Although Four Roses is thought to have been created in the 1860s, the trademark was only officially registered in 1888 by the Paul Jones company. The group survived Prohibition by buying the Frankfort Distillery and obtaining a license to continue producing alcohol for medical purposes. The Four Roses distillery—originally known as Old Prentice—was built in 1910 in Lawrenceburg by JTS Brown & Sons. The distillery reopened in 1933 after closing during Prohibition. Seagram bought the Frankfort Distillery in 1943 then Old Prentice three years later. The latter was chosen to produce Four Roses, the brand whose name it would eventually take. Both distilleries were bought by the Japanese group Kirin in the early 2000s after Seagram ran into financial difficulties.

A Four Roses 6 Year Old bottled in the 1990s at a time when Seagram to promote its Seven Crown brand in the US, keeping Four Roses for export.