Our FIRST Barrel Selction: Tater’s Choice
photo by Matt Hakey
The first Taters barrel collaboration began at the mecca…according to some Taters…Four Roses. For those interested in the history of the brand, here’s a bit straight from the distiller.
In 1884, Paul Jones Jr, moved his thriving business to Louisville, Kentucky, where he opened an office in a section of historic Main Street called, “Whiskey Row”. Four years later, he trademarked the name Four Roses, claiming production and sales back to the 1860s. In 1922, the Paul Jones Company purchased the Frankfort Distilling Company…
In 1966, a young man named Jim Rutledge, who would later become one of the world’s most legendary Master Distillers, joined Seagram in the Louisville Plant’s Research and Development Department. In 1975, he was transferred to Corporate Headquarters in New York until 1992, when Jim asked to return home to Kentucky to help with the Four Roses brand. In 1995, he replaced Ova Haney as the Master Distiller. For the next several years, Jim worked tirelessly to return the Four Roses brand back to the States – a dream that would become a reality in hands of a new owner…
In August 2015, Jim Rutledge retired as Master Distiller and Brent Elliott, who had worked alongside Jim for 10 years, became the company’s new Master Distiller.
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But enough of the history let’s talk Tater…
In this collaboration Taters traveled with Four Roses vet, Robert Simison of Ossian Tavern, who has picked Four Roses barrels for seven years. This venture began a bit more somber than usual because it was the first trip to Four Roses after the death of Four Roses bourbon ambassador, historian Al Young, who died on Christmas day 2019. The legendary Al Young was no stranger to Ossian picks, so there was some trepidation as to how the process would go without him.
We were immediately greeted by Mandy Vance, who runs the barrel selection program for Four Roses. If Al was the face of Four Roses to the outside community Mandy is the one behind the curtain; amassing her own cult following by those fortunate enough to have been through the barrel selection process. And it’s easy to see why. Every guest is greeted as a friend; except this friend rolls out barrels of the best whiskey in the world and let’s you taste them!
It should be noted that the picks are done blind. Because Four Roses uses ten recipes for their distillate, and every barrel adds different variation, blind tastings can definitely be an awesome challenge. On this day Mandy rolled out 8 barrels. We each took turns with the thief, stealing our samples for our tasting. New this year were tasting turntables. These “Lazy Als” were something that Al had always joked about with Mandy, and provide a lasting tribute.
Sadly with the pandemic restrictions the Lazy Als have since been packed away for the time being. Taters were one of the few groups that have been able to use them…and we may have received a Tater Tip on how to customize an original of our own from WG Dowell Woodworking! But we digress…
While each of the 8 barrels was delicious in its own right, four definitely stood out from the outset: #1, #3, #4 and #5. Upon re-taste #1 was then eliminated. Having narrowed down our selections we then sought out the information for our barrels.
The tater in all of us knew that a 12+ year barrel would certainly get some attention. But tiers, recipes and ages aside, we had to be true to our palates. So the choice came down to #3 - a beautifully buttery OBSV – or #4 – a sweet yet somewhat briny OESQ, which we found different from most Qs that we’d tasted. If the choice was a tossup, the fact that the Angels had taken quite their considerable share of the OBSV made the choice an obvious one. A Tater’s Choice if you will.
The Lineup Revealed…
After the choice was made we took turns banging the bungs into a few of the barrels. As custom has it, we all signed the barrel head – Mandy included. Then of course we posed for our glamour shots.
As many know, Four Roses sits on two distinct properties. The main distillery is in Lawrenceburg, KY. The barrel selections take place at the bottling facility and warehouse in Cox’s Creek, KY. Following our tasting Mandy led us through a tour of the facility where we found ourselves in the middle of the action. Barrels were rolled out and dumped before our very eyes. On this day we witnessed barrels likely headed for one of the flagship small batch bottles.
There’s no doubt a Four Roses visit (not to mention a barrel selection) should be on every tater bucket list! It was amazing to see the process that would soon deliver our private barrel selection bottle. Despite the slight delay from a little thing called a pandemic, the bottles did arrive at Ossian within a couple months. In true tater form, the bottles sold out in little Ossian, IN within the weekend. But who knows, maybe a Tater’s Choice will pop up at a future Taters event or fundraiser. ;-)
