By Richard Thomas
(Credit: Richard Thomas)
Most whiskey enthusiasts pay little attention to the corporate parents of even their favorite brands, especially when those corporate parents are not American. So, that Bulleit is owned by British drinks goliath Diageo and the broader significance of that does not register. But it does with me.
Diageo is not just the world’s biggest booze company, but also it’s biggest Scotch Whisky company. They conglomerate owns Johnnie Walker, and with owning the world’s biggest whisky brand comes owning most of the distilleries that provide stock for it. Thus, they know a lot about peat, peat smoked malted barley and peaty whiskies.
Over in the US, smoking grain with mesquite wood before making it into whiskey is a fixture of the craft distilling scene in the Southwest. Borrowing from barbecue, it has been put to work with varying degrees of success. Ever since they opened their own distillery in 2017, I reckoned that, given the wealth of knowledge their corporate, Scottish cousins have on the subject, it was only matter of time before Bulleit released a mesquite smoked bourbon. The only question in my wind was when and whether they would stick to smoking just the malted barley.
This is not a tweak to the standard Bulleit Bourbon; instead, it is a separate whiskey with a distinct mash bill. I even wonder if a new yeast was not tried, but that is pure speculation on my part. The mash is 65% corn, 5% normal malted barley and 30% smoked malted barley. Standard Bulleit is often classed as a high rye bourbon (with 28% rye), so this limited edition release is a high malt and mesquite smoked at that. This batch was mashed and distilled back in 2018, dumped in 2025 and only now made ready for shipping. It is bottled at 46.5% ABV.
The Bourbon
My pour took on a pale orange coloring in the glass. For me, the nose delivered oodles of caramelized brown sugar pegged to notes of vanilla (distinct from the caramel), butterscotch, and a scent like barley bread toasted almost to charring. Sipping reveals a silky liquid, with the body carrying more of that candy sweet, melted brown sugar and butterscotch. This time, the accents develop into cinnamon toast with hints of oak. The finish it a light one, opening woody and spicy before returning to a sweet base, and with no hints of smokiness.
Despite the presence of almost 1/3 smoked barley in the mash bill, the mesquite presence in this whiskey has rather a light touch. I suppose that underlines that the most characterful uses of smoking in American craft whiskey are often found in the single malt category (indeed, as they are in Scotch Whisky). Yet Bulleit’s marketing for this bourbon hinge on pairing it with barbecue, and there I think they are quite correct… so long as we’re talking about a sweet sauces, such as what gets used in Missouri and Memphis.
The Price
Bulleit is asking $50 a bottle for this whiskey, and I think that is a fair price all things considered. Bulleit Mesquite Smoked Malt Bourbon will make a nice accompaniment, served on the rocks at summer barbecues, although that price point is perhaps too expensive to use it in marinades and sauces.
