The Bourbon Review: Bulleit Bourbon & St Augustine Straight Bourbon
There's only one certainty in life and that's change. Heraclitus is credited with this idea. He said, "Everything changes and nothing remains still; and you cannot step twice into the same stream".
There's been plenty of change here at Causeway Whiskey not least a rather life defining move across the pond to Florida. The perpetual Irish winter has been replaced with a perpetual summer and the need to invest in my own Factor 50 sunscreen production facility to keep myself from turning into a perpetual lobster.
Perhaps, in the interest of this website, the biggest change is that of leaving behind immediate access to the greatest imbibement on the planet, Irish whiskey and also being a stones throw away from their close cousins (distance wise but not quality wise), Scotch whisky only to find myself faced with a drinking dilemma.
The dilemma is that here in Florida, Irish whiskey selections in most bars are terrible and they aren't much better at liquor stores (that's 'off licences' to you and me) and while the scotch selection is slightly better the prices are a little, shall we say, off putting.
I'm now faced with my worst nightmare.....a proliferation of borebon, I mean, bourbon.
Rather than be morose over this new drinking circumstance I feel it's time to embrace the challenge of trying to find good American whisk(e)y. @whiskeygraeme has been trying for some time to convert me to this dark side of whiskey culture so I'll try to enjoy the ride. Brands may not enjoy my commentary but sure there's nothing new there....I'm sure plenty in Ireland are glad to see the back of me.
The two whiskies we're looking at today are not bottles I've picked up recently, no they date back to September 2023, yet again highlighting my tardiness in putting content out.
First up we have Bulleit Bourbon, a brand I was well enough acquainted with back home in Ireland. In fact a 50/50 blend of the Bulleit bourbon and rye was my go to mix for making an old fashioned for a time.
It's a relatively new brand having only come into being in 1987. Tom Bulleit who started the brand resurrected his great, great grandfather's recipe from 1830. Today, as in Augustus Bulleit's day, Bulleit uses a mashbill of 68% corn, 28% rye and 4% malted barley. Apparently they use whiskey that's aged between 5 to 8 years in the vattings and it comes in at a healthy enough 45% abv/90 proof. It's also available here in the US for the frankly ridiculously low price of $21.99. It's not much more expensive in the UK with Sainsbury's charging £21.
This bottle will have likely been distilled then at their new distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky which opened on March 14, 2017 at a cost of $115 million to the owners, Diageo. Bulleit was previously distilled in the Stitzel-Weller distillery in Shively, Kentucky which is also owned by Diageo.
Next up is a distillery that is a little closer to home than Kentucky. St Augustine itself was founded in 1565 by Spanish settlers and is the oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in the US. The distillery that takes the towns name is somewhat newer having been established in 2012 before distillation began in 2013. March 19, 2014 sees the distillery open to the public and also sees it's first sale of it's Florida cane vodka.
A gin comes later in 2014 followed by rum in 2015 with their flagship Pot distilled rum being released in January 2016. On September 9, 2016 the St Augustine Florida Double Cask is released. It's the first bourbon ever to be fermented, distilled, aged and bottled in Florida.
Everything at St Augustine including bottling is done by hand which is nice to see and they take great pride in the local employment they provide through this ethos.
This is what they say about the Straight Bourbon we're reviewing today:
"We are very proud of the fact that unlike many craft distilleries, we make every drop of bourbon that we sell. We do not purchase and re-barrel or bottle other companies bourbon. What you get is our hand-made Florida interpretation of America’s spirit. Our Florida Straight bourbon is made from a mash bill of 60% Florida corn, 22% barley, and 18% Florida wheat. We grind the grains on-site, mash and ferment in our building, and distill the spirit in our pot still. Our Distillers make head, heart, and tail cuts ensuring the quality and consistency only found in a hand-crafted spirit. Once the hearts are collected, they make their way to their new home in a new, 53-gallon charred oak barrel. These barrels have been toasted and charred to our custom specifications. Our Distillers sample the spirit periodically, tracking and grading each barrel through its life cycle. After aging a minimum of three years, we select the barrels to harvest, and marry those barrels in small batches of 16 – 40 barrels, taking into account each barrel’s location and height in the warehouse. This ensures a consistent flavor profile. We do not chill filter our bourbon, rather we do as little filtration as possible. This keeps the mouth feel of a traditional pot distillation, heightening the enjoyment of your drinking experience. We then hand bottle the spirit, resulting in a classic Florida bourbon."
This has been bottled at 44% abv/88 proof and cost me $45 from Total Wines here in Plantation.
Let's Taste!
Nose: Light honey, sliced apples, vanilla, peach. Cherry lips candies, licorice, mild oakiness and a little cask char. Cinnamon, fennel and a light pepperiness.
Palate: There’s that honey again with baked apples, vanilla beans, fennel, clove and rye spice. Tinned pineapple too. Some orange peel now along with toasted oak and a slightly dry bitterness.
Finish: short to medium, with rye spice, clove, tinned pineapple and oak tannins.
Score: 5 out of 10
St. Augustine Florida Straight Bourbon 44%abv/88 proof 3 years old
60% Florida corn, 22% barley, 18% Florida wheat
Nose: That high ratio of corn is the first thing that strikes you. Quite bright and a little astringent, highlighting its youth. Vanilla, caramel, spent coffee grounds. Some apple and pear fruitiness along with a little clove. Hay and cardboard. Acetone notes toward the end too.
Palate: Hmm…feels very, very wooden driven. Soft mouthfeel but dry and tannic. Oatmeal flapjacks, honey, some clove. Lacks the fruitiness of the nose. Cinnamon now as well as a youthful alcohol heat plus my favourite note….postage stamp glue.
Finish: Dry, a little spicy and astringent. Raw alcohol notes too.
Score: 3 out of 10
Overall:
The Bulleit for the money is absolutely dead on. Sure it's not complex (Diageo know a thing or too about dulling the life out of drams) but it's well balanced and the high rye content does lend a fruity and spicy edge to proceedings. Easy to sip, goes well in cocktails, what's not to like?
I thought that while visiting the Sunshine State it’d be remiss of me not to try some of their locally distilled Sunshine Spirit. Sadly though the sunshine is pretty obscured by the cloudiness of youthful spirit and active casks. I mean it’s not totally awful, there is promise here, but I’d like to see this aged a little longer, maybe 5 years to smooth off some of the rougher edges. Age isn't everything as the likes of Balcones shows but in this case the youthfulness is entirely evident.
For the entry fee of $45 I think there are many other bourbons that offer much better value. Buffalo Trace, Makers Mark, Wild Turkey 101, Old Forester to name just a few come in at between half to two thirds of the price but offer a better experience.
I love craft distilling and craft producers, but that also means that you need to justify the sometimes higher entry fees with extra quality. Currently that doesn’t shine through with the St. Augustine. Let’s see what the long term brings.
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