Bourbon the Bulleit way

Related tags American whiskey Bourbon whiskey Us

Did you always want to get into the family business?I started out as a lawyer. To be honest I really wanted to take on the family tradition from my...

Did you always want to get into the family business?

I started out as a lawyer. To be honest I really wanted to take on the family tradition from my father Tom. But he didn't agree! He thought I should be a lawyer. So I started out doing that. But in 1987 I had the opportunity to bring my great-great grandfather's recipe back to life and I was delighted to do it.

Is the recipe for Bulleit the same now as it was when it was first produced?

The recipe has been handed down by every generation since it was first invented by my great-great-grandfather Augustus Bulleit. He emigrated from France in 1805 and settled in Louisville. The recipe was a very simple one and was different because it contained much more rye than other bourbons. This is still the case today, which makes it drier and less sweet compared with other brands.

Virtually all American whiskey is produced in the same area of the US - are there turf wars going on between the different whiskey families?

No! You'd be surprised but the distilling community in the states of Kentucky and Tennessee is very close. We all know each other - and some families have even inter-married!

Is bourbon very much a Southerners' drink in the US?

Well, there is loyalty to it in Kentucky and areas nearby. But some of our oldest and best markets are north or west, in states like Colorado and Ohio. Big bourbon markets tend to be states which are very 'American' - frontier lands, with a very outdoor culture. Colorado is the best example of that.

Why do you think American whiskey is so much more popular with younger drinkers in the UK than scotch whiskies?

I think people simply enjoy the imported product. American whiskey is approachable and easily mixable. In the US we would not mix scotches - the most we would put in them is soda. We see a drinks mixing and cocktail culture emerging in the UK, much like the one that existed in the 1940s in the US, which is most curious to me!

Why do you think standard whiskies are struggling right now compared with premium bourbons or single malts?

We appear to have gone through a process of 'connoisseurship' in the Western world, be it through New World wines, boutique vodkas or single-batch bourbons. There has been a huge proliferation of products and therefore a greater expectation of quality.

What has Diageo done for Bulleit in the UK since taking it on?

When it was first introduced by Seagram into the UK the company very much targeted it at top-end outlets and style bars. In the two years since Diageo reintroduced it the company has placed much more emphasis on it. Diageo is doing more consistently the kind of activity we see in the US.

It's my round, what are you drinking?

Well if it wasn't Bulleit then it would have to be Knob Creek, which is owned by Jim Beam. I love the interesting configuration of the Beam recipe.

CV:

  • 1966​ - Graduated from University of Kentucky
  • 1967-1969​ - served in Vietnam as a member of US Marine Corps
  • 1971​ - Qualified as a lawyer
  • 1987​ - Revived the Bulleit bourbon distillery using original recipe
  • 1999​ - Bulleit officially relaunched into US market
  • 2000​ - Bulleit launched into UK by Seagram
  • 2003/4​ - Bulleit taken on by Diageo

Related topics Spirits & Cocktails

Property of the week

Follow us

Pub Trade Guides

View more