The Four Roses family is in mourning. It is with great sadness that we share that Al Young, Four Roses Senior Brand Ambassador, passed away yesterday with his family by his side. Husband, father, grandfather and friend, Al was an integral part of Four Roses’ legacy and history, having been with our distillery for more than 50 years. This sudden news is shocking for all of us at Four Roses. Al was truly one of a kind and we will sorely miss him, his smile and his stories.

Al joined Four Roses on June 5, 1967 and dutifully served the distillery in a variety of roles over five decades. In 1990, he became Distillery Manager and in 2007 was named Four Roses Brand Ambassador, a role where he crossed the country, and the world, sharing the story of Four Roses and its Bourbon. He is also historian for our 130-year old Kentucky Bourbon brand, having researched archives, distillery records, news accounts, photos and artifacts. He was a walking and talking Bourbon encyclopedia, and used this to author the book Four Roses: The Return of a Whiskey Legend. Al’s book first published in 2010, and he was in the process of updating its third edition with new chapters of Four Roses’ history.

Al was inducted into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame in 2015 and is also a member of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. More than that, Al embodied the spirit of Bourbon. He was a friend to all, always there with a story and ready for a good laugh together.

We will miss him tremendously, and Four Roses extends our deepest condolences to his wife, Gretchen, and all of Al’s family and friends.