Bulleit Kentucky Rye

About the Bulleit Kentucky Rye

Bulleit Kentucky Rye is a straight rye whisky bottled at 45% ABV. The brand grew out of Kentucky, and this rye joined the range in 2011. Its recipe is unusual. The mash bill runs 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley. Most American ryes carry far less rye than that. That one choice sets the whole character. Expect a dry, grain-driven dram, not a sweet one. The spice is the point here. Tom Bulleit started the whisky business in 1987. He named it for his great-great-grandfather, Augustus Bulleit. Augustus ran a Louisville pub back in the 1830s. Family legend says he vanished around 1860 hauling whisky to New Orleans. Diageo has owned the brand since 2000. The company opened a distillery at Shelbyville, Kentucky in 2017. Its still can make 6.8 million litres of alcohol each year. Four warehouses hold about 220,000 barrels. Mint, pine, and fresh dill come up first. Pepper sits underneath, with a light brush of oak. Then the rye spice pushes forward and takes over. Orange peel and green tea run alongside it. A spicy prickle spreads across the tongue and stays there. Things dry out towards the end, and the oak steps in. Leather and mild spice linger, with pepper right at the close. Bulleit Kentucky Rye stands apart from the bourbon that built the name. That bourbon runs 68 percent corn, 28 percent rye, and 4 percent malted barley. Corn makes it rounder and sweeter. Strip the corn out and you get this. The rye is sharper, drier, and far more direct about its grain. Anyone curious about what rye alone tastes like should start here. It hides nothing behind sweetness.