Whiskey Advent Calendar Tasting: Bulleit Bourbon, 10 year
This is part of my series on tasting notes from the 2021 Drinks By The Dram Bourbon Advent Calendar.
Whiskey #2 for December 2nd, 2021: Bulleit Bourbon, 10 year
Today's whiskey is the Bulleit 10 year aged Bourbon from Bulleit Distilling Co.
The distillery
Bulleit Distilling Co. is a moderately aged distiller dating back to 1987. It doesn't quite have the pedigree of some of your more famous names, but Bulleit has definitely done the work to become a well known distiller amoung bourbon drinkers and beyond. They're located in Louiville, KY, so we'll be having a nice Kentucky Straight Bourbon today.
The whiskey
Aged in charred American white oak, select Bulleit Bourbon barrels were set aside to age for 10 years. The result is a special expression of Bulleit that provides a rich, deep, incredibly smooth sipping experience.
Bulleit offers a mash bill with percentages!
68% corn 28% rye 4% malted barley
And tasting notes!
Deep russet in color, rich oaky aromas. Consistently smooth taste with vanilla, dried fruit, and a long, smoky finish.
We'll see how my tasting lines up.
Look
It is in fact russet colored! So is almost all bourbon. I can't say for sure that it's "deep" or not though. Excellent clarity and sparkles nicely in the light. Clingy glycerine that turns into thin legs with lots of staying power. It has a great wobble to it that seems to last forever after swirling.
Nose
Oak and cinnamon are at the forefront with lovely citrus and darker fruits/berries hiding in the rear. Maybe even a little vanilla hanging out and mingling with everything else.
Taste
Strong oak and rye in the initial taste, but it finishes sweet caramel and vanilla flavors. A pleasent alcohol burn to remind you it's bourbon, but not so in your face as to detract from the taste. The body is a little thin in matching with how the bourbon clings to the glass. Further tasting shows cinnamon and other "baking spice" flavors hanging out in the background.
True to the tasting notes there's a hint of smoke on the finish as you breathe out. This is a very competent bourbon.
After water
A few milliliters of water brings out the cinnamon and spice in the nose. The oak sits down a little, but so do the citrus and fruit notes. It's all still there, just muted.
Water calms the rye significantly and brings forward the vanilla, so that now the taste is very vanilla and oak at the front with all the same cinnamon and spice notes in the background. The alcohol burn is significantly reduced and this becomes almost shockingly smooth. The body feels slightly more luxurious as well, but maybe this is just a trick of the burn being tamped down.
Summary
A good and very competent bourbon. I happily accept a glass of this and for the right price would definitely buy a bottle. Caskers has it for about 50 bucks and that's a little high in my mind given some other options out, but absolutely pleasant and worth drinking.