Bourbon is my drink. Sure, I've spent plenty of afternoon hours at the office lusting for the end of the day and an ice cold martini, and I've spent my money on good scotches and fine cognacs, but bourbon was my first love in liquor and it will always hold a special place in my heart. To that end, I have something good to say about most bourbons. Perhaps it is the nature of review and evaluation to stratify, but the more liquors I taste and the more time I spend debating better points of a whiskey with others, the more I believe that we are wasting our time trying to get at the "best," and we do much better in simply outlining what a given whiskey brings to the table. Afterall, variety is the spice of life, and I don't know any serious connousieur who would limit himself to any single "best" whiskey for his own drinking.
That said, Bulleit is a mid priced bourbon that is reminiscent the bourbons of days gone by in both taste and marketing. The bottle is old style flask, with raised lettering, and the label underscores the brand as "Frontier Whiskey." Likewise, while many bourbons today have a taste profile that centers around sweet flavors, especially vanilla, balanced with wood and smoke, this bourbon has a very strong rye character to it--a flavor I'll call "vintage" because at one time rye was the most popular form of whiskey made in America. Not to mention it is bottled at 90 proof, as were many of the whiskeys made decades ago.
If you're at all used to bourbon, there is nothing especially remarkable on the pour here. Color is dark amber, with good legs on the glass and relatively heavy look. In the nose, the aforementioned rye spice strikes me first, especially if you approach this expecting a more traditional vanilla nose. There's also plenty of charred oak, along with a subtle hint of the more traditional vanilla sweetness. In tasting, I get most of this towards the front of my mouth, with the warm rye flavors virtually exploding on the front of my tongue. It doesn't have quite the "freshly baked bread" quality of some rye whiskey, but the rye tastes are still quite pronounced. Further back, I notice the wood and smoke flavors, and the finish evens out to a pleasant melding of the two. This has considerably more sweetness than a traditional rye, but it doesn't strike me quite as sweet as many other bourbons. There is plenty of warmth, and while there is no age statement on the bottle, this one has a rich, charcoal barrel essence to it. The vanilla flavor is there, but it is somewhat layered beneath the rye and barrel tastes. There is absolutely no bitterness, and all the warmth in the flavor profile comes from taste, not alcohol harshness.
Overall, I like this one a lot. It is quite a bit different, and I think it would be a good choice for cocktails like a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned. I find it very smooth and drinkable, and I have no real desire to do anything more with it beyond sipping it neat, unless mixing in to one of the aforementioned cocktails. If you like whiskey with sodas, I'd suggest ginger ale would be a good mixer with Bulleit.
Overall, I enjoy this whiskey a lot, and I think it's a good deal. The rye flavors are somewhat different for a contemporary bourbon, but very nice. If you like bourbon, rye, cognac, or any of the smokier scotch whiskies, I'd give this one a try.
90 Pts: International Review of Spirits It has been aged seven years and has a high rye component in the mash which gives the bourbon a rich, oak arom...More at CityWineCellar
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