The Gentleman Racer reviews Four Branches Bourbon Founders Blend and calls it “a respectful salute.” Crafted with Hall of Fame Master Distiller Steve Nally, this veteran-made small-batch bourbon layers hazelnut cream, maple, rye spice, and dry oak for a balanced finish that actually behaves like discipline.

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With nearly five decades of experience, Master Distiller Gregg Snyder outlines why bourbon demand is cyclical and steady, even as growth cools. While growth has leveled off, Snyder emphasizes the cyclical nature of spirits and urges patience, not panic, amid shifting market trends.

The takeaway for drinkers? Prioritize craftsmanship over hype.

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Our Founders

As featured in Food & Beverage Magazine, Four Branches Bourbon is earning its place behind the bar and on fine dining menus across the country. Chefs and beverage directors alike are embracing this veteran-owned bourbon brand for its balance of character and craftsmanship.

Every pour of Founder's Blend reflects the same integrity our founders lived by in uniform: premium ingredients, small-batch precision, and a mission that gives back to those who serve.

Bourbon + Magazine | Summer 2024 Edition | By Kristin Luna 

In Bourbon+ Magazine’s Summer 2024 feature, the spotlight turns to Four Branches Bourbon, a veteran-founded bourbon brand uniting service, sacrifice, and small-batch craftsmanship.

The story traces the journeys of founders Alfredo “Rick” Franco (Marines), Michael Trott (Air Force), Robert “RJ” Casey (Army), and Harold Underdown (Navy), four men whose shared history of service became the backbone of a bourbon built on integrity and purpose. From deployments abroad to their distillery collaboration at home, their mission remains the same: honor those who serve and craft bourbon worthy of their legacy.

Each bottle of Four Branches Bourbon stands as a testament to that brotherhood, poured with precision, patience, and patriotism.

In 2005, Franco lost his VMI classmate and CIA colleague Gregory Wright Jr., in an ambush overseas. Wright saved lives that day but never made it home. “I had to bring him home,” Franco recalls, a commitment that would later shape the mission behind Four Branches.

Wright was posthumously honored with a star on the CIA Wall of Honor at Langley, the first contractor ever to receive the distinction. Franco wanted to honor that legacy and the “unsung heroes” who serve alongside men like Wright. The first idea, bottling and selling bourbon online, wasn’t exactly government-approved. So he called Trott, who looped in Underdown and Casey, and the four veterans began shaping what would become a veteran-founded bourbon brand built on remembrance, craftsmanship, and duty.

Together, they transformed more than a century of combined military service into a new mission: crafting a bourbon rooted in American character, military camaraderie, and purposeful storytelling.

“Whiskey and bourbon run deep through the US military and intelligence community,” Trott explains. “We negotiate over a glass, toast victories, and remember the ones who didn’t come home.” For the founders of Four Branches, that ritual is more than just symbolic: it’s personal. Bourbon has long served as a peacemaker, a moment of connection, and a way to honor those who served beside them.

The following year, the four veterans pushed forward with full-scale research and development, cold-calling industry experts and building a consultant team representing more than 200 combined years of spirits-industry experience. Entering the bourbon world wasn’t easy, and as Franco notes, “Getting into the spirits industry was not for the faint of heart. Luckily, we didn’t know enough to be intimidated.”

Their momentum slowed when they lost a close friend and fellow servicemember to suicide. That tragedy forced them to pause and reevaluate the mission behind this veteran-founded bourbon brand. As Trott puts it, “The soul of Four Branches is ‘we don’t drink to forget, we sip to remember.’ But we also know some in the veteran and first-responder community can take that sip too far.”

The founders considered abandoning the idea entirely. Instead, they chose purpose over retreat, building a bourbon brand that encourages remembrance, responsibility, and connection. “Bourbon has a way of bringing people together, and we want them to drink it honorably,” Trott says. “We got to come home, but not everybody did.”

Launching Four Branches Bourbon required grit in addition to belief in the mission. Before their bottles could reach shelves, the founders had to push through supply-chain obstacles, an oversaturated market, and the realities of starting a distillery from scratch. What ultimately broke through was the integrity behind the product and the story carrying it forward.

As Trott explains, bourbon has always held a meaningful place within the military and intelligence world. “We often give gifts to friends and foes that’s a sought-after whiskey or bourbon,” he says. “It becomes a peacemaker, something you sit down and have a glass over a negotiation. Or you may sit down with a unit or FOB (forward operating base) and have a glass in remembrance over somebody you lost.”

The Four Branches team has spent its early years perfecting Founder's Blend, a four-grain bourbon designed to honor each founder’s branch of service. Their next chapter is already in motion. This summer, they’ll begin laying down 500 barrels of their own Kentucky-made mash, with plans to steadily scale production and release only spirits aged four years or more. Craftsmanship and patience remain non-negotiable.

But Four Branches was never just about making bourbon. The brand exists to remind veterans and first responders that life after service can be purpose-driven, collaborative, and deeply meaningful. Through their own journey, the founders hope to show others what’s possible when you approach the next mission together.

“We want to show other veterans that they can make a transition. Maybe it’s cupcakes, maybe it’s a lawn-care company, maybe it’s a mechanic shop, but don’t do it by yourself. Team up with friends to figure out what’s next,” Trott says.

Service has always been woven into the DNA of Four Branches Bourbon. In the brand’s first year alone, more than $300,000 was raised for organizations such as Folds of Honor, CIA Officer Memorial Fund, and Third Option Foundation, a reflection of the founders’ commitment to supporting veterans, first responders, and their families. The team continues to highlight stories of service through their newsletter and social channels, reinforcing the mission behind the bourbon.

For the founders, failure was never an option. “We’re just not bred to quit or to say, ‘it’s too hard; we can’t do this,” Trott says. “As veterans, we've been through some hard times, which in a way prepared us to do this.” Beyond that, each of the four founders (now fathers in their fifties and sixties) knew they didn’t want to rebuild their lives again a decade from now.

“Launching this brand is a no-fail mission, for many reasons,” Trott says. “It’s pride, and we represent the veteran community. There’s no turning back.”