Bulleit 12 Year 95 Rye Whiskey

VITALS:

- $50

- 92 Proof

- 12 Years

- Indiana

I've noticed what I hope is a growing trend in the rye section of my liquor store lately.  I've been seeing more and more ryes with age statements in, or at least approaching, double digits.  There are still only a handful out there, but Knob Creek has recently released its 10-year age-stated rye, and shortly before that Bulleit released this, their 12 year rye.

I'm an absolute sucker for aged rye, so this was a bit of a no-brainer for me to grab, particularly at a very approachable $50.  The proof isn't particularly high, but I'm willing to look past that when they're putting out products that were given a bit more time in the barrel.  Even if it is MGP rye, which is still somewhat plentiful, there still just isn't a whole lot of well-aged rye on the shelf, and I hope this is a sign of a trend in that direction!

The nose was fairly standard of what I've come to expect from MGP rye. It had a great cinnamon spice to it, as well as a sweet and soft vanilla undertone. And, of course, there was a bit of mint on the nose to tell you this came from Indiana. That said, these are all welcome notes that I've come to love in a rye.

Perhaps it's due to the lower proof, but when I took my first sip my impression was that this is sweeter than most MGP ryes I've had. Sure, the cinnamon spice and even a little bit of black pepper spice were there. It also had a familiar mint note to it. But, the sweetness took center stage. It had almost a vanilla icing note to it that, while not bad, kind of surprised me. 

That sweetness is what seemed to linger the most on the finish. Any cinnamon spice seemed to vanish, leaving just that sweet vanilla note and a hint of that initial mint note. The finish was fleeting, however, and didn't leave even those sweet vanilla notes to hang around very long.

All in all, I thought this was a very tasty, albeit sweeter rye. While I wish it were a bit more robust, I really enjoyed the flavor, and I feel like the age allowed those flavors to meld and work together more than they otherwise would have at a younger age.

Grade: B