Ten Recipes. One Legendary Distillery.
Four Roses is unlike any other distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Master Distiller Brent Elliott — a chemist by training who came up alongside the legendary Jim Rutledge before taking the reins in 2015 — works with two mash bills and five proprietary yeast strains to produce ten distinct bourbon recipes. No other major Kentucky distillery operates this way. The distillery’s Spanish Mission-style architecture makes it one of the most photographed stops on the trail.
Proximity & drive times
Four Roses and Wild Turkey sit less than 20 minutes apart in Lawrenceburg — making this the easiest two-distillery day on the entire trail. From The Bourb Inn, you can do both stops, grab lunch in town, and still make it back for Steve’s evening tasting on the porch.
- The Bourb Inn to Four Roses Distillery: 22 miles · 35 minutes
- The Bourb Inn to Wild Turkey Distillery: 19 miles · 34 minutes
- The Bourb Inn to Lawrenceburg, KY: ~16 miles · ~28 minutes
- The Bourb Inn to Buffalo Trace (Frankfort): 16 miles · 27 minutes
- The Bourb Inn to Woodford Reserve (Versailles): 22 miles · 34 minutes
Steve’s expert tips for Four Roses visitors
As a Certified Executive Bourbon Steward with personal relationships at 30+ distilleries, Steve has made the Four Roses run more times than he can count. Here is how to get the most out of your visit:
- Don’t go on a Tuesday — and book before you arrive
Four Roses is closed on Tuesdays — an easy trip-ruiner if you don’t know. The distillery is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday 9AM–4PM, and Sunday 12PM–4PM.
- Know your recipes before you walk in
Four Roses uses two mash bills and five proprietary yeast strains to produce ten distinct bourbon recipes — a combination no other major Kentucky distillery replicates.
- What to look for
The Single Barrel — always the OBSV recipe, high-rye mash bill with the V yeast strain, bottled at 100 proof and typically 7+ years old — is the bottle to prioritize.
Why The Bourb Inn beats a standard rental near Four Roses
Why squeeze into a hotel room in Frankfort or Lexington when you can have a 32-acre private estate 35 minutes from Four Roses — with a professional bourbon bar already stocked and waiting?
- The private bourbon bar: Bring a bottle back from the gift shop and crack it open at the bar with your group.
- The fire pit: Debrief the day’s ten-recipe education under open Kentucky sky.
- Sleeps up to 10: The Bourb Inn is the obvious choice for the group that doesn’t want to split up across two hotel rooms.
