Bulleit
In the 1830s, Augustus Bulleit experimented with various recipes in Louisville, Kentucky, until he found his ideal high-rye blend - he then loaded a boat with his first barrel and sailed to New Orleans to sell the whiskey. He never returned from that trip; his disappearance remains unexplained to this day. Over 150 years later, his great-great-grandson Tom Bulleit decided to finish what his ancestor had started: in 1987, he gave up his career as a lawyer to found the Bulleit Distilling Company, having his first barrels distilled at what is today the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. Bulleit Bourbon didn't reach store shelves until 1995 - after a further change of ownership to Seagram in 1997 and finally to Diageo in 2000, which opened its own dedicated distillery in Shelbyville in 2017.
Content: 0.7 Liter (€24.27 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Content: 0.7 Liter (€39.99 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Content: 0.7 Liter (€44.27 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Content: 0.04 Liter (€149.75 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Content: 0.04 Liter (€124.75 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Content: 0.04 Liter (€149.75 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
What really happened to Augustus Bulleit?
The founder vanished without a trace in the 1830s on a boat trip to New Orleans, where he intended to sell his first barrel of whiskey - his fate remains an unsolved mystery of bourbon history to this day.
How did the brand arrive at its current recipe?
When reviving the brand in 1987, Tom Bulleit deliberately based it on his ancestor's original two-thirds-corn-one-third-rye mash bill, which persists today as 68% corn, 28% rye and 4% malted barley.
Flavour profile
Taste: Spicy and dry with a pronounced rye note, caramel and a fine vanilla sweetness - noticeably zestier than classic, more corn-forward bourbons.
Recommended enjoyment: Neat, or as the base for an Old Fashioned or Manhattan.
Start with Bulleit Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon.
Facts and figures
Original recipe 1830s by Augustus Bulleit. Revived 1987 by great-great-grandson Tom Bulleit, launched to market 1995. Acquired by Seagram 1997, by Diageo 2000. Dedicated distillery in Shelbyville since 2017.