Four Roses
A Kentucky straight bourbon brand distinguished by a ten-recipe production system and a long history of international distribution.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Four Roses is an American bourbon whiskey brand produced at the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and matured, bottled, and warehoused at facilities including the company's operation in Cox's Creek, Kentucky. The brand is associated with Kentucky straight bourbon and is especially recognized for making ten distinct bourbon recipes from two mash bills and five proprietary yeast strains. These recipes allow the distillery to produce a broad range of flavor profiles and to combine selected recipes for blended or small-batch expressions, while single-barrel releases showcase one recipe and one aging barrel at a time. The brand traces its commercial history to 1888, when Paul Jones Jr. is credited by the company with trademarking the Four Roses name. The origin of the name itself is not settled. The corporate account identifies Jones as the founder, while another historical explanation connects the name with Rufus Mathewson Rose, his brother Origen, and their two sons. Four Roses therefore has a documented late-nineteenth-century origin but an uncertain naming narrative. The Lawrenceburg distillery is housed in a Spanish Mission-style complex built in 1910. Originally known as the Old Prentice Distillery, the site is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Its architecture and continued use as a bourbon production site are important parts of the brand's identity. Aging and bottling operations are conducted at the company's Cox's Creek facility, giving Four Roses a production footprint that extends beyond the historic Lawrenceburg distillery. Four Roses changed ownership several times during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Seagram acquired the brand in 1943. Around the end of the 1950s, Seagram withdrew Four Roses straight bourbon from the United States and concentrated the brand's development in Europe and Asia. In the United States, the Four Roses name was subsequently associated for decades with a lower-tier blended whiskey rather than the Kentucky straight bourbon sold abroad. This created a significant difference between the brand's American and international identities. Straight bourbon returned to the United States after 1995. Ownership passed from Seagram to Vivendi/Universal in 1999, then through Pernod Ricard and Diageo in 2001, before Kirin Brewery acquired the brand in 2002. Kirin discontinued the blended-whiskey business and refocused Four Roses on Kentucky straight bourbon. Under Kirin, the brand developed a more premium and craft-oriented positioning, emphasizing recipe diversity, barrel selection, historic distilling facilities, and limited releases. Jim Rutledge served as master distiller from 1995 to 2015, following Ova Haney. Brent Elliott succeeded Rutledge in 2015 after working with him for approximately a decade. In 2019, Four Roses completed a major expansion begun in 2015 and introduced Small Batch Select, the first permanent addition to its core bourbon range in twelve years. The project increased production capacity at Lawrenceburg and expanded warehousing and bottling capability at Cox's Creek. Four Roses now operates as an internationally distributed bourbon brand with regular, single-barrel, small-batch, and limited-production offerings.
History
Four Roses' history combines a late-nineteenth-century brand origin, a historic Kentucky distillery, major changes in ownership, and a long period during which the brand's American and international products diverged. The company identifies Paul Jones Jr. as the founder and dates the Four Roses trademark to 1888. Jones also claimed that the whiskey had been produced and sold earlier, although the precise beginnings of the brand are difficult to establish. A competing explanation attributes the name to the Rose family, possibly honoring Rufus Mathewson Rose, his brother Origen, and their two sons. The company does not present that family explanation as its official origin story. The present Lawrenceburg production site was built in 1910 as the Old Prentice Distillery. Designed in a Spanish Mission style by Joseph & Joseph Architects, the complex later became the Four Roses Distillery and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site remains central to the brand's visual identity and production story. Four Roses also uses a warehouse and bottling facility in Cox's Creek, Kentucky, where bourbon is stored and prepared for distribution. Seagram acquired Four Roses in 1943. At the end of the 1950s, Seagram stopped selling Four Roses straight bourbon in the United States and shifted attention toward European and Asian markets. During the same broad period, the Four Roses name in the United States was used for a blended whiskey made largely with neutral grain spirits. As a result, American consumers encountered a product positioned below the Kentucky straight bourbon that continued to be sold internationally. The straight bourbon was not broadly restored to the United States until after 1995. The brand changed hands again in the period around the breakup and restructuring of Seagram. Ownership passed to Vivendi/Universal in 1999, then to Pernod Ricard and Diageo in 2001, and finally to Kirin Brewery in 2002. Kirin ended the blended-whiskey strategy and rebuilt Four Roses around Kentucky straight bourbon. This decision helped establish the modern brand as a premium bourbon producer rather than as a broad whiskey label with separate American and overseas identities. Four Roses' production model is based on two mash recipes and five yeast strains, producing ten distinct bourbon recipes. The distillery can combine these recipes for standard and small-batch products, while single-barrel releases use one recipe from one barrel. This system gives the brand a technical point of distinction and supports variation among its expressions without abandoning a consistent house style. Jim Rutledge was master distiller from 1995 through 2015. He was succeeded by Brent Elliott, a Kentucky native with a chemistry degree from the University of Kentucky who had worked alongside Rutledge for about ten years. In 2015, the company began an expansion program that culminated in 2019. The project added buildings, fermenters, and a new column still and doubler still at Lawrenceburg, while also investing in the Cox's Creek warehouse and bottling facility. The stated objective was to increase capacity from approximately four million to eight million proof gallons annually, sufficient to fill more than 130,000 barrels per year. The expansion coincided with the launch of Small Batch Select, the first permanent addition to the core range in twelve years. Today, Four Roses is a Kirin-owned Kentucky bourbon brand sold in the United States and several international markets. Its portfolio includes standard bourbon, small-batch bourbon, single-barrel bourbon, Japan-specific expressions, and limited-production commemorative releases. The brand's current identity rests on its historic Lawrenceburg distillery, ten-recipe production system, premium positioning, and the continued use of bourbon-focused craftsmanship as its central commercial message.
