan to drop the blend and sell the bourbon in America. VinePair records the visit and the plan’s acceptance. Kirin bought the trademark and production facilities in February.[1][5][12]

Evidence gap: The earliest source of this account is not established in the supplied record. Source: Jim Rutledge on 60 Years in Bourbon, publication date not established in the sheet. Checked November 2026; the day is not established.

A production and ownership timeline

Elliott, an Owensboro native, joined Four Roses in 2005 and remains Master Distiller under Gallo.[8][10] The ownership change brought continuity in that role, rather than a new appointment.

Reading the core range

Four Roses publishes maturation information for each of its named core expressions. The figures below are the producer’s stated ages or age ranges; they do not mean that every bottle carries an age statement.[2]

Small Batch Select joined the permanent range in spring 2019, the first permanent extension since 2006.[10] Its published age range overlaps with Small Batch’s, a clear reminder that age alone does not identify an expression. The recipe system gives readers another production detail to follow alongside those maturation figures.

Common misconceptions

• “Four Roses has always been straight bourbon in America.” For decades, the familiar name appeared on an American blended whiskey instead.[12]
• “Four Roses is still Japanese-owned.” That describes the Kirin period. Gallo announced completion of its acquisition in April 2026.[8]
• “Four Roses uses one recipe.” Behind the single brand name are two mash bills, five yeasts and ten deliberately differentiated recipes.[2]

Where to go next

• Maker's Mark: explore another Kentucky distillery and brand.
• Wild Turkey: read another American distillery profile.
• Woodford Reserve: continue through the Kentucky reference pages.

Sources

1. Four Roses, producer’s account. Heritage. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com/heritage
2. Four Roses, producer’s account. Our Process. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com/our-process
3. Four Roses, producer’s account. History of the Four Roses Legend. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com/blog/history-of-the-four-roses-legend
4. Four Roses, producer’s account. Bourbon Heritage Month. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com/blog/bourbon-heritage-month-3
5. Four Roses, producer’s account. Celebrate National Bourbon Day with the Whole Family. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com/blog/celebrate-national-bourbon-day-with-the-whole-family
6. Four Roses, producer’s account. Virtual Tour. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com/blog/virtual-tour
7. American Whiskey Magazine, trade publication. New Four Roses Visitor Center. December 2021, as dated in the supplied fact sheet. https://www.americanwhiskeymag.com/articles/new-four-roses-visitor-center/
8. E. and J. Gallo, owner’s account. Gallo Completes Acquisition of Four Roses Bourbon from Kirin Holdings. 2 April 2026. https://www.gallo.com/press/2026-04-02-gallo-completes-acquisition-of-four-roses-bourbon-from-kirin-holdings
9. Kentucky Distillers’ Association, industry body. Four Roses Brent Elliott Named Master Distiller of the Year. February 2020, as dated in the supplied fact sheet. https://kybourbon.com/industry-news/four-roses-brent-elliott-named-master-distiller-of-the-year/
10. WFXR via Cision, producer’s release. Four Roses Distillery Anthology release (correction). June 2026. https://www.wfxrtv.com/business/press-releases/cision/20260602PH73818/c-o-r-r-e-c-t-i-o-n-four-roses-distillery
11. VinePair, trade publication. Jim Rutledge on 60 Years in Bourbon. Web edition; publication year not established in the supplied fact sheet. https://vinepair.com/articles/jim-rutledge-reflects-on-60-years-in-bourbon/

This desk-researched article uses verified fact sheet TOP-A289, keeping producer histories, the owner’s announcement and trade reporting separately attributed.

Last checked: November 2026