Four Roses Fantasy

[whiskeyagonzo]

This may have been thought of before now but I am going to let it fly anyway.

I was sitting here thinking about rye whiskey and the thought struck me. Wouldn't it be great if FR made rye as well. Same yeasts and same recipes except the corn and rye would be switched. I just know how happy I have been with my FR purchases and got to day dreaming about how good they could make a rye. Oh well, probably just a pipe dream but a guy can dream can't he? :-)

[squire]

Why not, they have in the past.

[KySalesRep]

I have had this same dream! I keep asking the guys at the gift shop about them producing a rye and they tell me Mr Rutledge wants to, be the powers that be won't let him. I guess we will have to dream, for now...

[Restaurant man]

I have had this same dream! I keep asking the guys at the gift shop about them producing a rye and they tell me Mr Rutledge wants to, be the powers that be won't let him. I guess we will have to dream, for now...

I think his response to me when u asked him about a rye was, "not while I'm around"

But the day will eventually come I'm sure

[jcg9779]

I have had this same dream! I keep asking the guys at the gift shop about them producing a rye and they tell me Mr Rutledge wants to, be the powers that be won't let him. I guess we will have to dream, for now...

I've heard something similar as well.

[theglobalguy]

Unless its a pure increase and not taking away from current production, no thanks. Curious about the flavor profile, but not enough to risk what they have going on.

[PaulO]

I've wondered about them making a wheated bourbon. :grin:

[whiskeyagonzo]

Unless its a pure increase and not taking away from current production, no thanks. Curious about the flavor profile, but not enough to risk what they have going on.

Yes I definitely don't want the current production disrupted. There current stuff is too good to mess with. I'm just a shameless rye whore sometimes. ;-)

[Kyjd75]

I'm pretty confident that the folks running the place want to do a rye but are having trouble persuading their foreign owners that it is a good idea. In fact, wouldn't be surprised if there isn't some rye already lurking somewhere in one of their rickhouses.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

I'm pretty confident that the folks running the place want to do a rye but are having trouble persuading their foreign owners that it is a good idea. In fact, wouldn't be surprised if there isn't some rye already lurking somewhere in one of their rickhouses.

We asked this question during our barrel selection. As the story goes, the answer given from japanese ownership was "our mission statement says we make bourbon whiskey, not rye whiskey"

[zillah]

Maybe I can add an interesting morsel here from the man himself. Over at reddit.com/r/bourbon, we sent a Q&A to him earlier this year (I think?) and one of the questions was "Why not rye whiskey?" Here is the answer:

We could add 16% rye grain to our OB mashbill - and reduce the corn by that percentage - and have a straight rye whiskey. As an interesting option we could also use our “K” yeast, which generates spicy flavors. Another option might be a 90% +/- rye mashbill using “O” yeast which generates a rich and full-bodied fruity flavor, or.... Hopefully, we can begin distilling a straight rye before I retire, but even if this were to come to fruition the first barrel may not be dumped for bottling while I’m still master distiller. I believe rye takes longer to fully mature relative to Bourbon. So, if we started production of a straight rye in 2013 you would not see it in a bottle until 2020 or later. We won’t take any short cuts.

[petrel800]

Maybe I can add an interesting morsel here from the man himself. Over at reddit.com/r/bourbon, we sent a Q&A to him earlier this year (I think?) and one of the questions was "Why not rye whiskey?" Here is the answer:

A rye with the K yeast would be a spicy explosion, that would be awesome. I'd love to see 4R expand their operations, they're by far my favorite of the distillers.

[theglobalguy]

We asked this question during our barrel selection. As the story goes, the answer given from japanese ownership was "our mission statement says we make bourbon whiskey, not rye whiskey"

May have to do with taste of customers in Japan, or strict ownership style (i.e. don't wander off path).

[squire]

Wait a minute. If it only takes an additional 16% to get to 51% then the current mashbill is 35% rye.

Edited July 26, 2013 by squire

[tanstaafl2]

Wait a minute. If it only takes an additional 16% to get to 51% then the current mashbill is 35% rye . . . that must be the 1792.

All of the OB mashbills of FR bourbon have a rye content of 35% from the Yellow Label on up!

[tanstaafl2]

All of the OB mashbills of FR bourbon have a rye content of 35% from the Yellow Label on up!

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That should be the standard single barrel and up. The yellow label is a blend of all 10 and so has less rye overall.

[squire]

You guys are right so I edited my post. When I read OB I immediately thought Old Barton (a logical conclusion) and confused the distillerys . . . silly me.

[mbroo5880i]

Maybe I can add an interesting morsel here from the man himself. Over at reddit.com/r/bourbon, we sent a Q&A to him earlier this year (I think?) and one of the questions was "Why not rye whiskey?" Here is the answer:

That is an interesting Q&A. Thanks for sharing! I understand that they are one of the smaller majors (as far as bourbon) and that U.S. sales are a fraction of sales in Japan but I think they could really explode if they expand offerings in the U.S. Of course, quality at an affordable price is better than quantity that might result in a lower quality product at a higher price. I can't argue with their business model.