Jim Rutledge to retire

[km1589]

Just saw this on Twitter wanted to see everyone's thoughts as well as get confirmation.

[VAGentleman]

Just got an email from Four Roses confirming Sept 1 retirement with Brent Elliot current Director of Quality Operations taking over as the new MD

[Westernboys]

Just got an email also. Congrats to Jim on a great career!

[barrel_proofer]

http://fourrosesbourbon.com/masterdistillernews/?age-verified=fefd052d8b

He certainly deserves a comfortable retirement and I hope he has been able to pull this off on his own terms. I also hope this doesn't lead to consumers clearing shelves to bunker juice that will have been bottled while he is still running the show.

[tanstaafl2]

I wish him well but it will be interesting to see how long it will be before the first Four Roses Cinnamon Cherry Fire Bomb hits the shelves...

[Golzee]

I also hope this doesn't lead to consumers clearing shelves to bunker juice that will have been bottled while he is still running the show.

Relatively new to Four Roses, but I suspect that consumers will begin to bunker products that say Jim Rutledge on them. I have seen here that some believe JR Four Roses to be the SW of the future.

[Jazz Nut]

I wish him well but it will be interesting to see how long it will be before the first Four Roses Cinnamon Cherry Fire Bomb hits the shelves...

Totally agree. Hopefully his successor will have the respect and influence to keep things traditional at Four Roses.

[BourbonJoe]

Totally agree. Hopefully his successor will have the respect and influence to keep things traditional at Four Roses.

He won't have a say in it. Neither did Jim at the end.

[kjbeggs]

I keep seeing this all over, Bourbon blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I wish people would stop tallking about it before the flippers and hipsters start clearing the shelves of any and all 4R products...

[DPPSmoker]

I wish Jim the best. I've had the pleasure to have a two small chats with him. In one of them, he shared some of his recent ailments. None of those ailments were too serious but Father Time escapes no one. Good for him to enjoy his later years on his own time.

I hope he maintains a presence with Four Roses much like Elmer T. Lee did at Buffalo Trace. A new line of Four Roses single barrel bourbon hand selected by Jim just like Elmer did would be pretty cool as well.

[GaryT]

He won't have a say in it. Neither did Jim at the end.

Jim remarked that he'd retire if they wanted to go that route, so I fully expect this is coming shortly. Which honestly doesn't bug me (I mean - I won't buy it, but it isn't like they're going to take great, aged bourbon for that). I'm more interested in the new MD's SmBLE selections - which is where I think Jim's brilliance was on full display.

[ramblinman]

Too bad they never let/had the capacity to let the man put out a rye, I bet it would have been a mighty fine one.

I never met the man, but I have loved his selections and the way Four Roses has been run with respect to the bourbon community these last few years. Cheers and godspeed Mr Rutledge.

[LCWoody]

What a great run. Mr. Jim put out the best bourbon on the market in the past several years. Wish him the best.

[suntour]

Cheers, jim, but a sad day for FR lovers.

I've always thought it odd that you could just buy a fantastic barrel proof bourbon with individual character and diversity so easily, while all the other big boys dress their products in too many clothes and artificially limit access to the purest expression of their whiskeys.

I'm sure we'll see the regular shelf stuff staying pretty similar bur hard to imagine the barrel proofers not getting decorated with new names and limited release schedules. I'd wager the first new thing we see is a new "finished" product since that's seemingly the new flavor of the month. Also, a good way to upmarket four year juice.

[Richnimrod]

Happy for Jim Rutledge! He's EARNED his leisure time. Bringing 4-R back to us after so long in the wilderness, he deserves whatever good fortune comes his way.

Here's my wish for many happy, healthy years, doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants to do it.

Congratulations Jim, and here's to ya, buddy! :drink:

[mark fleetwood]

Any chance he's got a private equity backer with $5mil who will let him create his own limited edition brand?

A feller can dream can't he?

