Bulleit is a non distiller producer who sources Kentucky bourbon and Indiana rye. The current producer of their bourbon is unknown but up until a couple of years ago, Four Roses was the primary contract distiller. There's a lot of theories about the makeup of their bourbon currently on the shelves - some have it being from a different yeast than one of Four Roses five strains (an E yeast) and some have it as just a blend of Four Roses OE and OB mashes. My guess is it's probably both of those but the wildcard element is it's also possible that Bulleit was sourcing from other distilleries and blending for the final product so nobody really knows but Diageo. All we know is it's a Kentucky straight bourbon with a high rye mashbill.
Bulleit 10 Year Bourbon
Aged 10 years; 45.6% ABV; $38
Nose: Cotton candy, red fruit sweets, some rye spice bite. It breathes hotter than I would expect for about 90 proof but a pretty decent nose.
Taste: Caramel, red fruits, a little banana, honey, and a pretty good dose of oak. It's definitely high rye as there are some cinnamon and baking spices too. It's a little watery for my tastes though I think my pendulum has swung back into the barrel proof camp lately.
Thoughts: This isn't bad at all. It's got some Four Roses like characteristics, plenty of wood depth, and is priced reasonably well. It drinks like a good daily sipper though it would be a lot better at 100 proof as my main complaint is it's a bit thin. For my money, Four Roses single barrel is still a better product and leads me back to what I always think when I drink Bulleit is that it should just be called "Three Roses".
Rating: C+ / B-
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
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