USA/KY: Bulleit Bourbon Distillery
While Jim Beam may be the most selling bourbon in the world, Bulleit is the fastest growing and apparently the hippest. And the new and posh distillery in Shelbyville in Kentucky, you get to learn all about Bulleit and bourbon in general. So what makes the bourbon, and how is it different from whiskey. Basically, every bourbon is whiskey but not every whiskey is bourbon. To be called “bourbon”, 5 parameters must be satisfied: it must be made in the USA (but not necessarily in Kentucky), it must contain at least 51% corn in its mash grain mixture, it must be aged in brand new oak barrels that are freshly charred, it must be poured into barrels at no more then 125 proof (62.5% alcohol), and it must be bottled at the minimum of 80 proof (40% alcohol). At Bulleit Bourbon distillery you get to try their products in an elaborate and elitist ceremony when you are drinking and smelling various dry fruits and spices before and after the tasting of each shot. Bulleit has 4 main varieties – Bulleit Straight Bourbon, Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon (118-125 proof or 59-62.5 % alcohol), Bulleit 10 Year Bourbon, and the Bulleit Rye Whiskey. The latter is actually the most popular product, although it’s not a bourbon – it contains 95% rye, giving it a spicy flavour. Rye whiskies are all the rage nowadays…
