Tag: Bulleit Bourbon Review

Hannah’s Bulleit Bourbon Review

Original review written on November 18, 2019

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

A nice blend for the price to be sure. But this is definitely priced correctly. Any higher and my eyebrow would go up with it. A little boring, if I’m quite honest in comparison to my favs that are big and bold. However, this isn’t bad, and if ever on a TIGHT budget, I could be convinced to purchase again. While my mixing know-how is limited, I imagine this one would be good in a cocktail capacity. 83/100

VITALS:

– Made in: Kentucky, USA
– Producer: Diageo
– Distiller: Sourced – MGP; likely supplied by Four Roses Distillery until 2016*
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Age: nas
– Mash Bill: Corn=68%; Rye=28%; Barley=4%*
– Casks: undisclosed char
– Barrel Entry Proof: undisclosed
– ABV: 45% (90 proof)
– Price: $26.95 USD in Idaho

*Notes taken from Bulleit’s website: bulleit.com

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I enjoyed this juice neat from a Glencairn glass with father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.

Check out his review of this bourbon here!

SETTING:

On a scorching hot, summer day, climb up into an old tree amidst bright, yellow-green leaves. Take a nap with your back against the trunk, hat over your eyes and feet dangling. Bulleit will be the lullaby to get you there.

Photo by D. Jameson RAGE on Unsplash

NOSE:

Yeast is very prominent on the first draws, taking on an almost stuffing-like-quality. With more coaxing, a simple brown sugar comes together with pumpkin, of all things. Hazelnuts accompany them all just at the back of the palate for a twinge of bitterness. Little spice or alcohol is there regardless of how dangerously you’re sniffing.

For wood, pine dominates but this combines surprisingly with sweet corn (Note: my dad and I came to both odd flavors separately!)

For under $30, I’ll say I’m impressed. Pricing aside though, this isn’t the worst, but it is far from the best.

PALATE:

– Mouth feel: very thin, mellow and a touch watery. This is by far my biggest problem with this bourbon.
– Balance: Pretty impressed with the blend for the price.
– Visual: By far the lightest bourbon I have had to date (Nov 19, 2019) at a chestnut sherry color, and it offers medium legs with a minimal crown and droplets.

– Taste: The rye is more pronounced on the taste, but at 90 proof, the spice and burn is mild. Additionally, there’s a wet hay component (in the sense that I can chew it – not that it is bad) that couples with candy corn. No, it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Simple sugar and light vanilla pair together for sweetness between sips. Discernible fruits present include figs and the granny smith apple. The oak is there, but only just, and even this is sweet.

With a Kentucky chew, rye is overpowering with a bit of leather. The rye also seems to take on a slight briny quality (likely the coppery notes my dad notes in his comments). The only other savory tone I get is reminiscent of frozen peanuts.

Overall, simple, but I’m not mad.

FINISH:

– Lasting power: I’m going with a short finish, but there’s a little warmth that coats the tongue. Doesn’t go much beyond that.

– No More: Hay becomes much more pronounced on the taste the further into the glass I get. The sweetness behind it is also still there, but I’m not sure it is the candy corn anymore. But it is a bit sickly sweet. Not bad enough to be greatly opposed to it, but it is a hurdle to contend with, if I’m honest. The other flavors listed above have already completely faded away except for the rye.

The empty Glencairn is full of fresh sawed wood piled higher and higher and higher…

WORTH THE PRICE?

Yes

RATING: 83/100

Click to see Hannah’s rating process

Click 83/100 to access other whiskeys with this rating.
To see other whiskies from this brand, click Bulleit.

Back to …

Hannah’s Whiskey Reviews
Individual Reviews

Brian’s Bulleit Bourbon Review

written on 16-November-2019

BULLEIT BOURBON REVIEW:

With little to no alcohol on the nose, Bulleit is a popular bourbon commonly found in most drinking establishments here in the states. If one likes a big yeasty dram with not much sweetness nor complexity and a few fruits peeking in and out, then this is the one for you. Regular readers know I enjoy my whiskeys neat, so it is with uncertainty I say this may be a fine spirit to be used as a mixer. To enjoy without water, ice or other additives, I suggest a pass on this one.

BULLEIT BOURBON VITAL STATS:

– Region: Kentucky, USA
– Producer: Diageo (non-distiller)
– Distiller: Sourced*
– Classification: Straight Bourbon
– Mash Bill*: 68% Corn; 28% Rye; 4% Barley
– Age: No Age Statement
– Barrel Char: unpublished
– Barrel Entry Proof: unpublished
– Bottle ABV: 45% (90 Proof)
– Price: $29.95 USD in Idaho

*Bulliet’s own website claims “Bulleit Distilling Co.”, however many internet articles attribute Four Roses to have been the supplier until approximately 2015/16, after which credit has been attributed to MGP. In 2016 Bulleit broke ground on their own distillery but it will be years before it will be able to produce spirits. As of this writing, additional non-whiskey controversy abounds at Bulleit and Diageo.

bulleit.com

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

For the evaluation, I shared the juice neat from commemorative Bulleit glasses with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

NOSE:

Upon first nosing, Bulleit Bourbon has no alcohol presence but does entertain with aromas of faint floral blossoms with an herbal aire. There is also a strange mixture of sweet corn, a little fresh apple, lemon and orange marmalade. Huge amounts of yeasty bread and biscuits nearly overshadow faint spices of powdered ginger, white pepper, and rye. There is not much sweetness coming to the nose but faint vanilla and simple syrup do waft gently in and out among an undefined nuttiness and a piney aroma. Occasionally there is a slight tickling, but in the end, this dram does not wow the olfactory senses.

PALATE:

A quick bite followed by a slight burn enters the mouth after the first sip, probably owing to the high rye content. The heat soon subsides to a soothing warmth as light fruit and the herbal essence of mown hay play on the tongue. As the mouth is coated during the occasional chew, an odd mix of fruit — bitter and acidic orange marmalade, plum, prune and fig give way to a green vegetable aftertaste. For me, Bulleit is a ho-hum bourbon with with only black pepper and rye spice to mix it up with simple syrup and faint hazelnuts. The liquid’s light colouring may be an indication of limited aging in the barrel. Any wood in the juice comes through as a light toasting of a little dry oak.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
As one might guess, I feel this is a disappointingly unbalanced whiskey; the odd mixture of fruits, herbalness, spice and lack of sweet just don’t do it for me. I also get a coppery tickle … like sucking on an old penny … which kind of counters the mellow-to-buttery mouthfeel. Inside the Glencairn, a nice inverted crown and long clinging legs do coat as they drop back into the chestnut sherry coloured reservoir entertaining the eye.

FINISH:

Bulleit finishes with a medium punch. There is a nice throat warming and plenty of deep oak in the empty Glencairn but the green vegetable and bitter aftertaste is disappointing. I just don’t get why this is such a popular choice for many at the bar – maybe it’s for those who like bourbons as mixers.

MY RATING: 84/100

Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
But it won’t be a must have in the bunker.
_{Click to read Brian’s scoring process.}

Click 84/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To see other whiskies from this brand, click Bulleit.

Back to …

Brian’s Whiskey Reviews
Whiskey Reviews