Four Roses Distillery
1224 Bonds Mill Road
Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
(502) 839-3436
Wed – Sat: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sun: 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com
Four Roses Warehouse & Bottling Facility
624 Lotus Road
Cox’s Creek, KY 40013
(502) 543-2264
Wed – Sat: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sun: 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
https://www.fourrosesbourbon.com
Please enjoy our Four Roses Distillery and Four Roses Warehouse & Bottling Facility Tour Review!
Four Roses Distillery Offers Two Tours In One
Four Roses is unique in that they offer tours of both their Lawrenceburg Distillery and their 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. However, while it is possible, it can be a little tricky to do these both in the same day. Alternatively, Four Roses offers tasting experiences without tours at both their locations, as well.
Both Four Roses Tours In The Same Day
A few years back, we did do both tours in the same day. However, demand for tours was not as high back then, as it is today. We started with a 9AM Four Roses Distillery Tour in Lawrenceburg and then did the 11AM Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling Facility Tour (also referred to simply as “Cox’s Creek”). It is probably best to do the tours in that order, especially if you don’t have a reservation at the second location, since the Bottling Facility generally gets fewer visitors than the Four Roses Distillery itself. In addition, if you don’t have a reservation, it is a good idea to call ahead to the second location to avoid disappointment.
However, it is possible to book both tours ahead of time online, and then you could start anywhere that you choose. When you check in for your second tour, simply present the ticket from your first tour. If it was within 60 days, they will refund the cost of the second tour.
The Four Roses Cox’s Creek Warehouse and Bottling Facility Is Less Crowded, but…
Although the Four Roses Cox’s Creek Warehouse and Bottling Facility tour is less crowded than the Distillery tour, the van used for the Cox’s Creek tour only has a small capacity, and therefore, the tours are limited to 10 people. This is in contrast to the Four Roses Distillery Tours, which can accommodate up to 18 folks.
Therefore, if you plan to do both tours on the same day, we would recommend doing what we did – make reservations online for the first tour at the Four Roses Distillery and then high-tail it to Cox’s Creek.If you have to wait to get on the next tour, you can go over to the James B Beam Distillery (Jim Beam), which is just 3 miles away in Clermont, KY, to pass the time.Times have changed, though, and it seems that reservations are needed everywhere. So, it might be best to try to make the Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling Facility Tour reservations ahead of time, if you can.
The Four Roses Distillery Tour
It has been a while since we have taken The Four Roses Distillery tour, but when we did, it started with a short introductory movie discussing the making of bourbon and the history of Four Roses. The tour then headed outside, where an overview of the distillery buildings was presented. This was followed by a walk through the distillery buildings,starting with the cookers, then on to the cypress fermenters (climb the ladder to the second story vantage point for a great view!), and lastly, it was on to the stills. Four Roses has 2 large column stills andpot still doublers.
Time For A Tasting
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 most recent addition to the line, Four Roses Small Batch Select.Your tasting may include Four Roses other flagship bourbon, Single Barrel. The tour finishes in the gift shop, similar to most tours.Recently, Four Roses built a completely new, large visitor center. It houses said gift shop, where one can purchase all sorts of Four Roses parephernalia, as well as bourbon. There’s a co*cktail bar, too, if you are so inclined. You can even enjoy your drinks outside on the scenic patio!
Time To Head To The Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling Facility in Cox’s Creek
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, or did not make advance reservations, you might find that the next tour is full and may have to wait a bit longer. Again, advance planning is key, so call ahead or make reservations online.
The Bottling Facility Tour
Our tour began in the gift shop, with a brief introduction by our guide. We then boarded the van for the drive to the 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.
Let’s Dump Some Barrels
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 Four Roses Distillery and is subsequently dispensed into barrels.
Four Roses Warehouse C
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. As of the time of this writing Four Roses has 21 warehouse, with plans to add another 17 by 2024. With each holding 24,000+ barrels, that is quite a bit of bourbon!
Time For Another Tasting
Our Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling Facility Tour ended back in their small visitor center. In the tasting room, we again sampled the Four Roses line, received another glass, and once again finished in the gift shop.
Four Roses Distillery Tour and Cox’s Creek Warehouse and Bottling Facility Visitors Take Heed
We will leave you with this one very important piece of advice: Four Rosesdoes notaccept 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. Not heeding this advice could lead to great disappointment when you find out that you can’t pay for that coveted bottle that you found in the gift shop. I, myself, have fallen victim to this pitfall. So, please bring cash or a major credit card other than AMEX. Have fun! Cheers!🥃
Please note that 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.
We hope that you have enjoyed our Four Roses Distillery and Four Roses Warehouse & Bottling Facility Tour Review! Would you like to learn about some of the Four Roses Bourbons? Then read our Four Roses Small Batch Select Bourbon Review or our Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Review!
Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us?? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!
