I really want to like Bulleit. Their baseline Bulleit Bourbon was one of the first American whiskeys I found enjoyable and it helps that they're owned by Diageo (the UK-based makers of Guinness, Johnnie Walker and more). Lately I'd been eyeing their other expressions and decided, as part of my 'research,' to grab the Blenders' Select. As you'll see below it seemed another good bottle to write about, especially to highlight the distillery in its current state.
Compared to the big boy American whiskey distillers (Beam, Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill...) Bulleit is young, though it has links farther back. According to their site 1987 is when Thomas E. Bulleit Jr. first brought back a family tradition for high rye whiskey originally made in the mid-1800s. Thomas' whiskey-making great-great-grandfather Augustus Bulleit disappeared with his barrels somewhere between Kentucky and New Orleans around 1860, his death also ending his business. Several generations later his legacy was revived and a new venture started. To Thomas this was a massive risk and a new frontier. This is a big part of their marketing, seen both with 'Frontier Whiskey' on every bottle and elsewhere in the business like the Frontier Fund. High rye is their thing, and it's apparent in their spicy Bourbons (including the 10-year and barrel strength versions) and the rye-forward 95 Rye.
In 1997 Bulleit was acquired by Seagram, then an independent beverage maker, who distilled for them in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky (i.e. Four Roses). They distributed throughout the US and a few other countries helping build the brand. In 2001 Seagrams sold off assets, with Bulleit and other spirits going to Diageo. Bulleit remained sourced whiskey, a frequent subject on this blog lately, since Diageo had no US based distillery. For a quick review that means someone else distilled the spirit before Bulleit acquired, aged and bottled it. The actual source of the whiskey supposedly continued to be Four Roses for much, but not all, of this time. In 2017 Bulleit finally got its own large-scale distillery near Shelbyville, Kentucky, where a visitors center also opened in 2019. That means for now bottles on shelves will likely be sourced stock but going forward they can dream big with coming end-to-end production.
That brings us to the whiskey subject of today. This is actually Blenders' Select No.001, intended to the be the first release in a limited series of specially crafted Bourbons. Altogether I imagine it's a showcase of the distillery, and the skill of their blenders, in a time where they're more open to seeing what they can do. This bottling specifically is also part of Diageo's campaign to show off women's contributions in the spirits industry as it was designed and led by Bulleit blender Eboni Major. As expected it's all sourced spirit, with the label saying simply 'Bottled in Louisville, KY.'
Interestingly, the attached card states that Bulleit normally uses ten distillates resulting from two mashbills and five yeast strains. This is exactly what Four Roses is known for, strongly implying Bulleit wants to do things much like the distillery they sourced from all those years, or perhaps it's a frank admission this stuff again came from them. Either way, in this case it's three different distillate recipes blended together in the final product, with all six to eight years old.
It's time to try it.
Stats:
ABV - 50% (100 proof)
Mash - Blend of three distillates: 51+% corn, probably 20-30% rye, a little malted barley
Maturation - New charred American oak
Age - Six to eight years
Location - Bottled in Louisville, KY
Price - ~$55 (I paid $60)
Tasting Notes:
Nose - It's rich with wood, vanilla, brown sugar, booze (and bananas, per my wife)
Color - Dark, like a reddish brown
Taste - Burnt sugar, some fruit and spice, then a ton of vanilla
Finish - Dry and easy to drink considering the proof, nicely gentle long finish
Final Thoughts:
Though I can't find anything bad to say about the whiskey itself I'm not sure what to think. For 100 proof it's easy to drink and packed full of vanilla. Even if the flavor profile isn't a favorite of mine this is clearly a quality product. My issue comes from a strong reminder of another whiskey, the Four Roses Single Barrel, which is essentially the same thing, usually cheaper and not a one-time release. If Bulleit truly desired to clone this well-regarded whiskey (from a distillery they've long been connected!) it unequivocally was a success. But the fact it's mimicking Four Roses in both its recipes and final products kind of weird me out.
Luckily this doesn't diminish my overall interest in Bulleit thanks to another bottle currently on my bar, a single barrel store pick. Unlike the Blenders' Select I think it's a better example of the spicy yet balanced Bourbon typically made by Bulleit, though maybe its singular mashbill is just more to my liking. Whenever it may be, next time I'll grab the barrel strength instead of any future releases in this experimental series.
Cheers!
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