Four roses cult following here

[flahute]

We'l keep working on the fox.....we'll bring him over some day.

[393foureyedfox]

We'l keep working on the fox.....we'll bring him over some day.

until then, please forward all unwanted Dickel 9 this way.........

[upStomp]

I think, perhaps, the name is helping to keep this stuff well stocked and available for us cultists to pick up whenever we want. If it was called "Super Manly Hipster Hooch", there would probably be waiting lists. :grin:

[dcbt]

I have never even tried any 4R product. I gravitate towards wheaters and low-rye or traditional mash bills and really dislike rye whiskey. Given the Four Roses mash bills, I've always hesitated shelling out the cash for bottles of SmB and SB to test what may be undrinkable to me. (And the YL at 80 proof isn't something I'd ever consider.) I'd like to do a side-by-side of the two just to sample, so hopefully I find myself at a well-stocked bar at some point.

[bingstein]

I've gotten to the point where a FR private barrel is all I need from a bourbon 99% of the time. Sometimes I get a hankering for a wheater and pull out an ORVW or Weller 12, sometimes George T. Stagg is the only thing that will scratch my itch, and I'll always have a soft spot for some dusty Wild Turkey. But, across the board, Four Roses holds a special place in my heart as the bourbon that really retarded by unrelenting need to acquire every limited release I could get my hands on. I'll be chasing my standard GTS and the LE FRs this fall, but only to get my hands on 1-2 bottles. There is simply no need for the stress when FR is cranking out what they're cranking out.

[Quantum]

When I say "floral," I mean that sometimes my tongue gets the impression I just walked into a room where someone sprayed air freshener or perfume, except it's not a negative in this case. As near as I can tell, it's connected to the savory leather/tobacco/shoe polish thing I get out of the Single Barrel. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. Either way, the standard SB is worth keeping around just because it is pretty different.

I'm not sure how to describe it, but I get an almost savory floral note. It is not dominating, but rounds out some of the other flavors. Its like enjoying a steak with a nice malbec, in a room that has a couple fresh flowers in the back corner. We had a nice little single acre garden growing up, and it reminds me of working out there in the summer. Flowers did not dominate the aroma, but added just enough of an extra dimension to brighten things up a bit.

In my uneducated opinion, the high rye content is what makes the floral notes work. That gives you the big bold spicy flavors, which lets the fruit and floral notes hang out in the background without becoming overpowering.

[Flyfish]

Im content with my orientations....

We should all be comfortable with our orientation. Some of the 4R guys, though, are like sexy women who want to "straighten out" a man who is uncertain of his orientation.

[Restaurant man]

I get no flowers except from the q yeast. And four roses had no connection to its current recipe when it was originally named.

[bourboNcigars]

I was watching a video on the history of four roses and I thought it was a great story on how it was named that and I'm sure you all know but for those who dont, I believe in the 1870's a man who was making whiskey did not have a name for his distillery and he met a woman and has would expect he asked for her hand in marriage, so they had a get together and she said if she was wearing 3 roses her answer was no, but if she was wearing 4 roses then her answer was yes, so she showed up to the party wearing 4 roses and out of his love for his new wife he named his distillery four roses..anyways nice story I think..This was told by the master distiller mr.jim R

[squire]

That's the official story which is bunk along with the one about four daughters in the Rose family (true, but not the cause) because Victorian gentlemen would not name a whisky after a woman any more than they would mention her name in a bar.

The prosaic truth is the distillery was owned by four brothers whose last name was Rose.

[squire]

I've gotten to the point where a FR private barrel is all I need from a bourbon 99% of the time.

Apotheosis of Bourbon Zen.

[ModernThirst]

That's the official story which is bunk along with the one about four daughters in the Rose family (true, but not the cause) because Victorian gentlemen would not name a whisky after a woman any more than they would mention her name in a bar.

The prosaic truth is the distillery was owned by four brothers whose last name was Rose.

