School me on Bulleit

[flintlock]

I'm new to bourbon, and have just finished my first bottle (not counting many bottles of TN whisky). I bought a bottle of Bulleit and absolutely loved it. I'm trying to educate myself here, and have searched some regarding Bulleit, and I found that there are lots of people who don't like it. I thought it was great. I understand it's a whisky the constituents of which are apparently changing - with more or less Four Roses in it?

Can you sort of start my education by orienting me to what Bulleit is, and where it ranks in the hierarchy of things?

My next bottle is Russell's Reserve 10 yr, and I also love it, but find it much much smoother. I like the salty buttery punch of Bulleit and this is lacking in Russell's, which is much more refined, although of course excellent.

Not sure where I'll go next - might try some of the "great cheap" whiskies like Elijah Craig.

[kickert]

Bulleit is generally considered one of the higher rye bourbons on the market. It is bold and fiery compared to most of similar proof. The original bottlings were all produced by 4 Roses, but the general understanding is that it is starting to get more juice from other places.

IMHO it is great for the price, but certainly isn't for everyone.

[gauze]

salty bourbon? I don't think I have tasted anything salty in bourbon before ... anyway bulliet is "ok" from trying it once, I don't thing it's nearly the best at it's price point.

[cowdery]

Bulleit was started by Tom Bulleit probably 15 years ago now and was made originally by Buffalo Trace. He created Bulleit primarily to export it to Japan.

A few years later Seagram's bought the brand, kept Tom on as spokesperson, and relaunched it with new packaging (the current bottle). They also selected a recipe for it using the high-rye mashbill produced by Four Roses. It hink it may have been a mixture of several Four Roses bourbons, based on the different yeasts, but all with the high rye mashbill. At 35% rye it contains slightly more rye than Old Grand-Dad, which has a similar mash bill.

When Seagrams was broken up and Four Roses was sold to Kirin, Bulleit was sold to Diageo, The distillery sale came with a production contract that required Kirin to sell something like 50% of Four Roses production to Diageo for its various bourbon needs, including Bulleit. The contract had a sliding scale, with less of Four Rose's production going to Diageo each year. As Bulleit was growing there obviously came a point when there was more Bulleit being sold than Four Roses was obliged to supply. There was a bit of a dust up a few years ago in which Diageo continued to claim that Bulleit was made by Four Roses but the owners of Four Roses did chemical analysis of bottled Bulleit and determined that some of the whiskey in the bottle was not Four Roses.

It is known that Diageo has been buying a lot of new make from Brown Forman, Beam and Tom Moore, and aging it at the old Stitzel-Weller distillery. Any of those companies is capable of making any recipe Diageo desires but it's entirely possible that the non-Four Roses component in Bulleit is now Old Grand-Dad white dog made by Beam.

[Rickey Rotten]

My first experience with Bulleit, several years ago, was generally positive although I wasn't anxious to buy another bottle. This summer I did buy another and hated it. On other forums I read of similar experiences so a change in recipe makes sense. I probably will not buy it again. Cool looking bottle though.

[SourMashManifesto]

Flintlock, welcome to bourbon experimentation man. Bulleit can be somewhat polarizing for that rye-forward spice and kick that others have already mentioned. I view that however as maybe a good sign that you have a bourbon lover inside you. I think it's important to try a range of products when you are first trying bourbon, but because you like Bulleit, I'd probably recommend looking at other rye-forward producers. Wild Turkey comes to mind. Their entire range for the most part has a lot of spice character that you may really like. You've already started on Russell's and I think you pegged it well. It's the most restrained of the Wild Turkey line to my tastes. I'd actually point you to the WT101 - I love this bourbon for it's fantastic spice character but it's not overly oaked and loaded with tannin. It's spicy but still has a nice core of sweetness to it.

Elijah Craig 12 is a good one to go to, as you mentioned already. Though not nearly as spice forward as the Bulleit or 101, it does have a dryness to it and some age that make it unique. I think it brings a lot of value to the table.

I'd also recommend Four Roses Single Barrel. Really well known for some spicy, floral, and fruity notes. Much more elegant and refined than the ones mentioned above, but I certainly think it's one worth trying.

Anyway, those are just suggestions. Enjoy man! Just dig in. That's the best way to do it.