- 2019
Expansion completed and Small Batch Select launched
[1]Four Roses completed its Lawrenceburg and Cox's Creek expansion and introduced Small Batch Select as a permanent core expression.
- 2015
Brent Elliott becomes master distiller
[1]Brent Elliott succeeded Jim Rutledge as master distiller.
- 2002
Kirin acquires Four Roses
[1]Kirin Brewery purchased Four Roses and refocused the brand exclusively on Kentucky straight bourbon.
- 2001
Brand passes through Pernod Ricard and Diageo
[1]Ownership of Four Roses passed through Pernod Ricard and Diageo.
- 1999
Ownership passes to Vivendi/Universal
[1]Four Roses moved from Seagram to Vivendi/Universal during the restructuring of Seagram's assets.
- 1995
Straight bourbon returns to the United States
[1]Four Roses Kentucky straight bourbon became available again in the United States after 1995.
- 1959
Straight bourbon focus moves away from the United States
[1]Around the end of the 1950s, Seagram discontinued Four Roses straight bourbon sales in the United States and emphasized European and Asian markets.
- 1943
Seagram acquires Four Roses
[1]The Canadian distiller Seagram purchased the Four Roses brand.
- 1910
Old Prentice Distillery built
[1]The Spanish Mission-style distillery complex in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, was constructed and later became the Four Roses Distillery.
- 1888
Four Roses name trademarked
[1]The company identifies Paul Jones Jr. as having trademarked the Four Roses name. The exact origin of the name remains disputed.
Products and positioning
Premium Kentucky straight bourbon centered on recipe diversity, traditional distilling, historic facilities, barrel selection, and internationally recognized bourbon craftsmanship.
Kentucky straight bourbon
Four Roses Bourbon
The brand's standard bourbon expression, produced from the Four Roses system of two mash bills and five yeast strains. It is bottled at 80 U.S. proof and has been distributed in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.
Small-batch bourbon
Four Roses Small Batch
A small-batch expression made by blending selected bourbon recipes from the distillery's ten-recipe production system. It is bottled at 90 proof and has been sold in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Single-barrel bourbon
Four Roses Single Barrel
A bourbon bottled from an individual barrel rather than a blend of multiple barrels. The expression highlights the influence of a specific recipe, yeast strain, maturation location, and barrel. It is bottled at 100 proof and distributed across several international markets.
Small-batch bourbon · 2019
Four Roses Small Batch Select
Introduced in 2019, Small Batch Select was the first permanent addition to the core lineup in twelve years. It is aged for at least six years, bottled at 104 proof, and is non-chill-filtered. Its launch coincided with the completion of the brand's production expansion.
Bourbon
Four Roses Black
An 80-proof Four Roses expression associated primarily with the Japanese market.
Bourbon
Four Roses Super Premium
An 86-proof Four Roses expression sold in Japan.
Limited-edition bourbon
Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch
A family of commemorative and limited-production releases assembled from selected Four Roses bourbon recipes. These bottlings are often non-chill-filtered and may be released at barrel proof.
Brand decisions
2019
Launch Small Batch SelectProduct launchBackground
Four Roses completed its production expansion and had not added a permanent core bourbon expression for twelve years.
Action taken
The brand introduced Small Batch Select, a non-chill-filtered bourbon aged at least six years and bottled at 104 proof.
Aftermath
Small Batch Select became a permanent part of the core portfolio and broadened the range between standard small-batch and higher-proof specialty offerings.
2015
Begin distillery and warehousing expansionStrategyBackground
Four Roses needed additional production, aging, and bottling capacity as the bourbon business expanded.
Action taken
The company began an expansion program at the Lawrenceburg distillery and the Cox's Creek warehouse and bottling facility.
Aftermath
The project was completed in 2019 and was intended to double production capacity.
Expansion investment. (2015-2019)
2002
Kirin refocuses the brand on straight bourbonStrategyBackground
Kirin acquired Four Roses after a succession of ownership changes involving Seagram, Vivendi/Universal, Pernod Ricard, and Diageo.
Action taken
Kirin discontinued the blended-whiskey business and concentrated Four Roses on Kentucky straight bourbon.
Aftermath
Four Roses developed its modern premium-bourbon identity around recipe diversity, historic production, and specialty releases.
1959
Shift straight bourbon distribution toward Europe and AsiaStrategyBackground
Seagram sought to emphasize its blended-whiskey business in the United States and withdrew Four Roses straight bourbon from that market around the end of the 1950s.
Action taken
The brand's Kentucky straight bourbon was promoted primarily in European and Asian markets, while the Four Roses name was used on a blended whiskey in the United States.
Aftermath
The decision produced a long-lasting split between Four Roses' American and international identities. Straight bourbon returned to the United States after 1995.
Recent events
- 2019
Four Roses completes distillery and warehouse expansion[1]
Other
The brand completed an expansion project involving its Lawrenceburg distillery and Cox's Creek warehouse and bottling operation. The project was designed to double production capacity and included new still equipment, fermenters, and buildings.
- 2019
Four Roses launches Small Batch Select as a permanent core expression[1]
Product launch · Product generation
Small Batch Select was introduced alongside the completion of the expansion and became the first permanent addition to the brand's bourbon lineup in twelve years.
- 2019
Four Roses receives major international whiskey awards[1]
Other
Four Roses Small Batch and Four Roses Single Barrel received World Whiskies Awards gold medals for taste, while the 130th Anniversary 2018 Limited Edition Small Batch was recognized as World's Best Bourbon and Best Kentucky Bourbon.
- 2002
Kirin refocuses Four Roses on Kentucky straight bourbon[1]
M&A
After acquiring the brand, Kirin discontinued the Four Roses blended-whiskey business and concentrated the brand on Kentucky straight bourbon.
Sources2 sources
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