On Wednesday, March 14th 2012 I was invited to a private lunch at Five Napkin Burger in Midtown Atlanta with Jim Rutledge, Master Distiller for Four Roses. How can a fellow say no to an offer like that? Five Napkin Burger (FNB) is a high end burger joint whose namesake burger is 10 ounces of ground chuck topped with Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli. I frequently enjoy bourbon with my burgers and their burger sounded right up my alley. I was not disappointed.

I got to bring along a copilot for this venture and my buddy Sam decided to take one for the team and do burgers and bourbon for lunch with me. We showed up a couple of minutes early and the folks at FNB quickly put Old Fashioneds made with Four Roses Yellow Label in our hands. That is always a good way to start lunch. Their bartender does a great job with an Old Fashioned and even their classic take is a cut above most of what I’ve had around Atlanta. [Side note: I respect the reinvention of classic cocktails by great mixologists but before you start riffing on a classic first learn to make the classic.] While we were sipping and socializing we got to talk to folks from FNB, Four Roses, and the man himself. Mr. Rutledge seems quietly amused by the near rock star status master distillers elicit today. He was just as happy to answer our super geek questions as he was to answer the basic questions of the rest of the group. I don’t want to imply that I was a standing member of the whiskirati among the uninformed. It wasn’t like that at all. Most of the folks there were foodies, food bloggers, and food writer. Sam and I were the whiskey nuts.

After the meet and greet we sat down to a nice meal. We started off with a wide array of appetizers including my favorites, the bourbon glazed wings and potato croquettes. The burgers were as good as advertised and the pecan pie was more of a supersized pecan tart but also great. I would recommend giving FNB a try. Along with the meal we tasted Four Roses Yellow Label, Four Roses Small Batch, and Four Roses Single Barrel. I’ve had them all before and they were all still as great. We also got a sneak peak at the 2012 Limited Edition Single Barrel. It is a 12 Year Old OESK and it was fantastic. It is supposed to be hitting shelves in April. I’ll hopefully get a hold of a review sample before then and do a formal write up for you.

The food and drinks were great but the real draw for me was Mr. Rutledge himself. He’s a very approachable and infinitely knowledgeable man. We talked about topics from the marketing history of Four Roses to the reintroduction to the American market. I found the history of their ten recipes the most intriguing. Originally, when Seagrams owned the Four Roses brand back in the early part of the 20th century they had one yeast strain and two mash bills spread across five different distilleries. As they continued consolidating the distilleries they chose yeast strains that imparted the same or similar flavor characteristics as the different water sources at the different distilleries. That’s how Four Roses ended up with one distillery making ten different bourbons. That kind of history lesson may not be something the average drinker cares about but I find it very interesting and it’s just a small example of the knowledge available if you’re fortunate enough to talk to one of America’s master distillers.

I would like to thank Five Napkin Burger for the invitation and Four Roses for the chance to talk with Mr. Rutledge. Both the burgers and bourbon are great and I fully recommend both.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard