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 Bulleit is known for its bourbon (orange label) and rye (green label), which is the best-selling rye in the United States. (Photo courtesy: Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience)

Bulleit is known for its bourbon (orange label) and rye (green label), which is the best-selling rye in the United States. (Photo courtesy: Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience)

Featured Blog Post:

Bulleit Bourbon: Kentucky's Spicy Frontier Whiskey

 May 9, 2017

Bulleit Bourbon is one of the most well-known and successful Bourbon brands on the market. In fact, Bulleit recently sold its 1,000,000th case. And they aren't just known for their Bourbon either. In addition to being the fastest-growing non-flavored North American whiskey, Bulleit Rye is also the best-selling rye in the United States. We recently caught up with Kevin Didio, manager of Bulleit's Kentucky Visitor Experience, to find out a little more about Bulleit's history and what makes their brand so successful. 

Bourbon & Barns: How did Bulleit get its start in the 1830s? When did it close?

Kevin Didio: According to the Bulleit family legend, Tom’s great-great grandfather made a high-rye bourbon in the 1800s. He supposedly disappeared one day while transporting barrels of bourbon to New Orleans in 1860, but no one knows what happened to him. The legend of the high-rye bourbon survived throughout the years, and that’s what inspired Tom to create Bulleit Bourbon.

BB: How did Thomas E. Bulleit, Jr. decide to reopen the distillery in 1987?

KD: Tom grew up in the Kentucky bourbon community and had dreamed of starting his own whiskey company that revived the old family recipe. After serving in the Vietnam War and starting his own successful law practice, Tom finally decided to follow that dream in 1987. The business started with Tom selling Bulleit by hand for nearly 10 years before partnering with Seagram’s, now Diageo. Hard work, persistence and great whiskey helped build the company to what it is today.

BB: How big is the operation today?  

KD: Bulleit recently reached the one million case mark and we’re proud to say that Bulleit Bourbon is the fastest-growing non-flavored North American Whiskey and Bulleit Rye is the bestselling rye in the U.S.

BB: Every bottle of Bulleit is described as “Frontier Whiskey.” What does this mean?

KD: Bulleit Frontier Whiskey was inspired by the pioneering spirit shared between Tom Bulleit and the legend of his great-great grandfather. Tom’s frontier was leaving his job as a successful lawyer to create a whiskey company. The frontier isn’t a physical place, but instead is a shared spirit among people exploring a path of their own.

BB: Where are the Bulleit whiskey products made? Are they made at the Stitzel-Weller facility or an another location?

KD: Bulleit Bourbon is made in Kentucky and Bulleit Rye is made just across the state border in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. They are distilled by our fantastic partners who have worked to provide consistently great products using the best ingredients available. We age our bourbon at the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery and our new warehouses at The Bulleit Distilling Co., where we began distilling Bulleit Bourbon earlier this year.

BB: Bulleit Bourbon is recognizable by its high rye content (28%)? Did Bulleit set out to create a high rye bourbon?

KD: Tom set out to create a bourbon with a high rye content that resembled the Bulleit family tradition. The historic recipe gives Bulleit Bourbon a bold, spicy character with a distinctively smooth, clean finish.

BB: Bulleit’s Rye Whiskey uses a mash bill that is 95% rye. Did the distillery set out to create a rye with the maximum rye content to match its high-rye bourbon?

KD: Bulleit Rye was originally created almost as a thank you to the bartending community who supported Bulleit Bourbon. Tom received many requests for a straight rye whiskey to re-create classic cocktails; those bartenders inspired Tom to create Bulleit Rye. It is one of the highest rye whiskeys on the market and pays homage to the Bulleit high-rye family recipe.

BB: Bulleit’s 10-Year-Old Bourbon has the same mash bill as Bulleit’s traditional bourbon, but the 10-Year-Old Bourbon is aged longer. How would you describe the differences between these two bourbons?

KD: Bulleit 10 Year Old is spicier and has a stronger oak influence due to the additional years in the barrel. It makes for an incredible sipping bourbon, while Bulleit Bourbon is a classic in cocktails.

BB: What can visitors expect on a tour of the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience?

KD: At the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience, visitors can tour the historic facility to learn more about Bulleit and the legend that is Stitzel-Weller. Whiskey tastings of the Bulleit portfolio and our sister brands are also offered on the tour for guests 21+.

If you would like to visit the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, you can visit www.BulleitExperience.com for more information. 

