A Straight Shooting Whiskey: Bulleit Bourbon Review

The History:

It was 1830 when saloon owner Augustus Bulleit decided to create a whiskey with a unique flavor. Using two-thirds rye and one-third corn, Augustus made a mighty tasty rye whiskey that was popular until his death in 1860. Then, in 1987, Augustus’s great-great grandson, Thomas E. Bulleit, Jr. stepped up to begin crafting his version of Bulleit Bourbon. Bulleit, Jr. used 68% corn, 28% of rye and 4% malted barley in the mash bill for an exceptional flavor. Ten years later, Seagram’s purchased the brand. 

In 1999, Diageo bought the Seagram’s brands and Bulleit Bourbon was produced at Four Roses Distillery. In March of this year, Diageo opened the Bulleit Distillery in Shelby County, Kentucky. Now part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience is located in the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, five miles from downtown Louisville, Kentucky. 

The Bulleit Bourbon Profile:

Open a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon and you will notice the aromas of vanilla, honey and oak that tempt you to taste. The flavor profile is spicy with vanilla, caramel and hints of wood that trail into a long smoky finish. With a proof of 90% and ABV 45% (alcohol by volume), this bourbon retails for under $50 a bottle.

How to Enjoy:

Bulleit Bourbon is versatile – serve it straight, on the rocks, with water, club soda or ginger ale. The distillery offers tours and tastings from 10am – 4pm Monday, and Wednesday through Saturday. Sunday tours are from 1pm to 4pm. Cost is $10 for adults over 21. Visit Bulleit Bourbon for more information.

Cheers!

Joy Neighbors

My new book The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide is out in bookstores across the country. Click here for more information. (FYI: Goes well with a glass of Bourbon!)

Join In the Month-Long Celebration of Our Native Spirit

 

By Joy Neighbors

September is National Bourbon Heritage Month. Known as America’s “Native Spirit,” Bourbon has an extensive history in the U.S., especially in Kentucky.

Elijah Craig

While Bourbon can be made anywhere, Kentucky holds claim as its birthplace. It is said that Baptist minister Elijah Craig first aged whiskey in a charred oak barrel imparting that reddish hue and distinctive taste that is the mark of a fine Kentucky Bourbon.

White Oak Barrels

Bourbon’s taste appeal comes from the amount of time it spends aging in charred white oak barrels extracting those perfect flavors of caramel, wood, nuts, spice and smoke – the taste profile of a fine Bourbon. And that caramel color is the real thing. Unlike Scotch, Bourbon is bottled the way it comes out of the barrel – in all its amber tones and rich flavors.

Just as Portugal is the only country that can call a dessert wine Port, and only Spain can craft a Sherry; only the United States can produce Bourbon Whiskey, thanks to an act of Congress in 1964. In 2007, the U.S. Senate passed the resolution decreeing September as National Bourbon Heritage Month, and so we celebrate.

In honor of the beverage, a weeklong celebration known as the Kentucky Bourbon Festival is held each autumn in Bardstown, Kentucky – “Bourbon Capital of the World.” This year will mark the 25^th anniversary of the festival, which will be held from September 12- 18. https://www.kybourbonfestival.com

Take time this month to hoist a glass of Kentucky Bourbon and celebrate National Bourbon Heritage Month in style with our only designated “Native Spirit!” 

Cheers!

5 Tips for Celebrating National Bourbon Heritage Month

It all began in 2007 when Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning sponsored a bill that proclaimed the month of September as National Bourbon Heritage Month.

Bourbon was first designated as "America’s Native Spirit” in a 1964 Act of Congress. But the Commonwealth of Kentucky has been home to bourbon and its rich, cultural history for over 200 years.

If you're looking for a way to get your Kentucky Bourbon groove on this month, here are five ideas to get you in the “spirit” of things...

Experience the Difference

Not all wines are the crafted the same, and neither are all bourbons. To discover what type of bourbon you prefer, grab a glass and explore the three main bourbon groups: traditional (corn), wheat and rye.

Traditional (corn) bourbon contains at least 70% corn with equal parts of barley and rye. Evan Williams, Jim Beam and Wild Turkey distilleries craft traditional bourbons.

Wheat bourbons contain a higher amount of wheat with corn and barley blended in. This type of bourbon is softer and sweeter than the traditional. Wheat bourbon producers include Maker’s Mark, Pappy Van Winkle and Old Grand-Dad.

Rye bourbons are heavy on rye and provide a spicy, more robust flavor profile. These bold bourbons are the mainstays of Buffalo Trace, Four Roses and Woodford Reserve distilleries.

Explore the Legacy

Brush up on your bourbon whiskey knowledge at the Oscar Getz Museum in Bardstown Kentucky. Located in Spalding Hall, this museum contains a 50-year collection of rare whiskey memorabilia, from authentic moonshine stills, to advertising art, to rare whiskey bottles, with artifacts that date from pre-colonial tines to post-Prohibition.

Celebrate the Heritage

Every September, Bardstown Kentucky – Bourbon Capital of the World – hosts the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, and this is the week! Today through Sunday (September 15 – 20, 2015) you can sample bourbons from master distillers as well as regional micro-distilleries from around the state. Enjoy historical tours, bourbon tastings and distillery trips: the trifecta for bourbon lovers.

Travel the Trail

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, established in 1999, provides visitors with tours, tastings and information about the art and science of bourbon production. Nine distilleries make up the trail, which covers bourbon’s beginnings in the 1700s, up through the “bourbon experience” of today. The trail has averaged nearly 2.5 million visitors a year for the past five years – a great sign that bourbon is the favored “native spirit.”

Take the Craft Tour, Too

The Bluegrass State is also home to a burgeoning Craft Bourbon Trail.  This state-of-the-art tour highlights almost a dozen micro-distilleries scattered throughout Kentucky, offering handcrafted samples served with a side of entrepreneurial history and passion.

And remember, while whiskey can be made any where in the world, bourbon can only be made in the U.S.

Cheers!

Joy