LawrenceburgKY

First Visit to Four Roses Distillery

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April 25, 2024
By Rebecca Herman McBrayer


May 21, 2023, as part of our Kentucky Bourbon Trail completion weekend, Wayne and I visited Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY. It was our next-to-last stop on the trail.




Tour of the Four Roses Distillery


Their visitor center and campus is very lovely with the light yellow buildings and Spanish mission style design. Gracie was a very knowledgeable and fun guide. It was interesting since we just attended an education session with Brent Elliott, Master Distiller, the previous week. What we heard on the tour helped us to solidify their history and approach to bourbon.


At the conclusion of the tour, we enjoyed a guided tasting of four of their expressions: Four Roses Bourbon, Four Roses Small Batch, Four Roses Single Barrel, and Four Roses Small Batch Select.




We also learned from Bill McBrayer that the area was formerly McBrayer Kentucky and there is a McBrayer sign near the railroad track. We visited the “sign” after departing Four Roses.




Gift Shop

They have a truly beautiful gift shop with items for just about everyone’s taste. We got a variety of goodies to commemorate our visit. Loved the red T-shirt and the Four Roses history book is fantastic. Wayne got an awesome bow tie made of barrel wood … it creates a great conversation when worn. Of course, a pin for my hat, an ornament for our bourbon tree, and some glasses. Now and then we find some interesting cigars at distilleries and these looked like a great option.

We were fortunate that they had the Four Roses Single Barrel Select and Small Batch Select available that day.

Distillery Trail Statistics




Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY was our 49th distillery. A member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, it was our 17th distillery on the Signature Trail and our 41st stamp of 42 total.




Pro Tip: Plan to visit other nearby distilleries. With advance planning, it is possible to create a terrific weekend trip with the distilleries in the Lawrenceburg area.

Four Roses
Wild Turkey
Woodford Reserve

As you can see on the map Frankfort, KY is also nearby and that opens another list of possibilities, depending on your time available.

Happy Trails!
Rebecca

All photos by Rebecca Herman McBrayer unless otherwise noted.

Feb 2024 Special Event at T.B. Ripy Home

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03/18/24
By Wayne McBrayer

The T.B. Ripy Home in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky is a place I have wanted to visit for the last couple of years. The Ripy house is located near where the McBrayer family owned a house many years ago and the two families were friends. For my 58th birthday, my wife bought tickets so we could hear Brad Bonds and Shannon Smith talk about Revival Vintage Bottle Shop, and the laws pertaining to the purchasing and selling of dusty bottles. It was a night I’ll never forget.

We got there early and were greeted by the owner of the house George Geoghegan lll who was happy that “McBrayer’s were in the house.” The event was on the main floor, which is the only floor that is currently used. A walking tour later would explain the reasons why. It was also raining so we made a point to drive by the next day to get exterior pictures of the house.

Presentation by Brad Bonds and Shannon Smith


We sat down toward the back of the room for the event. The owner decided to sit with us for the night as Brad and Shannon talked about their business and the passion they both have for bourbon. We sampled a 1973 Jim Beam comparing it to the current Jim Beam white as well as a 1969 Kentucky Tavern and and the current version of it. Both older versions were far superior with the 1969 Kentucky Tavern being my favorite of the 4. 

T.B. Ripy Home Tour

After the tasting, the owner led us on the tour of the house.  The estate was built in 1888 and is an expansive 11,000 square feet with 24 rooms!  The family reacquired the Queen Anne Style Mansion in 2010 with the intent of restoring the whole house.  The previous owner wrecked the upper levels of the house in ways that I couldn’t have dreamed of doing.  Painting over mahogany wood, putting up ugly wallpaper, cutting down ceiling high chimneys and the list goes on and on.  I didn’t take pictures of the upper area as it was a night tour and we were using cellphone flashlights to light away in the upper parts of the house. However, Rebecca captured a few photos of the main level.

Always Great People!

The night was wonderful and the people we met were great.  Ran into one of the descendants of the Hatfield family, met Joani Clark, who we connected with on Facebook and is a friend of the McBrayer family, chatted with Shannon Smith during the tour of the house and talked with Brad’s wife Katie Marie. 

Photos of the T.B. Ripy Home

Since it was an evening event and it was pouring down rain, we returned the next morning to capture some photos of the exterior of the house. It is stunning!

Plan a Visit!

I would recommend a tour or better yet, go to one of their whiskey events that they have.  The T.B. Ripy Home webpage has a listing of what’s coming up.

Photos by Rebecca Herman McBrayer