 Irap (white/purple silks) edges Girvin to win the Ohio Derby at JACK Thistledown on Saturday. Irap and Girvin once shared a barn in Ocala, FL as they prepped for the two-year-old-in-training sales. With multiple graded stakes wins, Irap has surpassed $1 million in lifetime earnings, while Girvin has earned more than $900,000. (Photo Credit: @thistledownracino)

Irap (white/purple silks) edges Girvin to win the Ohio Derby at JACK Thistledown on Saturday. Irap and Girvin once shared a barn in Ocala, FL as they prepped for the two-year-old-in-training sales. With multiple graded stakes wins, Irap has surpassed $1 million in lifetime earnings, while Girvin has earned more than $900,000. (Photo Credit: @thistledownracino)

Irap Edges Former Stablemate Girvin in Ohio Derby Battle

June 26, 2017

Regular readers of Bourbon and Barns will remember Irap, the ugly duckling yearling we profiled after he won the Bluegrass Stakes in April. You can read that story (told in five parts) at http://bourbonandbarns.com/blog/2017/4/22/wm3j7megbbe3wkx9v40q2fgsp5npxl.

While researching the history of Irap, Bourbon and Barns learned that Irap once lived on a farm in Ocala, FL in the same barn as Girvin who would also become a top three-year-old in 2017. The two colts faced off in the Kentucky Derby (with a pair of disappointing finishes) before providing a thrilling stretch duel in Saturday's Ohio Derby at Thistledown in North Randall, OH. 

Former stablemates Irap and Girvin battled to the wire in the Ohio Derby on Saturday in a race so close even the track announcer wasn’t sure who had won. In the end, Irap edged ahead at the line to win his second graded stakes race in his last three starts.

Irap, a son of Tiznow and Silken Cat, ran from off the pace and entered the stretch 1 ½ lengths behind the leaders. In the stretch, jockey Julien Leparoux asked Irap for more and the colt delivered with a burst that sent him nose-to-nose with Girvin who matched Irap stride-for-stride before the close finish.

Irap, who had failed to win in his first seven starts, won the Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland at odds of 33-to-1. He raced next in the Kentucky Derby where he finished a disappointing 18th.

While Irap’s career may have gotten off to a slow start, 2017 is proving to be a great year. This year, he has two wins and two second-place finishes in six starts with earnings of $1 million.

Girvin, a son of Tale of Ekati, broke his maiden in December before winning the Grade-2 Risen Star Stakes and the Grade-2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds earlier this year. Girvin finished a disappointing 13th in the Kentucky Derby before returning to the track on Saturday for the Ohio Derby.

Before facing off against each other in their last two races, Irap and Girvin were once stablemates. Brad Grady and Bobby Dodd, pinhookers in Ocala, FL, buy young horses at sales and (hopefully) sell them at a profit before the young horses begin their racing careers. After Irap failed to bring a sufficient price at auction as a yearling, they purchased him privately, got him into shape at the farm in Ocala, then sold him for a profit at a two-year-olds-in-training sale.

Grady and Dodd hoped to do something similar with Girvin. Grady and Dodd first saw Girvin at a sale at Keeneland in 2015, but his price was higher than they thought he was worth at the time. When Dodd saw Girvin at another sale a short time later, they decided to increase what they were willing to offer to $130,000 and they were able to purchase him.

Girvin moved to Ocala where he and Irap lived only a few stalls apart. 

"Same barn, close to the same stall," Grady told Bourbon and Barns earlier this year. "It's real crazy, honestly."

Grady and Dodd prepped Girvin for the same two-year-old-in-training sale where Irap helped them turn a nice profit. Unfortunately, Girvin developed a small injury and wasn’t able to enter the sale. Without a buyer for Girvin, Grady and Dodd left with no choice but to hold on to Girvin and race him themselves.

Girvin went on to break his maiden in December and then finished second in a stakes race at Fair Grounds in February. Girvin then won the Risen Star by two lengths and the Louisiana Derby by 1 ¼ lengths.

Girvin didn’t race again until Saturday when he went off as the prohibitive favorite in the Ohio Derby where he held a 1 ½-length lead at the top of the stretch before falling just short to his former stablemate Irap at the wire.

In six lifetime starts, Girvin has three wins and two second-place finishes and earnings of $974,400.

Tags: Irap, Girvin, Kentucky Derby, Ohio Derby, Thistledown
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