Interesting...I know Paul Jones is generally called the "founder" of 4 roses, but I've heard he may have acquired the name from elsewhere prior to opening his distillery in Louisville since he was making whiskey in georgia before moving to Kentucky. Do you have the rest of the story on it? I have also heard that there was a "Rose Distillery" in GA he may have been involved with.

Edited May 28, 2014 by ModernThirst

[squire]

I believe Paul Jones bought the distillery from the Rose family, will check some sources later, busy morning.

[ModernThirst]

I believe Paul Jones bought the distillery from the Rose family, will check some sources later, busy morning.

No worries, just curious...it's interesting, though, and would make a lot more sense than the gimmicky legend about the corsage.

[TunnelTiger]

If we are going to be a cult don't we need a t-shirt, baseball cap, and a secret handshake?

[Restaurant man]

Right. He moved the distillery to Kentucky because GA had a state prohibition from

1908-1935.

[bourboNcigars]

Four roses masonry chapter

[tanstaafl2]

Right. He moved the distillery to Kentucky because GA had a state prohibition from

1908-1935.

Some evidence to suggest he was just a salesman for the Rose family who owned a local distillery and when he moved to Louisville (well before the prohibition started in Georgia I believe) he may have created the name Four Roses out of thin air.

The Rose family mansion is now on the National Register of Historic Places but is in downtown Atlanta kind of on the edgy of a seedy area and is unoccupied. It is slowly crumbling from neglect.

[tanstaafl2]

Forgot about this post from Chuck. The local distillery in Atlanta to my recollection was never called "Four Roses". There reportedly was a whiskey by that name but it was one of several produced by the company as I understand it. It was always called the R.M. Rose Distillery or the Mountain Spring distillery

Some evidence to suggest he was just a salesman for the Rose family who owned a local distillery and when he moved to Louisville (well before the prohibition started in Georgia I believe) he may have created the name Four Roses out of thin air.

The Rose family mansion is now on the National Register of Historic Places but is in downtown Atlanta kind of on the edgy of a seedy area and is unoccupied. It is slowly crumbling from neglect.

[ModernThirst]

Very cool info. Thanks, guys!

I did speak with Jim at a bottle signing this afternoon. Only the second time I've met him, and he is every bit as open and friendly as I remember. I didn't bother asking him about distillery history or anything, but I did ask him if they had any plans for a rye (they don't) and what recipes he is liking at the moment.

He recommends the Q recipes at the moment, by the way, for the stuff around 10 years old.

Edited May 29, 2014 by ModernThirst

[Paddy]

Very cool info. Thanks, guys!

I did speak with Jim at a bottle signing this afternoon. Only the second time I've met him, and he is every bit as open and friendly as I remember. I didn't bother asking him about distillery history or anything, but I did ask him if they had any plans for a rye (they don't) and what recipes he is liking at the moment.

He recommends the Q recipes at the moment, by the way, for the stuff around 10 years old.

No, he obviously made a mistake! The "Q" is definitely NOT one that anyone should bother with!

[AaronWF]

I've gotten to the point where a FR private barrel is all I need from a bourbon 99% of the time. Sometimes I get a hankering for a wheater and pull out an ORVW or Weller 12, sometimes George T. Stagg is the only thing that will scratch my itch, and I'll always have a soft spot for some dusty Wild Turkey.

Hear here, though I can't say I'm a Stagg groupie and I've no interest in Weller 12. Dusty WT reminds me a lot of current FR, actually. Something about the rainbow jolly rancher profile.

[OscarV]

I think fruity is being confused with floral.

4R1B is a spice bomb.

[Restaurant man]

You'd be better off asking, four roses historian and national brand ambassador, Al young, but you would get a healthy dose of folklore, legend and company rhetoric. I've got his book but haven't read it in years. May be time to revisit.

[kcgumbohead]

I already have the T-shirt and hat!! LOL

If we are going to be a cult don't we need a t-shirt, baseball cap, and a secret handshake?