Advent: Day 2 – Bulleit Bourbon

Advent Review Whisky

3.5 stars

Today we move to what I instinctively think of as the home of bourbon – Kentucky.

Although Bulleit is a relatively young distillery – it was only founded in 1987 – its whiskey is inspired by the work of the founder’s great great grandfather Augustus Bulleit, who was making bourbon throughout the middle part of the 19th century.

bulleit-bourbon-1

Bulleit Bourbon is described as having an “especially high rye content” which is music to my ears; I’m slowly learning that my tastes are definitely inclined in the direction of rye.

The nose is full of blossom honey, with touches of over-ripened oranges and maybe a little bit of banana-flavoured sweets. Water brings out more soft, woody spices and even a suggestion of smoke.

In the mouth it start off quite light; soft, light honey slowly joined by a building spicy edge. Over time, the sweetness becomes darker, moving through golden syrup all the way to quite a dark caramel in the finish. Over times, slightly nutty tones also appear, and towards the end quite a tannic oak character.

Watered, the initial taste is almost too light; the later woody tones are also lost and although the sweetness endures, it’s lost a significant amount of character.

Definitely one to enjoy neat; a nice enough bourbon and for at a £25 price you really couldn’t go wrong. 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Master of Malt for providing their excellent Bourbon Advent Calendar this year.

One Comment

Steve

I just picked up a bottle of this £22 in Tesco, pretty tasty stuff but you’re right not punchy enough to take water.

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