Al Young, the historian for Four Roses and the distillery’s senior brand ambassador, died on Christmas day at the age of 77.

Al began his career with Four Roses in 1967 and worked his way through the ranks to become the distillery manager in 1990. In 2007 he became the senior brand ambassador and in 2011 he has inducted into the Bourbon Hall of Fame by the Kentucky Distillers Association.

Click here to read a column about Al, written by longtime American whiskey writer Fred Minnick.