In honor of the Urban Bourbon exhibit and the Derby Museum’s ‘year of bourbon’, the museum has commissioned a unique bottle of Four Roses Bourbon from a private barrel. Hand-selected by Jim Rutledge, Master Distiller of Four Roses, along with a group of museum staff members, this premium Single Barrel Bourbon is aged 10 years and 8 months. These commemorative bottles will be hand-numbered in gold ink as a limited edition selection. The specially selected bottle will feature a unique recipe not available anywhere else in Kentucky.
The Derby Museum has chosen a barrel for its first commemorative bottle released exclusively to the Finish Line Gift Shop inside the museum. Rutledge guided the Kentucky Derby Museum through the barrel selection process in a tasting of seven unique recipes out of ten Four Roses offers.
“This is our OESV recipe and it was a collective decision, among everyone sampling the barrels and took an hour and a half to make the decision because it is very difficult,” says Rutledge. He adds, “We all liked the mellowness, we liked the aroma and I think above all we loved, everyone loved the finish of this, the mellowness, it’s smooth, nice long finish, no kick in it. The aftertaste, the bite, it’s a great bourbon. This is special, it’s unique. And what’s in this barrel will never be tasted again.”
With a unique recipe and bottled at barrel proof (118 proof for this barrel), this collector’s edition bottle features two distinct labels- one on each side of the bottle, marking it as a first edition in a planned series of commemorative bottles for the Derby Museum.
“Our OESV E mashbill is a recipe with 75% corn 20% rye grain 5% malted barley and the V yeast generates a very light and delicate fruity flavors and through the aging process it will pick up woody characters and in this respect. Aged 10 years and 8 months, it has a lot of woody characters and the woody characters illustrate the sweet flavors, caramel, vanilla, and maple syrup. The sweet flavors from the natural sugars of the wood.”
