by From Four Roses Bourbon:
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.
From The Kentucky Distillers’ Association:
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association today expressed deep sadness on the sudden passing of Al Young of Four Roses, one of the industry’s most endearing ambassadors and leading historians with a wealth of industry knowledge and experience that spanned over half a century.
KDA President Eric Gregory said Young’s infectious charisma, trademark grin and energetic passion for Kentucky’s signature Bourbon industry made him an iconic figure among Bourbon fans all over the world.
“Al was an ambassador for Kentucky Bourbon long before the job was even invented,” Gregory said. “The thing I’ll remember most is that Al was always smiling. Always. You just knew he loved his job, his family and his life. We were lucky to share in his spirit.
“Al was one of our industry’s truest champions, and he will be missed by all.”
Young began his career in the distilling industry in 1967 with Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, Inc. As his career progressed, he gained knowledge and experience at several of the Seagram’s distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana before ultimately settling at Four Roses in 1990.
He was a 2011 inductee into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, a member of the inaugural class of the Order of the Writ, and one of the KDA’s official historians due to his 50+ years of experience and abundance of institutional industry knowledge.
Gregory said the KDA and its 40 members offered their deepest condolences to Al’s lovely and longtime wife, Gretchen, their three children, and the entire Four Roses family.
“Our distilling family and our beloved Commonwealth has lost a treasured visionary who was a friend to everyone he met,” Gregory said. “We encourage whiskey lovers around the world to raise a glass of Four Roses today and toast the enduring legacy of our dear friend, Al Young.”
