Four Roses

Preference of that will go to students pursuing spirits research or showing an interest in the bourbon and distillation period.

Other things here, fellow lifetime honorees such as Bill Samuels Jr. of Maker's Mark and John Rea of Four Roses actually presented him with the gold framed copy and the University of Kentucky leaders gifted a vase recognizing the scholarship.

Morris first joined the KDA in 1991 on its marketing committee, which later oversaw the creation of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

And he became Brown Foreman's board director in April of 2007.

He's the founder and CEO of Filibuster Distilling, and we talk about his journey.

Because after moving from Delhi to the U.S. in 2007, he got his start at a liquor store where... unlikely he actually discovered orange flavored vodka i don't know i know he wasn't much of a drinker at their time but in 2010 his family bought a struggling liquor store in dc and sid helped turn it around he grew annual sales from under around 400 000 to over 1.2 million simply by changing up the product mix and introducing customers to more great bourbon but it wasn't until an eye-opening trip to four roses where he selected his very first single barrel he found a new dream.

And Sid launched Filibuster Distilling using source barrels, but eventually transitioned to a full-scale distilling operation right there in Virginia.

And he also had to not only figure out how to work the stills, he had to figure out how to work the business around it.

It just became double the price.

So in 2013, we built up this beautiful community in our store who was following, like, what do you have today? What are you going to bring it? Around 2014, I went to Willett.

No, sorry, I went to Four Roses.

First time in my life.

I'm passing.

Wilson and I did get a chance to sample some Eagle Rare 12 back in Bardstown a couple of weeks back when we were at the Four Roses barrel pick.

Yeah.

I would give every one of these bottles away for that bottle.

Okay.

How about this?

We know one of your favorite... general labels as Four Roses.

And so this, our store owner said, how about some Four Roses single barrel? Okay.

I think we will, yes.

Jason and I will be available for signing for anybody who gets that bottle with us in the park as at Four Roses.

But, you know, I love that.

You know, we talk about the credibility of a brand and what they're trying to do.

But I think going to the Bourbon Trail, this is my advice for people that are going because I've gone so many times.

There's tons of different cool distilleries like there's Heaven's Hill and Willett and Bardstown and Maker's Mark and Four Roses and Buffalo Trace, Buffalo Trace.

There's so many that are awesome.

Don't do a tour on all of them.

Yeah, absolutely.

Now, the crazy thing is, and most people, and I'm sure I've talked about it on the show, but a lot of people forget that the original Eagle Rare, the original Benchmark, and all the Four Roses came from Seagram's.

The Prentiss Distillery.

Yeah.

Old Louisville Whiskey Company.

They're in there.

Four Roses.

Oh, yes.

And we'll touch on that a second because I think I have something else to talk about that.

But back on BBQ Roundtable number 71, we talked about Old Forrester and Four Roses doing really good and killing gift shop sales in favor of doing things like sweepstakes.

But that was back in 2022.

And now we're starting to see a much larger shift.

I'm freaking exhausted by having to go to distilleries to get their limited editions.

I mean, and maybe it's because I remember the good old days and I'm older, whatever else you're going to say.

But I used to go to talk with Brad Williams and you get a Four Roses limited edition when they did the single barrel.

And then you come back in the fall and you get the get the small batch and then you get the BTAC, you know, you can get it all in one place.