Today we move from Bardstown to Lexington. In the rain… We began with a drivers meeting. In the rain…
We hitched up in the rain and we drove in the rain. We even stopped along the way in the rain…
We appreciated their attitude…
We were able to do a tasting on the outside gazebo. Did I mention it was raining?
It was very interesting. I doubt that I had ever tasted much Four Roses, but I had read a little about their process, so we were eager to find out what it was all about…
Our tasting guide told us about the history of Four Roses; she told us that the founder was Paul Jones, Jr. The brand name was trademarked in 1888 by Jones, who claimed it had been produced and sold as early as the 1860s. The Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, distillery was built in 1910 in Spanish Mission-style architecture, where we are today, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The brand was purchased by Seagram in 1943. It was the top selling brand of bourbon in the United States in the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Around the end of the 1950s, with the rising popularity of gin and vodka, Seagram decided to discontinue the sale of Four Roses Bourbon within the United States. Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon marketing was shifted to Europe and Asia, which were rapidly growing markets at the time. In these markets it quickly became the top selling bourbon. In the United States, during this period, the Four Roses name was used on a blended whiskey, made mostly of neutral grain spirits and commonly seen as a sub-par “rotgut” brand. Four Roses continued to be unavailable as a straight bourbon in the US market for more than forty years until the brand ownership changed in 2002 after Seagram was purchased by Vivendi, who then sold most of their brands to Diageo, which sold the Four Roses brand to Kirin, who discontinued the sale of the “rotgut” blended whiskey; Kirin reintroduced Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey to the US market. And here we are today.
Four Roses uses two different mash bills, using about 60% corn and up to 35% rye, a very high percentage. They also ferment the mash separately using five different yeasts; each yeast gives off a different aroma and flavor – spicy, herbal, floral, and fruity. So they end up with barrels containing 10 different bourbons. Another thing that Four Roses does differently than the other distilleries is how they age their barrels of whiskey: Their barrel houses are one story only, 6 barrels high. (Other distilleries have 7 story barrel houses, with each story having three barrels high; So the difference is between 6 barrels tall and 21 barrels tall. Four Roses claims they get better, more consistent aging using this configuration…
Their main product, Kentucky Straight Bourbon, uses all 10 recipes; we tasted it and were not very impressed, but it wasn’t bad.
We then tasted the Small Batch Bourbon; it uses four of the recipes blended to get their particular taste profile. It was quite good, with a nice sweet nose and a smooth finish.
The third taste we had was their premium bottling, Small Batch Select, which uses six of the recipes. Maybe it was us, or the rain, or whatever, but it did not impress us at all.
They also make a single barrel bourbon, which we did not taste…
So we learned a lot and we continued our journey… We are now in the Lexington area, all green horse pastures, trees, and stately houses – Kentucky Bluegrass!
Our campground is at the Kentucky Horse Park, a huge complex with a huge museum, displays, and everything horse. We will tour here is a few days…
The caravaners were busy at work setting up their Airstreams. It finally stopped raining…
Also joining us at this campground, and at our Kentucky Derby party tomorrow, is the local Kentucky Airstream Club. They joined us for a pizza dinner in the Pavilion…
We walked the park a little bit. Lynda did some Laundry and I attended to some computer business. We were tired, and turned in early…
And an enjoyable time was had by all…
Adventures in the Villa 