Bulleit 12 Year Rye is a Diageo-released but MGP sourced “limited” rye whiskey, even though I’m not sure how limited it actually is. Bulleit is best known for its non-age-stated Bulleit Bourbon and Rye, and also has a 10 year old bourbon and NAS cask strength bourbon. I’m very exciting about this Bulleit rye because 12-year-old rye whiskey is usually quite rare and expensive, but Bulleit is somewhat widely available and actually reasonably priced at around $50. On the other end of the spectrum, Kentucky Owl charges around $200 for its sourced 11 year old, 50% alcohol rye. WhistlePig charges over $100 for its sourced 43% alcohol Old World 12 year rye. Bulleit 12 is a steal in comparison.
Given that it’s an age-stated rye whiskey using MGP’s 95% rye mash, I think of Bulleit 12 Year Rye as the spiritual successor to Smooth Ambler’s 7 Year Old Rye, an amazing rye whiskey that was discontinued around 2015. Read on for this Bulleit 12 Year Rye review to see if Diageo cut any corners to get it to $50.