[mbroo5880i]

I had the opportunity to meet him a few times during barrel releases. His interaction with attendees was always genuine and, even if he had a hectic road schedule which I always suspected he did, you would never know it by how he seemed to enjoy the events. I don't know him personally, but maybe he is just stepping back from the day-to-day responsibilities and will continue to serve as an ambassador for the brand, in a more limited capacity, and provide consultation on products and development. I know he was hands on with barrel selections and other distillery functions but I often wonder how much involvement, other than oversight, he had in actual day-to-day distilling activities in recent years.

[elmossle]

Jim remarked that he'd retire if they wanted to go that route, so I fully expect this is coming shortly. Which honestly doesn't bug me (I mean - I won't buy it, but it isn't like they're going to take great, aged bourbon for that). I'm more interested in the new MD's SmBLE selections - which is where I think Jim's brilliance was on full display.

I am willing to bet this is why he is "retiring" this sudden IMO. It would have made sense for him to stay on one more year and hit that 50 year milestone. If I am not mistaken, they were/are planning a 50th Anniversary release to honor JR next year. My guess is they said we are going to do "X" and he said absolutely not and was told make it happen or kindly leave and he chose retirement. I hope this to not be the case but I fear that is what is happening behind the scenes. Either way he is a excellent person to talk to and a fantastic ambassador to bourbon and not someone you replace in any capacity.

[oke&coke]

I wish him the best on his well deserved retirement. I also hope that 4R sees some of these comments and realizes what great reputation they have among the bourbon community because of him. Improving on yourself is always good but change just for the sake of it usually isn't.

[fricky]

Congratulations to Jim Rutledge on his retirement. He was the driving force behind moving Four Roses out of the swill category into the outstanding bourbon category. It is too bad that his retirement is happening before The Bourbon Festival. Many of us would have liked to congratulate him in person.

I believe Brent Elliott is an excellent replacement. He appears to have a great personality and I expect him to do well in promoting Four Roses. In addition, I believe he has been closer to distillery operation and maintaining the various profiles than Jim in the recent past.

[kcgumbohead]

Got the email from 4R yesterday but as I instantly went into the denial stage of grief I ignored it. Seriously a hearty congratulations to Mr. Rutledge and the very best for a well deserved retirement. I had the pleasure of chatting with him on several occasions and what a genuine and passionate man, about 4R, bourbon and life in general. I wish his successor the very best as well but those are impossible shoes to fill.

[dboland]

I am late to the bourbon party so I haven't tried a lot of the LE stuff like BTAC and the Pappys, but I will never forget my first sip of FRSB. All I could think was "WOW! This kind of taste is out there, and widely available." It is still probably my favorite combination of everything I want in a bourbon, from the taste, the feel, the price, and even the cool bottle. So many other brands try to wrap themselves in some exaggerated mystique about a 250+ year old recipe handed down generations but the Four Roses experience seems more straightforward: Here's the recipe, this is the age - enjoy!

Thank you, Mr. Rutledge, for making this and many other outstanding bourbons.

[Josh]

He has indeed said that he has threatened to retire if they go in a direction that he doesn't like but he also talked about retiring or his age literally every time I have heard him talk ("I'm not that much younger than Jimmy Russell you know...I can't do this forever" that sort of thing) so I wouldn't be surprised if he just decided it was time to turn over the day-to-day reigns.

I think I read that he will continue working for Four Roses in some capacity going forward, so it makes me feel better knowing that he will still be around.

[The Black Tot]

I'm glad he is saving some of himself for retirement. Even when you love your job, there's more to life than work. As others have suggested, I don't think they're going to lock the doors on him whenever he feels like swinging by and offering a tasting opinion or doing a pick.

I'm also confident Brent wasn't chosen without Jim's stamp of approval.

If 4R wants to make cherry whatzit and cinnamon plonk, even that is fine by me. It doesn't stop BT and HH from producing great products for us.

[Paddy]

In my opinion, history will rank what Jim did for 4R as one of, if not the the greatest accomplishment of the past 50 years in the bourbon industry.

I too extend a hearty well done, congratulations, and best wishes for a long and prosperous retirement!