Bulleit 12 Year Rye Review

Straight Rye Whiskey Distilled in Indiana; Aged 12 years; 46% ABV; $55

Nose: Rye spice in the form of spearmint and menthol. It definitely has the spice backbone of a 95% rye mash. There are also some doughy notes like rye bread as well as some faint musty wood. It breathes really easy and overall the nose is rather light which I would attribute to the modest 92 proof. 

Taste: Mostly all wood and spice. The spice isn't quite as evident as in the nose and there is quite a bit of barrel influence. I wouldn't necessarily call it bitter but it's pretty lacking in any kind of prominent sweets. Beyond that, there are traces of the infamous pickle flavor MGP ryes can exhibit and here it's a bit like barrel aged gherkins which is as displeasing as it sounds.

Thoughts: I didn't like this when I opened it nor do I like it now. Maybe I am spoiled by the days of cheaper highish aged cask strength MGP rye but proof aside, profile wise this is nothing like any of those. There is a woody, sweet, and spicy balance in all of those that I love but this is just spice and borderline bitterness. I can't imagine it's just the proof that would make that much difference so I am at a loss as to why I do not like this.

Rating: D+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating. 

Bulleit Bourbon Review

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; No Age Statement; 45% ABV; $17 (375ml)

Nose: Smells like a typical middle aged bourbon only with a jolt of extra spice. A little bit of wood, a little bit of sweet, and a lot of menthol/eucalyptus/cinnamon notes. Overall it's a bit thin on aromas with the hot spiciness being the major player.

Taste: The palate is some honey and sugary sweets. Again, not a ton of wood influence, about what you'd expect for 6-7ish years old. Like the nose the finish brings in a wallop of spicy notes. Peppermint comes to mind as the predominant flavor. Most of the flavors fad rather fast minus that spicy note and on the whole I find it rather thin on taste.

Thoughts: I can't take credit for this but a better name for this "Three Roses". Bulleit's contract distilling relationship with Four Roses ended a few years ago and while there's no telling what Kentucky distilleries this came from, there's a good chance that given the age here this was likely still made by Four Roses. I keep bringing this up because time and time remains when I taste a Bulleit bourbon I can't help but think it tastes like an inferior version of a Four Roses product. Having said that, it's a perfectly okay and serviceable bourbon; one that I won't complain about falling back upon due the lack of better choices. And that's about the only great thing this has going for it - no matter where I am, I can usually count on this being behind the bar.

Rating: C-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Bulleit 10 Year Bourbon Review

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. 

Bulleit Barrel Strength Review

I got my start with Bulleit years ago when cocktails were still my elixir of choice. I was never crazy about the bourbon on its own but I did enjoy it for mixing. Eventually I moved on to the rye which became a goto for drinks like manhattans and old fashioneds in my house. Even though I haven't bought a bottle of Bulleit in probably 3-4 years, I still often ask for the rye as the base when ordering a cocktail so you could say I have a bit of a soft spot for the brand. 

Like a lot of other producers out there, Bulleit doesn't make the products they sell. The rye has always been from MGP but their bourbon contract with Four Roses ended in December 2013 and now we don't have any idea who is making it for them. Given the timing, it's safe to say the no age statement bourbon on the shelves today should be consistent until at least the end of this year but it will be interesting to see if the profile of Bulleit bourbon begins to change in the future. Regardless, in 2016 Bulleit launched a no age statement, cask strength, Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. I like spicy high rye bourbons and I like cask strength offerings so I felt compelled to give it a go. 

No Age Statement; 59.5% ABV; $59

Nose: A blast of ethanol and rye spice. The high proof and high rye really give the nostrils a tingle as it's pretty hot. Underneath all that heat and spice are some traditional woody sweet notes. 

Taste: Starts off spicy right out of the gate and that spice dominates all the way to finish. Combined with the high proof I'm tempted to say the spice is angry but that proof is also giving a boost to the traditional bourbon corn and wood sweetness too. The spice has a bit of dryness to it, kind of like dry cinnamon powder and that is what dominates the finish. That dry powder note is a little bitter and seems to be preventing any sweet notes from lasting. There's a bit of oak complexity here so I'd guess the average age of the blend is 6-7 years. The wood influence is hard to pin down because the spice is so heavy handed.

Thoughts: It tastes exactly like it should - a no age statement, rye spice forward, cask strength bourbon. I once heard a joke that Bulleit should be named "3 Roses" and I think that is a good analogy. It has some of the good characteristics of a high rye Four Roses private store pick but it's missing the elegant finesse you'll get in those. It's a decent dram if you like really spicy bourbons but for the price I think something like Maker's Mark Cask Strength is a better buy. 

Rating: C+ / B-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.