First Impressions
Bulleit's standard bourbon is one of the world's most recognisable bottles — that distinctive flask shape, the embossed lettering. The 10 Year Old takes the same high-rye mashbill and lets it sit, and the extra time shows everywhere.
Distillery & Heritage
The Bulleit brand was revived by Tom Bulleit in 1987, drawing on a family recipe said to date to the 1830s. Long sourced from MGP and other Kentucky distilleries, Bulleit is now part of Diageo and produced at the dedicated Bulleit Distilling Co. site in Shelbyville, Kentucky. The mashbill is famously high in rye — around 28% — giving the whole range its peppery signature.
Tasting Notes in Detail
The nose brings vanilla and dried fruit but layered with oak char, dark chocolate and warming cinnamon. The palate is properly grown-up Bulleit — black pepper and rye spice up front, then toffee, leather and espresso depth. The finish is long, dry and lingering with cocoa and just a hint of smoke from all that charred oak.
Verdict
If you found the standard Bulleit too sharp, the 10 is the answer — same DNA, but with the rough edges sanded down and a serious dose of maturity.
