Four Roses Distillery - Bourbon Obsessed

Four Roses Distillery Front

Four Roses Distillery Cooker

Four Roses Distillery Cyprus Fermenter

Four Roses Distillery Beer Well

Four Roses Distillery Yeast

Four Roses Distillery Column Stills

Four Roses Distillery Pot Still

Four Roses Distillery Tasting Room

Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling Facility

Four Roses Single Story Warehouses

Four Roses High Speed Bottling Line

Four Roses Barrel Dumping Room Sign

Four Roses Barrel Dumping Trough

Four Roses Warehouse C

Four Roses Distillery Bourbon Barrels

Four Roses Distillery Front

Four Roses Distillery Cooker

Four Roses Distillery Cyprus Fermenter

Four Roses Distillery Beer Well

Four Roses Distillery Yeast

Four Roses Distillery Column Stills

Four Roses Distillery Pot Still

Four Roses Distillery Tasting Room

Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling Facility

Four Roses Single Story Warehouses

Four Roses High Speed Bottling Line

Four Roses Barrel Dumping Room Sign

Four Roses Barrel Dumping Trough

Four Roses Warehouse C

Four Roses Distillery Bourbon Barrels

Distillery

1224 Bonds Mill Road

Lawrenceburg, KY 40342

(502) 839-3436

Warehouse & Bottling Facility

624 Lotus Road

Cox's Creek, KY 40013

(502) 543-2264

Four Roses is unique in that they offer tours of both the Lawrenceburg distillery and the Cox's Creek warehouse and bottling facility, all for one price. While, the facilities may be 50 miles apart, you do have 60 days to use your ticket to visit the second location. Unfortunately, advance reservations cannot be made for the second facility without paying another $10 for a reservation, so it is first come - first served at the second location. It is possible to do both tours in one day, which is what we did. We started with the 9AM tour at the Four Roses Distillery and then did the 11AM tour at the Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling facility, also referred to as Cox's Creek. We did call ahead to verify that there was availability for the 11Am and 12PM Cox's Creek tours before heading in that direction. If you want to do the tours back to back without waiting a while, you really have to hustle or you'll miss the start time for second tour. Although the Four Roses Cox's Creek facility tour is less crowded than the distillery tour, the van used for the Cox's Creek tour only has a limited capacity, and therefore, the tours are limited to 10 people. Again, it is possible to do both tours in the same day. I would recommend doing what we did - make reservations online for the first tour at the distillery (we made our 9AM tour reservations the day before) and then high-tailed it to Cox's Creek. If you have to wait to get on the next tour, you can go down to the Jim Beam American Stillhouse, which is just 3 miles away in Clermont, KY, to pass the time.

The Four Roses Distillery tour starts with a short introductory movie discussing the making of bourbon and the history of Four Roses. The tour then heads outside, where an overview of the distillery buildings is presented. This is followed by a walk through the distillery buildings, starting with the cookers, then on to the cypress wood fermenters, (climb the ladder to the second story vantage point for a great view!), and then to the stills, 2 large column stills and pot still doublers. Next is the tasting room, where we sampled 3 bourbons: Four Roses Bourbon (formerly known as "Yellow Label", now with a tan label), Four Roses Small Batch and the new (as of April 2019) Four Roses Small Batch Select. The tour finishes in the gift shop, similar to most tours. There are all sorts of Four Roses parephernalia, as well as bourbon, available for purchase.

The drive to Cox's Creek is pretty simple. Just hop on the Bluegrass Parkway, get off at Bardstown on Route 150, make a quick turn onto Route 245, and take that to the small road that goes to the facility. Your GPS will guide you. We made the trip in around 50 minutes.

At Cox's Creek, we just showed our tickets and ID again, and in 5 minutes the tour started. If you are not as lucky, you might find that the next tour is full and may have to wait a bit longer. After a brief introduction, our group boarded the van for the drive to the new bottling facility. Unfortunately, the bottling facility only runs Monday through Friday, so it was not operating while we were there, but we were still allowed inside and spent a bit of time there. Our tour guide explained how both the high speed line (used for most of the products) and the low speed line (which is used for the single barrels) functioned. The next stop was the barrel dumping facility, where the barrels are emptied. Once emptied, the bourbon is chill filtered and then goes on to the bottling line. Also in this building is the barrel filling facility. Four times a day the bourbon is trucked from the distillery and is subsequently dispensed into barrels. Lastly, we were taken inside Warehouse C, where 24,000 bourbon barrels are stored, all in a single story. Four Roses is unique amongst the large distilleries in that all of their warehouses are a single story. Right now they have 21 warehouse with plans to expand to 25 in the near future. With each holding 24, 000 barrels, that is quite a bit of bourbon!

We then ended in the tasting room, sampled the same bourbons that we had earlier, received another glass, and once again finished in the gift shop. One very important piece of advice: Four Roses does not accept the American Express card, so be sure to bring one of the other major credit cards, or cash, to pay for your tour and purchases.

Please note that due to COVID Distillery Hours and Tour/Tasting Availability may vary. Please contact the distillery or check their web page or social media for details before you go.

Days of operation	7 days, Shorter hours on Sunday. Closed major holidays. Abridged tours during “summer shutdown” months.
Paved Drive / Lot	Yes
Motorcycle Parking	No
Motorcycle unfriendly features	Narrow hilly paved driveway & paved but off-camber, uneven parking at distillery. Smooth, paved, flat parking at Cox's Creek bottling facility.
Number of tours per day	6 (fewer on Sundays)
Length of Tour(s)	1h
Advanced topic tours?	No
Advanced topic tour names	N/A
Tours by owners /distillers available?	N/A
Number of different types of tours	2 (at separate locations)
On-Line Tour Reservations Available	Yes (Same day not available)
Advanced Reservations Recommended/Required	Yes
Cost for tour(s) in $	$10 (discounts for military, under 21)
Tasting Included?	Yes
Number of samples included in tasting	3
Tasting Only Option?	Yes
Tasting Only Option Cost	$7
High-end tasting option?	N/A
High-end tasting option cost?	N/A
Designated Driver Option	No
Handicapped Accessible?	Not all areas
Souvenirs included with tour?	Glass
Gift shop	Yes
On-Site bottle sales?	Yes
On-site food: Restaurant/Cafe/Snacks	No
On-site Cocktail bar	No
On-site event space	Yes
Should I visit? (Yes, Perhaps, No)	Visit
Unique Features	Opportunity to tour distillery as well as separate warehouse and bottling facility. Tastings and gift shops available at both sites.
Website	https://fourrosesbourbon.com
Date Visited	April 2019

Four Roses Distillery and Cox's CreekWarehouse & Bottling Facility

Please note that due to COVID Distillery Hours and Tour/Tasting Availability may vary. Please contact the distillery or check their web page or social media for details before you go.